Dean Merlino completed a Masters Degree in Community Cultural Development from the University of Melbourne, and has taught in the Community Cultural Development program since 2006. Originally from Perth, he studied music at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), specialising in Flute and Piano performance. He has also studied Politics and Philosophy at the University of Western Australia (UWA). Dean has extensive performance and teaching experience. He has performed across Australia (cities, regional centres and towns) in several genres including Western Classical, Experimental & Electronic, Rock, Punk and Folk music. His original songs and compositions have received airplay in Britain, Europe and the US College Radio Circuit, and he is currently working on a musical with Melbourne writer Jason Cotter. He has taught music at primary, secondary and tertiary levels and specialised in mentoring students with learning disabilities to professional status.

Dean’s community work has focused on producing musically based, small scale, spontaneous and incursory events/happenings, both in Perth and Melbourne. This has included work with the DIY Community House Gig Network (Melbourne), Street Theatre with Free Vistas Collective (Perth), community music events with East Timorese refugees, Union and Community groups, and presenting community radio shows (Earache My Eye, Radio RTRFM).

Dean is currently researching pedagogic models in the delivery of Community Cultural Development in the tertiary sector, and exploring music-based metaphors in explaining the complexity of communities. He is also a member of a research team from Bond and Deakin Universities, The Uniting Church and WilliamsBoag Architects that is exploring Adaptive Building Reuse and the future of sustainability in the building sector.