Key Staff & Associates

ARI clients can count on being served by a talented and experienced team of professionals with top-notch survey research and statistical and analytical skills. In combination, technical competence and practical experience assure research products that are sound in both substance and perspective. Relevant data are presented clearly and concisely.

Founder: Michael Sherman (1947-2010)

ARI was founded by Michael S. Sherman, Ph.D., CAE, in 1984 after a successful career in association management. He started his career in association management on the staff of the National Association of Furniture Manufacturers. During his 10-year tenure, he was Director of Economic and Market Research, and, for three years, Executive Vice President. He also served as Executive Director of the Summer and Casual Furniture Manufacturers Association.

He received a B.S. in mathematics at Virginia Tech and a Ph.D. in economics at the University of Pittsburgh, where he specialized in industrial organization and econometrics. He served on the Greater Washington Society of Association Executives (GWAE) Board of Directors, the GWSAE Foundation Board of Trustees, and the ASAE CAE Action Team.

Michael's writing credits included the chapter on Research and Statistics in the ASAE publication Professional Practices in Association Management, and he wrote the Marketing Research chapter in ASAE's Principles of Association Management. He also served as associate editor of the GWSAE Foundation publication, Marketing the Nonprofit Association.

President: Megan Kirkegaard

Working directly alongside founder Michael Sherman for 22 years and serving as his vice president for 15 years, Megan Kirkegaard became president in March 2011. With more than 23 years experience at ARI, Megan oversees operations for all of ARI's client projects and manages numerous ongoing research projects herself. Megan is also responsible for setting up and administering the Web-based, online surveys and collaborating with committees and staff to set up survey programs and operating procedures required for reliable, timely survey reports. She holds a BA from the University of Maryland.

Vice President: Mike Egart

With 20+ years of experience, Mike Egart serves as vice president, working closely with association members to manage projects, collect data, and publish timely research reports. Mike, whose area of expertise lies in periodic business reports, is an active member of the statistics committee for a number of association clients. Periodic surveys (monthly, quarterly, annual) require frequent contact with data reporters at member companies. In addition to ensuring the timely provision of data from members, Mike reviews, validates, and confirms data submissions, generates reports, and distributes them to members. Mike has been an employee of ARI for 20 years, serving previously as a senior project manager and project manager.

Vice President of Economic Research: Ashraf Abdul-Mohsen, Ph.D.

Ashraf Abdul-Mohsen is vice president for economic research. Ashraf does forecasting for various client industries as well as works with many of ARI's financial operations surveys. Most recently, Ashraf worked as an assistant professor/economist for the Institute of National Planning in Cairo, Egypt, and held a postdoctoral position at the EPA.

Ashraf earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural economics from Menoufia University (Egypt). He also earned a master's degree in economic and a Ph.D. in environmental and resource economic form the Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio).

Associates

ARI's professional reach is extended and supplemented by associates who are specialists in specific areas of consulting and research, especially for associations.

Joy Levin

Joy Levin is owner and president of Allium Research and Analytics, a marketing research firm that manages all phases of studies and research activities, including strategic formulation and development, selection of analytical methodology, reserch design, interpretation and analysis, report preparation, and results presentation.

Her experience extends to the usage of various quantitative methodologies, including simple and multiple regression, significance testing, and descriptive statistical measurement. She has worked with both survey and census data. Ms. Levin received her BA from Brandeis University in 1987 cum laude and her MBA from Boston University with High Honors in 1989. At that time, she was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma, the international business academic honor society.