Brenden Sommerhalder

vice president,
client development & innovation

Brenden is a marketing and communications insights hunter. With over 15 years of experience in rigorous quantitative and qualitative research into peoples’ behaviours and ...more
Brenden is a marketing and communications insights hunter. With over 15 years of experience in rigorous quantitative and qualitative research into peoples’ behaviours and attitudes with an eye to ‘where the rubber hits the road’, Brenden brings together his expertise in research and strategic communications to lead research excellence and innovation at MQO. Across his time with market research and advertising agencies, Brenden has worked with clients across public, private, and not-for-profit sectors in myriad industries such as telecommunications, utilities, consumer packaged goods, hospitality, retail, pharmaceuticals, and media. Brenden’s specialties include applied research and advanced analytics, executive leadership, strategic planning, large-scale facilitation, training, brand development, retail analytics, marketing, digital integration, complex topics, policy, and PR.

David Head

vice president,
research operations

David is involved in every stage of the research process from planning and designing questionnaires to report writing and overall project management. He works ...more
David is involved in every stage of the research process from planning and designing questionnaires to report writing and overall project management. He works in direct contact with the Field Operations and Data Analysis Unit to coordinate recruitment and data collection for clients. David has over seven years of experience in market and tourism research and also has graduate-level education in research design and statistical analysis through completion of a Masters Degree in Psychology from Memorial University.

Allison Mullaly

senior director,
policy and evaluation

Allison is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in project management, research, evaluation, analysis, and reporting. She specializes in program evaluation, ...more
Allison is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in project management, research, evaluation, analysis, and reporting. She specializes in program evaluation, industry analyses, and labour market research and regularly works with provincial government clients, educational institutions, non-profits, and private businesses. Allison’s approach is to work with clients to gain an understanding of what they need to know and design a project centered on gathering that key intel to make insightful and impactful decisions.

As a senior consultant, she routinely manages complex projects that involve a combination of secondary and primary research, detailed analysis, and powerful insights and recommendations for clients. Much of her work focuses on needs assessment, whether that be part of a formal evaluation or in the broader context of a research initiative. Allison uses her research and evaluation skillset to help clients by gathering intelligence to improve programs, take advantage of growth opportunities, and make better decisions.

Highlights of Allison’s experience include:

 Over 30 labour market and industry analyses for post-secondary institutions in Atlantic Canada across a wide variety of industries as part of program reviews or needs assessment studies.
 Review of Jobs for Youth program for the Government of Prince Edward Island to assess program processes and provide recommendations for improving program delivery and assessing performance.
 Research, consultation, and strategy work such as the Aquaculture Recruitment and Retention Strategy for the Newfoundland and Labrador Aquaculture Industry Association (NAIA).
 Market intelligence for Perennia Food & Agriculture Inc. to assess current state, projected need, and identify any gaps and opportunities to deliver professional support services in key sectors.

Allison is a Credentialed Evaluator (CE) and President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Chapter of the Canadian Evaluation Society. The CE is a professional designation provided by the Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) to evaluators who have demonstrated that they have the skills, knowledge, and experience identified by the CES as necessary for a competent evaluator. Becoming a Credentialed Evaluator (CE) is a rigorous process; there are only six evaluators in NL with the CE designation and less than 50 across Atlantic Canada.

Allison also has a Bachelor of Science from Memorial University of Newfoundland and a Master of Science from the University of Alberta, both in Psychology. She is the co-author of four academic papers in cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics.

Kasey Connely

director client services

Kasey Connely has over 10 years of experience in client service-oriented roles, working with everyone from government agencies & departments in the public sector ...more
Kasey Connely has over 10 years of experience in client service-oriented roles, working with everyone from government agencies & departments in the public sector to non-profit groups to one-on-one with customers in the food & beverage sector. Her progressive experience in roles focused on project management and client service have earned her a reputation for building strong stakeholder relationships and for being a client-focused communicator. She also brings MQO clients a wealth of experience across brand management, strategy, and integrated marketing development, execution, and management.

Kouakou Adou, Ph.D.

research manager

Dr. Adou has more than seven years of experience conducting and leading rigorous research. He coordinated several research projects from start to finish including, ...more
Dr. Adou has more than seven years of experience conducting and leading rigorous research. He coordinated several research projects from start to finish including, proposal development, data collection, entry, and analysis. Dr. Adou published several peer-reviewed articles and blog articles.

He has expertise in various research methods such as surveys, experiments, econometrics, multi-method research, interviews, and focus groups. At MQO, Dr. Adou works on designing surveys for clients, report preparations, and data interpretation. He also leads research projects, focus groups recruitment, and assists the Senior Director of Research in many tasks to meet clients’ research needs.

Dr. Adou holds a doctorate degree in Political Science with specializations in Research Methods, Political Economy, and Public Policy. He possesses strong analytical, research, and managerial skills. Knowledge of program evaluation, project management, and policy analysis. He taught several undergraduate political science courses, including, research methods.

Tracy Gulliver

research consultant

Tracy is a graduate of Memorial University with a Master’s degree in Applied Psychological Science. She has experience in applied research and program evaluation ...more
Tracy is a graduate of Memorial University with a Master’s degree in Applied Psychological Science. She has experience in applied research and program evaluation techniques, including interview and survey questionnaire development, logic model and evaluation framework design, and the analysis and interpretation of both qualitative and quantitative data. Throughout her academic and research career, Tracy has been involved in a variety of research projects in the public health and education sphere as well as in the private sector. She is an active standing member of the Canadian Evaluation Society – NL Chapter and serves as Director at Large on the CES-NL executive council. Tracy is committed to providing exceptional client service and draws on her background in social psychology to deliver a unique lens to consulting and market research.

May Sahebi

research consultant

As a Research Consultant at MQO Research, May is responsible for the preparation of reports and proposals, conducting best-practices assessments, data collection through the ...more
As a Research Consultant at MQO Research, May is responsible for the preparation of reports and proposals, conducting best-practices assessments, data collection through the use of surveys, key-informant interviews, and focus groups, and the interpretation of research results.

Besides May immense enthusiasm and dedication to contributing to employees and organizations’ efficiency, her master’s training as an organizational psychologist has enabled her to build a strong foundations in the areas of workplace wellness, employee communication, performance appraisals, culture development, hiring process, and employees training and development.

May also holds a master’s in career counseling. Her graduate studies helped her to develop critical research skills like quantitative analysis, psychological measure development, and building actionable reports. May has been involved in a number of burnout research projects which have given her a better understanding of the importance of stress recovery planning, work-life balance, conflict resolution strategies and effective communications, all of which are essential to promoting workplace wellness. Throughout her career, May have played different roles including burnout coach, career counselor, elementary teacher, psychological tutor, and researcher.

Having a combination of coaching, research, and teaching skills allows May to analyze needs efficiently, set realistic goals, communicate effectively with different populations, and take initiative to offer evidence-based solutions while valuing client empowerment.

Eduardo Silva

research assistant

Eduardo graduated from Memorial University with a master’s degree in Political Science. Throughout his career, he has developed the skills required to analyze, interpret, ...more
Eduardo graduated from Memorial University with a master’s degree in Political Science. Throughout his career, he has developed the skills required to analyze, interpret, and present quantitative and qualitative data. He is also familiar with conducting interviews, performing quality checks and designing surveys. At MQO, Eduardo has worked in public opinion polls, concept testing, policy research, member satisfaction and other market research projects on various topics such as immigration, energy, education, and political behaviour. Eduardo has also carried out research projects in an academic setting for over three years and has expertise in environmental policies and sustainable development topics. Eduardo’s strength lies in his diverse background; having worked with start-ups, governments, and large corporations in different countries, he is ready to support and provide insights to research across a variety of industries.

Jonathan Keats

senior data analyst

At MQO, Jonathan is primarily responsible for ensuring data quality standards and conducting advanced statistical analysis. Jonathan has an extensive background in statistics, and ...more
At MQO, Jonathan is primarily responsible for ensuring data quality standards and conducting advanced statistical analysis. Jonathan has an extensive background in statistics, and is responsible for sample management of client data, developing weighting systems, and conducting statistical analysis. He is highly skilled in using SPSS for statistical analysis, and his experience ranges from simple statistics to complex analytical techniques (e.g., multiple regression; factor analysis), including the development of customer service models for MQO major clients. Jonathan plays an integral role in the development of sampling and analysis plans. Jonathan graduated from Memorial University with a Bachelor of Science (Major in Statistics).

Colin Andrews

data manager/analyst

As a Data Analyst at MQO, Colin works with members of the research team performing data analysis, data mining and database management tasks for ...more
As a Data Analyst at MQO, Colin works with members of the research team performing data analysis, data mining and database management tasks for a variety of projects. Analysis ranges from running basic descriptive statistics such as frequencies to performing segmentation analyses. Colin has extensive experience with Microsoft Office applications and is fluent in a variety of statistical packages including SPSS Data Builder, SPSS for Windows, Minitab, SAS, XLISP-STAT (Arc) and Voxco CATI/CAWI software. Colin has a Bachelor of Science (Statistics) from Memorial University.

Rachel Harding

field manager