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Laura Johnsen Research and Administrative Assistant Susan Brutschy co-founded Applied Survey Research in 1981 with Sociology Professor Dane Archer of the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has been President of ASR since 1989, leading hundreds of evaluations, assessments, and strategic planning processes in community quality of life, early childhood development, domestic violence, child abuse and maltreatment, early literacy, K-12 education, and homelessness. ​ Ms. Brutschy has expanded ASR's work to national and international prominence. In 2006, ASR won the prestigious Community Service Award from the Association for Applied and Clinical Sociology (AACS). They noted that ASR won the honor "for its outstanding work in applying its data collection, analysis, reporting, and management skills to addressing homelessness and other social problems." In 2007, ASR and the United Way of Santa Cruz County won a national award from the Brookings Institution for having the best indicator project in the nation, the Santa Cruz County Community Assessment Project (CAP) . Over the last decade, Ms. Brutschy has pioneered an outcomes framework for ASR's work in community assessments, evaluations, and strategic planning processes. This framework, known as Results Based Accountability (RBA), was created by Mark Friedman of the Fiscal Policies Institute. The framework’s goal is to begin with the outcomes that a community would like to achieve. Once a community agrees on those outcomes, Ms. Brutschy and ASR staff use RBA to develop the best methods to achieve those ends. ​ She has successfully led many projects using RBA, including the previously mentioned Santa Cruz County CAP, which functions as a community report card with over 135 indicators; First 5 Santa Cruz County to benefit children ages 0-5 in low income communities of color; and Kindergarten Readiness Assessments in Alameda, Santa Clara, San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties. Ms. Brutschy believes that data should not sit in binders collecting dust, but rather that it should become a catalyst for community change. She has helped many communities in California, Arizona, and Alaska to achieve improvements in health, domestic violence, child abuse and maltreatment, early childhood literacy, drug and alcohol abuse, and school safety. ​ She graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz, with highest honors in Sociology, and received awards for her research in designing and implementing quantitative assessments of community opinion for the Social Research Unit. In addition to her work at ASR, Ms. Brutschy enjoys reading about the history of ancient Egypt, international travel, and camping with her husband and four adult children. < Back LauraJ@appliedsurveyresearch.org

Child Safety ASR has helped plan and/or evaluate many programs that aim to strengthen protective factors and reduce the risk for or recurrence of child maltreatment. These include a strategic plan for Yuba County’s Child Abuse Prevention Council, evaluative comparison of home visiting participants with a matched comparison group (Birth & Beyond), and an evaluation system for the CASA program in Santa Clara County. Project Highlight: Birth & Beyond AmeriCorps Quasi-Experimental Program Evaluation ​ View Full Report Executive Summary < Back Additional work samples Additional work samples Triple P 5-Year Evaulation View Full Report Yuba County Prevention Plan View Full Report

Early Learning & Kindergarten Readiness ​ Quality early learning experiences and kindergarten readiness predict later school achievement. In 2001, ASR developed a 20-item assessment tool completed by teachers called the Kindergarten Observation Form to measure children's kindergarten readiness. Used across California and in several other states, this validated form can be used to show how key programs like pre-K help prepare children for school success. ​ Project Highlight: Santa Clara County Kindergraten Readiness Report View Full Report Executive Summary < Back Additional work samples Napa Valley Early Learning Initiative View Full Report Exec Summary

Kim Carpenter, PhD Project Director Joining ASR in 2010, Dr. Carpenter brings over 20 years of knowledge and experience in the child development and early intervention fields. Her graduate and post-doctoral work focused on the social and emotional development of young children and their families, including the impacts of maternal depression and child maltreatment. Since 2010, Dr. Carpenter has led mixed-methods community-based evaluations, surveys, and needs assessments at ASR in areas including early child development, school readiness, child mental health, parent/family support, and youth development. Recently completed projects include: Youth needs assessments and local action plans in San Mateo and Ventura counties, Kaiser Permanente Community Health Needs Assessments in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, and program evaluations for Educare California at Silicon Valley, First 5 Contra Costa, and Santa Clara County Dependency and Collaborative Courts. ​ Dr. Carpenter’s published works include a study in the Journal Child Maltreatment in 2008 on the impact of child neglect on development entitled ‘Emotion Knowledge in Young Neglected Children’, as well as conference presentations over the past 20 years at meetings of the Society for Research in Child Development, the International Conference on Infant Studies, and the Association for Psychological Science. ​ In addition to her work at ASR, Dr. Carpenter enjoys hiking, kayaking/SUP, snowboarding, and creating stained-glass art. She holds PhD and MS degrees in Developmental Psychology from Vanderbilt University, and a BA degree in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. < Back Kim@appliedsurveyresearch.org

View Full Report Executive Summary Community Assessments By taking a broad scan of a community’s quality of life, ASR’s community assessments set the foundation for collaborators to make collective impact. ASR’s Santa Cruz County Community Assessment Project was the longest running community assessment project in the country (1995-2020). ​ ​ Other assessments have focused on a variety of populations, such as youth, children witnessing domestic violence, farmworkers, veterans, older adults, and the Black/African Ancestry community. ​ Highlight Project: Santa Cruz County Community Assessment Project View Full Report Executive Summary < Back Additional work samples Stanislaus Youth & Family Spotlight Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley Report Card View Report Card Exec Summary View Full Report Exec Summary Stanislaus County CAP View Full Report Exec Summary Children & Youth Well-being Santa Cruz County Spotlight View Report

Gather actionable data on issues affecting your population Community Assessments Impact Surveys Homelessness Reports

Youth and Family Well-Being Spotlight Stanislaus County | California | 2020 Stanislaus County’s Youth and Family Well-Being Spotlight 2020 This spotlight provides an actionable snapshot into the health and well-being of youth and families in Stanislaus County using measurable indicators. Using this as a tool, Focus on Prevention and their multi-sector partners will be able to better understand and respond in a coordinated manner to the prevention needs of youth and families in Stanislaus County. Youth and Family Well-Being Spotlight Click on the report cover image to download a PDF of the full report or click on specific sections of the report located below. Download Full Report Visit Focus on Prevention Website

Meet The Team For staff here at ASR, this work is more than a job – it is a calling. We came to ASR because we wanted to be at the front lines of community change. Our team includes more than two dozen researchers, analysts, and support experts across our California Central Coast, San Francisco Bay Area, and Sacramento offices. Our team of social scientists includes academics and practitioners from the fields of developmental psychology, human development, sociology, anthropology, education, public health, and public policy. Many of us are bi-lingual and/or bi-cultural. We have staff fluent in Spanish, Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi, Italian, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Russian, Hebrew, and Bahasa Indonesia. Click on our team members to learn more. Jennifer Anderson-Ochoa, MIA Project Manager II ​ Chistina Branom, PhD Director of Research and School Readiness Kim Carpenter, PhD Project Director James Conne ry, MBA Project Manager II Peter Connery Vice President Javari F airclough, PhD Senior Data Analyst Juliana Huaroc, MPA, MA Senior Research Analyst II Jordan Katti , PhD Project Manager II Elizabeth Mower (Martinez) , MA Project Director Javier Salcedo, MS Statistical Analyst Maria Usacheva, PhD Senior Research Analyst II Sandra Arellano Research Analyst Susan Brutschy President ​ Connie Chu Research Analyst II John Connery Senior Project Manager Kimberly Corneille , MA Senior Research Analyst I Angie Flamenco, MA Senior Planner Jessica Irwin, PhD Senior Research Analyst Ryan Mays , MS Senior Research Analyst I Alyssa Mullins , PhD Project Manager Liat Sayfan, PhD Senior Data Manager Alex Werner Research Assistant II Christa Bixby, MA Senior Planning Analyst Julie Burr Senior Research Analyst Lisa Colvig-Niclai, MA Senior Vice President of Planning and Evaluation Laura Connery Director of Operations and Impact Keri Corre a Copy Editor Kim Gillette , MPH Project Manager Laura Johnsen Research & Administrative Assistant Claire Miller , PhD Senior Research Analyst II Daphna Ram, PhD Senior Research Analyst Sofia Stepanyan , PhD Senior Research Analyst Jim Wright, PhD Senior Research Analyst

Juliana Huaroc, MPA, MA Senior Research Analyst II Juliana joined ASR in November 2019. As a Senior Research Analyst II at ASR, Juliana has contributed her expertise as a bilingual, community-based researcher and evaluator, to a variety of program evaluations and community-wide needs assessments, with partners seeking to improve the lives of historically marginalized communities including, system-impacted youth and adults, people with mental health and substance use disorder needs, and people experiencing homelessness. She possesses lived experience and content expertise in the unique needs of Hispanic/Latin(o)(a)(x)(e) communities disproportionately affected by U.S. immigration policy. Juliana is skilled in qualitative and quantitative methodologies, including research design, data collection and analysis, and report writing, as well as evaluation planning, implementation and ongoing project management. ​ Juliana earned a Master of Public Administration and a Master of Arts in Latin American Studies from San Diego State University, where she focused her thesis research on the invaluable contribution and key role of rural women as seasonal agricultural workers in Chile’s fruit export industry. During her graduate studies, Juliana worked as a researcher in the San Diego-Tijuana border region, uplifting the stories and struggles of asylum-seekers and migrants in the United States, including individuals and families held in detention facilities and released by federal authorities onto San Diego’s streets. Juliana also holds a BA in Political Science and Religious Studies with a minor in Education from the University of California, Santa Barbara. ​ Outside of ASR, Juliana enjoys spending time with her partner and their Siberian Husky, eating Peruvian food, and traveling with her loved ones. < Back Juliana@appliedsurveyresearch.org

View Full Report Executive Summary Racial Equity Structural and systemic racism has created barriers to positive health education and economic outcomes for our communities of color. ASR has helped several partners examine their community outcomes through an equity lens and supported those partners to close opportunity gaps. ​ Highlight Project: Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley Latino Report Card 2023 Full Report Executive Summary < Back Additional work samples Santa Cruz County Back Health Matters Spotlight View Report Reduction of African American Child Deaths View Full Report Sacramento County Racial Equity Snapshot View Report Santa Cruz County Black/African American Health Snapshot View Report Exec Summary

Jennifer Anderson-Ochoa, MIA Project Manager II Jennifer Anderson-Ochoa has been working with ASR since January 2016. Jennifer brings a wealth of practical ‘data to action’ experience and has worked on evaluations and assessments in the areas of racial equity, restorative justice, community health, adult and youth homelessness, COVID-19, and child health. Some of her recent projects include the Santa Cruz County Black Health Matters Initiative Spotlight , Kaiser Community Health Needs Assessment, the City of Watsonville Ad Hoc Committee on Policing and Social Equity Report , and Stanislaus County Community Assessments, 2019 Family and Children Edition and 2021 COVID-19 Edition . ​ Jennifer received her Master’s degree in International Administration, with a concentration in Cross Cultural Communication and Training, from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, VT. She received her BA in Sociology from George Washington University. Prior to working at ASR, Jennifer directed two family resource centers in Santa Cruz County, where core programs focused on strengthening the safety net, and included early childhood education/parenting support, medical home education, nutrition education, restorative justice with youth on probation, ESL and Spanish literacy classes, rapid re-housing and homelessness prevention, and public assistance enrollment support. Jennifer also served on the steering committee of the Youth Violence Prevention Task Force. ​ Prior to that, Jennifer worked for 23 years in HIV/AIDS prevention, both in the United States and while living in Sub-Saharan Africa. In part, she worked to grow a private foundation focused on making grants to community groups in Africa that support children affected by HIV. She managed a portfolio of more than 100 grantees in six African countries and helped to develop a groundbreaking Monitoring and Evaluation and Technical Assistance program. ​ Jennifer’s focus has always been on social justice, racial equity and making sure the voices of the most vulnerable are heard by change-makers. < Back Jennifer@appliedsurveyresearch.org

Chelsie Hess, PhD Senior Research Analyst II Dr. Chelsie Hess joined ASR in 2022. Chelsie has a M.A. in School Counseling and previously served as a licensed school counselor for the State of Colorado. She has a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, doctoral minor in Applied Statistics and Research Methods and doctoral specialty in Child Development from the University of Northern Colorado. Prior to joining ASR, Chelsie worked in higher education for fifteen years. Her program evaluation work has focused on teacher program effectiveness and community programs serving children and families. During her time with the College of Education at the University of Northern Colorado, she assisted in evaluation of multiple teacher preparation and licensed personnel programs to ensure alignment with national, state, and college accreditation standards. ​ In her role as a tenured-faculty and Associate Professor of Psychology at Colorado Mesa University, she taught Research and Child Development courses while serving as Chair of the Institutional Review Board and on multiple executive boards for the community. Her training has been in assessment and measurement, focus groups, longitudinal restricted datasets, multiple regression, sampling procedures, survey design and validation, qualitative methodology, and program evaluation. She enjoys a balance of teaching, research, and partnerships with local schools and community agencies to better bridge the gap between practice and research. She has a commitment to data integrity, multi-displinary and applied research, providing meaningful and actionable feedback to impact community and child outcomes. In her free time, Dr. Hess enjoys spending time in the mountains of Colorado with her two children--- skiing, hiking, rafting, and camping. She also loves cooking, oil painting, movies, and collecting folk rock vinyl records. < Back Chelsie@appliedsurveyresearch.org