Debi Elliott - Director, SRL and Principal Investigator, RRI

           Debi Elliott, Ph.D., is the Director of Survey Research Lab, a part of the Office of Research and Graduate Studies, as well as a Research Associate with the Regional Research Institute for Human Services (RRI), a part of the Graduate School of Social Work, both at Portland State University.  Dr. Elliott has served as the SRL Director since September 2002 and has the primary responsibility of overseeing and ensuring the accurate, ethical and efficient conducting of survey research for SRL.  She has been a human services researcher for over 15 years on topics including children’s mental health services, housing and support services for adults with serious mental illness, crime victim services, co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders in minority adults, the effects of trauma from a history of violence and overrepresentation of minorities in the juvenile justice system. Dr. Elliott has developed, managed, and/or participated in all aspects of research, including instrument development, data collection (e.g., individual interviews, focus groups, telephone surveys), data management, data analysis, and dissemination. Special areas in which she has developed expertise include the inclusion of consumers and family members in research and longitudinal tracking of research participants. Dr. Elliott served as a member of the Portland State University’s Human Subjects Research Review Committee for three years and has developed expertise the area of research ethics and participant protection. She received her Ph.D. and MA in the area of clinical child psychology at Ohio State University and her BS in psychology from University of Washington.

Amber Johnson, Ph.D. – Project Manager, SRL

           Amber Johnson came to the SRL in August 2006 and has a PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Oklahoma. She has worked in the social research field since 1999. Dr. Johnson has extensive experience in statistics and scientific methods and has applied those skills to overseeing projects within the PSU Survey Research Lab. As Project Manager, she is responsible for developing and maintaining a relationship with key project staff, programming and pre-testing the survey in the computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) software, overseeing the piloting of the survey, sample management, overall project management during data collection. In addition, Dr. Johnson is responsible for providing project training to the interview coordinators and interviewers working on each project. She also provides the project team with weekly status reports on survey progress. Dr. Johnson specializes in survey development and management, survey process quality control, data management, and data analysis.

Tiffany Conklin, B.A. – Research Assistant

            Ms. Conklin was hired in April 2006 as a Telephone Interviewer for the SRL. She demonstrated her survey research skills and became one of the most reliable employees. Ms. Conklin was promoted to Interview Coordinator in June 2006 and then to Research Assistant in July 2007. As a Research Assistant, she is responsible for assisting the Project Manager with survey programming, weekly project status reports, project set-up, project management and final report creation for clients. Tiffany also assists the Interview Coordinators with overseeing the interviewers and new employee and project trainings. She has a background in the social sciences, and received her Bachelors in Anthropology and Urban Studies with a minor in Sociology from the University of South Florida. Tiffany has experience with community-based participatory research. Her honors thesis was part of an NSF funded collaborative that researched the effects of relocation of former public housing residents in two low-income neighborhoods in Tampa, Florida. Tiffany completed two internships for the Hillsborough County Planning Commission and the City of Tampa’s Historical Preservation Department.

Tara Horn, MAAPD – Research Assistant

            Ms. Horn was hired in April 2006 as a Telephone Interviewer for the SRL. Within a short time, in June 2006, she was promoted to the position of Interview Coordinator. In January 2008 she was promoted to Research Assistant, assisting the Director with a variety of projects. She has a background in social sciences, and received her Masters in Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. In her current position she assists with qualitative data analysis and report writing, conducting focus groups, developing and conducting trainings, and consulting on survey design and methodology for clients. She has experience in participatory research methodology and qualitative research and analysis. She also has experience working with refugee and immigrant communities, and has done capacity building work with refugee organizations in Thailand and Malaysia.

Zachary Hathaway, A.A. – Interview Coordinator

            Mr. Hathaway was hired in April 2006 as a Telephone Interviewer for the SRL. Zac has excellent communication and interviewing skills as he has several years of telephone research experience working for Nielsen Media Research. Zac was first promoted to Interview Coordinator Assistant and then to Interview Coordinator in June 2006.  He has a deep interest in the social sciences, and received his Associate’s degree from Hillsborough Community College in Florida.  He is currently persuing a Bachelors of Arts degree in Sociology from Portland State University. As an Interview Coordinator, he is responsible for overseeing the interviewers, monitoring interviews to ensure quality control, and assisting with trainings, survey programming and pre-testing.

Cameron Mulder, B.S. – Interview Coordinator
          
              Mr. Mulder was hired in October 2007 as a Telephone Interviews for the SRL.  Within a short time he demonstrated his skills at standardized interviewing and was promoted to the position of Interview Coordinator in December 2007.  Cameron has a background in the social sciences, and received his Bachelors in Economics and Political Science from Oregon State University.  Mr. Mulder has extensive experience with community based research.  While serving in AmeriCorps, Cameron helped lead a survey and report on the economic condition of rural Fresno County in California.  This project gave Mr. Mulder experience in not only survey research but also in bringing together non-profit, local businesses, and government agencies to conduct research and plan for the future. As an Interview Coordinator, he is responsible for overseeing the interviewers, monitoring interviews to ensure quality control, and assisting with trainings, survey programming and pre-testing.

Vicky Mazzone, B.S. - Office Manager

               Vicky Mazzone has served as the office manager for the Survey Research Lab since 2005.  Her responsibilities include fiscal monitoring, human resources,  telecommunications, and general problem-solving.  She is also the webmaster for both the RRI and SRL.  Ms. Mazzone has worked for the Oregon University System since 1993. Prior to that, she spent 8 years in the telemarketing/call center industry, working for several telemarketing service bureaus in a variety of roles, including training, employee retention, quality assurance, and programmer. Ms. Mazzone received her B.S. in Psychology from PSU in 2002.