Brad Kates, President and CEO
As President of Opinion Dynamics, Mr. Kates is dedicated to ensuring that all clients are provided with the best in research and analysis for all projects. His job is to put the Opinion Dynamics staff in the best position to succeed. Mr. Kates has managed market research projects for close to two decades. He understands that market research is far from only data collection - it's using data to help shape key decisions. His specialty involves developing research methodologies that will help clients effectively enhance marketing efforts, with a focus on social marketing issues, including energy efficiency and the environment.

He has managed large-scale research projects on a variety of subjects, and understands that, in all research projects, the details matter. He communicates the Opinion Dynamics philosophy that there are many ways to present data, but there is only one best way-Opinion Dynamics analysts are charged with finding the best way. He also sets the company's strategic direction, and works to ensure that Opinion Dynamics continues as a leading consulting firm specializing in market research.

Mr. Kates has spoken at numerous major industry events on such subjects as customer retention strategies, developing effective measurements of social marketing campaigns, and effectively utilizing the market research toolbox. He is also currently the Immediate Past President of the Association of Energy Services Professionals, as well as a member of the Public Relations Society of America and the Travel & Tourism Research Association. Mr. Kates holds a dual Bachelor of Science degree from Syracuse University in both Public Relations and Human Resources and a Master's in Business Administration from Babson College.

Thomas Medlin | Jennifer Mitchell-Jackson
Bill Norton | Ernest Paicopolos| Mary Sutter

Thomas Medlin, Chief Financial Officer
As Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Medlin is heavily involved in the internal functions of the corporation. With over 20 years of service industry experience, Mr. Medlin oversees all financial, human resource, information systems and operations functions. He came to Opinion Dynamics as a controller in 1996. Now, as Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Medlin is focused on the overall performance of the company.

Mr. Medlin previously worked for three years as the Accounting Manager for Winchester Healthcare. Prior to that, he spent seven years as an accountant for Camp, Dresser, and McKee. Mr. Medlin is a graduate of Northeastern University and is an active member in CASRO.
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Jennifer Mitchell-Jackson, Vice President
Since joining Opinion Dynamics in 2001, Ms. Mitchell-Jackson has worked on a range of residential, commercial, and industrial research projects for dozens of clients. In her role as a Vice President, Ms. Mitchell-Jackson leads the design and implementation of many of the company's energy evaluation efforts. Her strength lies in understanding the needs of each effort, and in thinking through the analysis in tandem with the development of the methodology to ensure that Opinion Dynamics' projects deliver actionable results. She is expert at managing projects and staff to ensure that projects are implemented in a cost-effective manner to deliver the highest quality information possible. Since joining Opinion Dynamics, Ms. Mitchell-Jackson has served as the backbone for all of Opinion Dynamics' large-scale, multi-task energy efficiency projects, including two ongoing portfolio evaluation efforts.

Ms. Mitchell-Jackson is entrenched in the energy world. She received a Masters' Degree in Energy Policy from Cal-Berkeley and brings a practical, real world perspective to projects. She has spoken at several industry events including the International Energy Program Evaluation Conference (IEPEC) and several recent Association of Energy Service Professionals (AESP) Conferences. Prior to joining Opinion Dynamics, Ms. Mitchell-Jackson worked for the California Public Utilities Commission and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
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Bill Norton, Vice President of Energy Operations
Mr. Norton manages the day-to-day operations of and is responsible for the quality and content of all deliverables associated with a significant proportion of Opinion Dynamics' energy research projects. He is also responsible for the management and oversight of Opinion Dynamics' analytic staff.

Mr. Norton has experience developing analytic methodologies in support of program evaluations, economic impact assessments, cost-effectiveness analyses, market studies, and financial and statistical analyses for various clients. Having previously worked for an energy services firm, Mr. Norton understands how energy efficiency projects are done, who the key stakeholders are, and how to “talk their language” to obtain key information. These skills are crucial when developing project methodologies research instruments.

Mr. Norton received a master's degree in energy and environmental policy analysis from the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies at Boston University, and his undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Massachusetts. He is the President of the Northeast chapter of the Association of Energy Services Professionals.
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Ernest Paicopolos, Principal
With twenty-nine years' experience conducting public opinion research, Ernest Paicopolos has worked on a wide range of projects—from national political campaigns to neighborhood satisfaction surveys. He has dealt with such controversial topics as smoking, nuclear power, reproductive rights, and energy facility siting. His extensive experience in the health care field includes work on heath care policy communications as well as patient and physician satisfaction studies. In the food service industry, he has designed projects for multi-state restaurant corporations and crafted national communications research for large food marketing groups. For the past several years, he has managed member-related and public opinion research for the Produce Marketing Association (PMA)—the world's leading trade association in the produce industry.

In addition, Mr. Paicopolos has managed opinion research for scores of successful ballot measure campaigns across the country, and supervised political polling for a number of television stations and newspapers. He also appears on national television, providing analysis of Opinion Dynamics polling results on the FOX News Channel.

Mr. Paicopolos was a senior executive at Cambridge Survey Research, Inc. and Cambridge Reports, Inc. for ten years before joining Opinion Dynamics in 1988. Mr. Paicopolos received his undergraduate degree in political science from Northeastern University. He did his graduate work in political science at the master's level at Northeastern University and at the doctoral level at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst.
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Mary Sutter, Director of Energy Evaluation
Mary Sutter brings close to two decades worth of experience evaluating energy efficiency programs to our team. She is a gifted evaluator, with knowledge of cutting edge methodologies and research tools. She leads the quality control function on all of Opinion Dynamics evaluation efforts, and works with Opinion Dynamics analyst staff to ensure that data is presented in the best, most communicative way.

Ms. Sutter holds Masters degrees in both Adult Education and Engineering, bringing together technical knowledge and the ability to effectively get her point across to others. She has managed multiple energy efficiency program evaluations throughout the nation and facilitated public workshops. Over the past decade, she has used logic models and program theory to perform evaluability assessments and as the basis for evaluation research. Ms. Sutter has performed a wide variety of impact studies, process studies and engineering studies involving residential, nonresidential, and agricultural sectors. The analyses of these end uses and sectors have included rigorous assessments of net energy savings and changes in awareness, knowledge, and actions as well as market characterization and market effects studies. She has created and implemented residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural onsite audits and telephone surveys. The breadth of her past experience allows Ms. Sutter to fully cover the needs of our clients.

Ms. Sutter helps to implement the Opinion Dynamics philosophy to work holistically with the client to determine specific evaluation needs and focus the work to meet the needs of the client, the budget, and other stakeholders where possible. She works out of Opinion Dynamics' Oakland office, but serves as a resource for all Opinion Dynamics energy evaluation project efforts.

Additionally, Ms. Sutter is among the first twenty people in the nation who will complete the Certificate of Evaluation Practice and Quantitative Evaluation Methods from George Washington University. The classes taken for these certificates are taught by today's foremost authors in evaluation practice and assure a broad and deep understanding of all aspects of evaluation.
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