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Parry W. Merkley’s eye for design and spirit of entrepreneurship brought him much artistic success. As a graphic design student at BYU, Merkley and his partner, Adrian Pulfer, formed a graphic design company called “Two’s Company” to pay tuition and cover living expenses. The business took off, engaging them so fully it was difficult to find time to attend classes.

After graduating, the team moved to New York where Merkley began a long career in commercial design. Merkley worked as Design Director for Macy’s and then for Estee Lauder Companies. He entered the advertising industry by working for Ogilvy and Mather on brands like American Express and Nationwide Insurance.

Merkley left O&M in 1991 to join Doremus and Company as Creative Director and soon was appointed the company’s President. Within two years he formed a new advertising agency with two partners called Merkley Newman Harty. He retired from the agency in 2004, now known as Merkley and Partners and he now is the emeritus chair of the firm.

In 2009, Merkley was recognized as an Honored Alumni as part of the Brigham Young University's annual Homecoming celebration.

Click here for more information on Parry Merkley.

Brad Barber graduated Cum Laude from BYU in 2001 with a degree in Media Arts.

After becoming infatuated with non-fiction storytelling as an undergraduate at BYU, Barber worked as an independent documentary filmmaker, including one fortunate project which took him to several countries across five continents. He went on to attend the USC School of Cinema-Television and continued work in Los Angeles as an editor, cinematographer, and director/producer of documentary film and television, with credits on HBO, Showtime, PBS, Discovery Channel, ESPN, Current TV, the Documentary Channel, and others.

Barber was recently nominated for an Emmy for his work as an editor on the HBO documentary Resolved, on which he also served as an associate producer and cinematographer. The film won the Audience Choice Award at the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival and was nominated for an Emmy in 2009 in the category of “Outstanding Informational Programming.”

Barber has also participated in a number of film festivals both as a filmmaker and as a programmer, serving on selection committees for the Slamdance Film Festival and the International Documentary Association Awards.

Barber joined the Theatre and Media Arts faculty at BYU in 2007 and helped develop significant non-fiction curriculum revisions which include more focus on television, transmedia, and new forms of distribution. He also works with advanced students in a professional mentoring environment to make documentaries and other new forms of content for BYU Broadcasting.

Click here for more information on Brad Barber.