Gordon Merklein, Vice Chair, began serving on the OWASA Board of Directors in December, 2005 as a Town of Chapel Hill appointee. He chairs the Board's Budget/Financial Planning Committee and is a member of the Human Resources Committee.

Mr. Merklein is Director of Investments with Highwoods Properties, a real estate investment trust headquartered in Raleigh. Before entering the commercial real estate profession he worked as a planning consultant with the landscape architecture and environmental planning firm EDAW.

Gordon received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Southern Methodist University and a Master’s degree in City Planning for Georgia Institute of Technology. He also holds the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) professional designation. Mr. Merklein serves on the Board of Directors of the Orange Community Housing Land Trust and he is a member of the Town of Chapel Hill’s Inclusionary Zoning Task Force. Gordon and his wife, Catherine Duncan, have two sons. Gordon is an avid cyclist and he plays in the Rainbow Soccer league.