The Management Team
Chris Barnes, Partner Pulsar Research & Consulting
Chris has led groundbreaking projects in a wide array of fields. From education and housing to energy and the media, these research projects have all shared a common goal – producing actionable information. Business leaders, policy makers and opinion leaders have used these studies to make real and effective changes. His focus is on conducting cutting-edge research to develop strategic initiatives aimed at solving critical business and policy issues. Mr. Barnes has conducted research for TIME magazine, including the 2004 cover story – “Faith, God and The Oval Office.” His studies and analysis have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post on the national level as well as in all Connecticut media outlets. Prior to coming to Pulsar, Chris was a cofounder of the Center for Survey Research and Analysis and established the Department of Public Policy research unit at the University of Connecticut. Chris also taught in the Masters in Survey Research program while at UConn. Chris was a Policy Researcher for the Connecticut State Senate and then a Market Research Executive at Millward Brown, where he specialized in technology research. He earned his BA from Kenyon College, and his Masters from the University of Connecticut.
Heather Mitchell, Research Director
Heather is an expert in a wide range of methodologies, having managed large scale phone, internet, and in-person studies. Her recent accomplishments include successfully managing a complex three year study of college students that included a number of groundbreaking methodological findings regarding this difficult population. Heather has extensive experience handling sensitive as well as hard to reach populations in both quantitative and qualitative research. Prior to this work, Heather was instrumental in bringing IPSOS-ASI’s internet tracking survey division to the United States. Heather has managed surveys in the educational, financial, packaged goods, healthcare, governmental and non-profit sectors. She graduated from the University of Virginia as a Marketing and Management major and has a Masters in Survey Research from the University of Connecticut.
Katie Stargardter, Operations Director
Katie is an adept survey and policy researcher, geo-spatial analyst, and operations manager. Katie previously worked to create sophisticated maps and custom mapping functions for in-depth review of geo-spatial features for the CT General Assembly on a Geographic Information System (GIS). She has directed survey projects concerning finance and government policy. Katie is an expert in housing policies, including Civil Rights regulations required by HUD and CT DECD grants, Affordable Housing, Regional Housing, and Fair Housing Choice. Her operations experience stems from having managed over 120 employees at a large call center for the University of Connecticut, supporting up to 40 survey research projects at any given time. Katie has extensive technological skills in geo-statistical mapping, data management, mining, and survey programming. Katie graduated from the University of Connecticut.
