Merlin D. Burt, Ph.D. is director of the Ellen G. White Estate, Inc. He additionally serves as Research Professor of Church History at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He was founding director of the Center for Adventist Research and White Estate Branch office at Andrews University where he served from 2003-2020. From 1993 to 2003, he was director of the Loma Linda University White Estate Branch Office and chair of Archives and Special Collections, Dr. Burt has been with the Ellen G. White Estate since 1993.
He has published books, numerous articles, and chapters and has served variously as an organizer and speaker at various conferences and symposiums. Before his administrative and academic appointments, he served in the United States as a pastor in Ohio and California. He is married to Sarah the love of his life for 42 years. They have two sons and a daughter and six grandchildren. His hobbies include collecting Adventist-related materials and woodworking. One of his passions is for Seventh-day Adventists to connect God’s leading in the past to a personal living Christian experience.