Kathryn Ellickson, MBA
Kathryn Ellickson is the CEO and Co-Founder of Opinion Research Specialists (ORS). She leads the ORS team and oversees all aspects of the research process. She is also responsible for online survey programming and assists with questionnaire design, data interpretation, and report writing. Prior to co-founding ORS in 1991, Kathryn served as a faculty member in the Marketing Department at Southern Illinois University–Carbondale and as a staff analyst for the university’s Institutional Research and Studies Center.
Mark Ellickson, Ph.D. (Political Science)
Dr. Mark Ellickson is President and Co-Founder of Opinion Research Specialists and a political scientist with specialized expertise in statistics and survey research methodology. He brings more than 30 years of applied research experience working with local governments and nonprofit organizations. For each project, he takes the lead role in questionnaire design, sampling, data analysis, interpretation, and report writing.
A nationally recognized expert in survey research and public opinion analysis, Dr. Ellickson’s work has been published in academic and practitioner journals such as Public Personnel Management, State and Local Government Review, Journal of Public Policy and Administration, Current Municipal Problems, and Missouri Municipal Review.
Dr. Ellickson has taught graduate-level courses in survey research and applied statistics, led statewide workshops on community surveys for local government officials, and served as a statistical consultant for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Terry Stone, Ph.D. (Psychology)
Dr. Terry Stone is a Senior Research Associate with Opinion Research Specialists, specializing in research design, data analysis, and program evaluation. Prior to joining ORS, she served as a program evaluator for the Munroe-Meyer Institute at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and as an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Psychology at the University of Nebraska–Omaha.
Marc Maness, M.A. (Communications)
Marc Maness is a Senior Research Associate with Opinion Research Specialists. Before joining ORS, he spent more than 30 years in the field of education, including 18 years as Director of Communications and Strategic Planning for Springfield Public Schools, the largest school district in Missouri. His work focuses on strategic plan development, with a specialization in human-centered design and input processes.