President & CEO

Lisa Dezzutti, founder and president of Market Connections, Inc., is a seasoned business executive and research strategist with over 25 years of experience in the fields of marketing, research, and total quality management. Under her leadership, Market Connections delivers intelligence and insights that enable improved business performance for an impressive list of business, government, and association clients.

Dezzutti is a highly skilled professional focus group moderator. She frequently shares her research and market expertise as a speaker at industry events and is co-founder and co-chair of the Government Marketing Forum. She is also a member of the Marketing Research Association, Women in Technology, IAC, AFCEA, and the GovCon Council.

Director of Research Services

Dave Glantz has over 20 years of international business experience as a consultant, published writer and educator, and 15 years of supplier-side experience in market research. Dave designs, manages, analyzes and presents findings on qualitative and quantitative custom research projects for government agencies, leading contractors and Fortune 500 businesses, using in-person, phone-based and online methods. He specializes in qualitative research, and is an expert in concept, message and ad testing, as well as brand and satisfaction research. Dave has moderated more than 300 focus groups and hundreds of in-depth interviews in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific with senior military and government decision-makers, congressional staffers, executives, consumers and students. Subjects covered include high tech product and service concepts, information assurance, cybersecurity, political issues and government policy, trade show and event research, healthcare, education, career and employment issues, and a wide variety of financial topics.

Director of Research Services

Laurie Morrow has more than 20 years of marketing research experience in industries including financial services, automotive, and technology. Her range of research expertise includes the design and implementation of quantitative telephone and online surveys, competitor analysis and tracking and focus group coordination and implementation.

Experienced in all steps of the research process from survey design, telephone interviewing and advanced statistical analysis to project management and authoring an understandable executive report, Laurie approaches every project with the goal of giving managers the clear, insightful answers they seek through straightforward presentation of results. As a result, clients are properly positioned to use the information they gain from research more effectively in their organizations.

Director of Research Services

Cynthia Poole has extensive experience in all facets of the design, management, analysis and reporting of complex quantitative research studies targeting audiences of interest on behalf of public sector clients and commercial organizations. Her range of research and analysis expertise includes competitor analysis and tracking, the identification and interpretation of trends, and brand research. An accomplished methodologist, Cynthia's expertise includes online and telephone survey design and implementation with difficult-to-reach public sector audiences. She has more than fifteen years of experience in research, analysis and financial management in industries including newspaper, cable television, electric utilities and food.

Research Analyst

As a Research Analyst at Market Connections, Inc. Melissa Burgess designs, implements and reports on both qualitative and quantitative research projects, including customer satisfaction, benchmarking and attitude, awareness and usage studies. Melissa is adept at targeting minority and other hard to reach populations, and is trained in interdisciplinary research methodologies.

Melissa earned her M.S. in Sociology, with an Africana Studies concentration, from Virginia Tech. For her M.S. thesis Melissa conducted in-person, in-depth interviews exploring multiracial identity development. Specifically, the research addressed sociological factors that cause variation in the development process and the presence of autonomy is self-asserting one's identity. During graduate school Melissa worked as a part of Virginia Tech's University Development team and as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. As a TA, Melissa was a significant contributor to undergraduate introduction and upper level theory courses, as well as the growth of the American Indian Studies and Women and Gender Studies programs within the Department of Sociology.

Senior Research Analyst

As a research analyst at Market Connections, Nicole Bourke has experience designing and implementing telephone and online surveys with both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. She has worked on several brand awareness studies and satisfaction surveys, in addition to ad and service testing.

Nicole acquired significant research experience while earning her Ph.D. in Health Communication from the University of Connecticut. While at UConn, she held a research assistantship at the Center for Health Communication & Marketing (CHCM), a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Center for Excellence. While at CHCM, Nicole focused on health promotion and media effects on health behaviors.

Research Manager

Maricelly is an accomplished research manager and data analyst professional with over 10 years of experience in survey research methods, questionnaire design, program evaluation, and quantitative data analysis. She also has substantive expertise in marketing, social psychology, and attitude and opinion research. Prior to joining Market Connections, she was a senior research associate for the American Red Cross National Headquarters. Maricelly has also worked as a research/project manager for the University of Missouri and Washington University in St. Louis, MO. In her many roles, she has designed research studies and developed proposals and research strategies for several projects including multi-million dollar federal research grants. She has also spent six years teaching a research methods course at Southern Illinois University. 

Senior Research Analyst

As a senior research analyst at Market Connections, Molly Huie has experience designing and implementing telephone and online surveys with both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. She has experience with a variety of specialized types of market research, including customer satisfaction, benchmarking, perception and image research.

Before joining Market Connections, Molly worked for Scholastic, Inc. as a data analyst in the at-home marketing department where she was responsible for predictive customer behavior modeling and project analysis.

Research Analyst

As a research analyst at Market Connections, Sarah designs and implements telephone and online surveys with both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies and conducts in-depth interviews. She has experience with a variety of specialized types of research, including customer satisfaction, benchmarking, branding and image research, audience research, and program evaluation.

Before joining Market Connections, Sarah worked for PBS as a research associate and served the Brand Management, Member Services, Satellite, Engineering, and Operations departments, as well as the Board of Directors. In this role, she conducted numerous customer satisfaction studies and was the primary analyst of the local market audience data provided daily by Nielsen. She worked extensively with the IT department to design and test the PBS Overnights Database used to house program ratings and perform statistical analyses. She attended Focus Group Moderator training at the Burke Institute and oversaw branding and messaging focus groups conducted by outside vendors.

Business Development Director

Cathy Cromley is a results-oriented sales professional with over 12 years of experience selling products and services in federal and commercial markets. As business development director, she manages and grows Market Connections' relationships with organizations that serve public sector markets. Cathy works closely with Market Connections' expert research team to identify clients' needs, design effective research solutions and deliver valuable results. Clients value Cathy's dedication to ensuring they receive insights and recommendations they can act on.

Government Business Development dIRECTOR

Sieglinde Gooding has over 15 years of experience in Federal business development, marketing, and strategic sales for information technology and communications services. As a former project manager, she has a passion for providing clients actionable results and insights that enable improved business performance. Sieglinde joined Market Connections to provide public sector clients with solutions that influence productivity and profitability. She is known for her focus on providing clients with informed answers to their business needs and supporting agencies throughout the procurement process.

Executive Assistant and Office Manager

Lisa Howard is the Executive Assistant to the President & CEO of Market Connections. In addition to managing the internal and external schedule of Market Connections' President and CEO, Lisa provides essential administrative support to the Market Connections team. She arranges complex and detailed travel plans, supports marketing activities, keeps the office running smoothly, and maintains all equipment and software. Lisa ensures a productive work environment by addressing office issues immediately and making sure the Market Connections team has fun.

Manager of Accounting and Proposals

Robin Owens enjoys the dual role of managing all accounting functions for Market Connections and writing new business proposals. She excels at communicating the benefits of Market Connections' research services to government contractor and commercial research clients. Robin was instrumental in Market Connections obtaining a GSA Schedule in 2008 and for the company's certification as a Woman Owned Small Business.

Robin has 15 years of experience in business administration including finance, contract administration, sales, marketing, and office management. Prior to joining Market Connections, she worked as the Senior Administrator for a construction management firm and as the International Sales and Marketing Administrator for a manufacturing company.

Marketing Director

Monica Mayk Parham directs marketing and client outreach activities for Market Connections, overseeing promotional communications, public relations, events, content development, online and e-mail marketing. Monica's expertise includes event management, branding, creative direction, and project management. She serves as editor of Market Connections' monthly eNewsletter, Research IT, manages the company's social media presence, and maintains the Market Connections blog.

As the driving force behind Market Connections' rebranding in 2011, Monica managed the development of the company's new visual identity, website, and client project materials. She has also been instrumental in developing and sharing influential reports, such as the 2011 Social Media Study, 2011 Federal Media and Marketing Study, 2011 Open Source study, and 2010 Federal Community Social Media Study.

Marketing and Research Intern

Kate Zimmerman has worked with Market Connections for three years as an intern during her summer and winter breaks. Kate supports the research team with both qualitative and quantitative research projects, assisting with list building, company and competitor research, contract profiles and presentation development. Kate also works closely with the marketing director on promotional campaigns, event planning, direct mail and email, graphic design projects and development of content for the Market Connections website and blog.

Currently in her fourth year at the University of Virginia, Kate will graduate in May 2012 with a B.A. in Government. Following graduation, Kate plans to continue her career in marketing and market research.