About

ARI has served non-profits and associations exclusively since 1984

Founded in 1984 by Michael S. Sherman, Association Research, Inc., (ARI) develops and produces surveys, statistics, and economic research exclusively for nonprofit trade and professional associations, charitable organizations, and foundations. Since that time, we have consulted with and served hundreds of associations, many on a recurring basis. The long-term partnerships we enjoy with many of our clients exemplifies our commitment to them and their organizations as well as the trust they have placed in ARI’s capabilities.

ARI's primary product is customized survey research. As a small company, we are able to provide this personalized service. Additionally, we have a long-standing and dedicated staff who have many years of experience working exclusively with association staff. Our smaller size allows us to be more flexible, and we take pride in completing our projects on time and within our clients’ budgets.

Furthermore, ARI can manage your entire survey project or only the parts that you need to outsource. As a third-party fiduciary, the confidentiality we offer association members encourages them to reveal their true thoughts or feelings or to share proprietary data.

Our services include consulting and survey design; survey administration; data collection; and statistical tabulation, analysis, and reporting. To gather the data we need, we utilize online and mail surveys, focus groups (online and in-person), and personal interviews. ARI’s specialties are in conducting member needs/satisfaction surveys, meeting evaluations, compensation & benefits surveys, benchmarking surveys, industry profiles, and business trends/conditions.

Our Philosophy

ARI's philosophy is simple—support the association membership and help the association’s professional staff achieve their goals. We consistently deliver strong insights for our clients that position them as industry leaders, and we provide the data needed to ensure their success. Our reputation for customized service is grounded in this firm commitment.

ARI is unique because we restrict our clientele exclusively to non-profits and associations; we do not work for for-profit companies or offer consulting and research services to members of any of our non-profit clients—a distinct confidentiality safeguard. Our third-party status is often used when promoting survey participation as respondents, in general, feel more comfortable completing a survey if they know that a third party is fielding and analyzing the data.

ARI is a member in good standing of Insights Association, a marketing research & analytics association inspired by the Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO) and the Marketing Research Association (MRA) that represents commercial survey research companies. One of the organization’s principal objectives is to protect the public's rights and privacy by requiring a commitment to its “Code of Standards.”

ARI Staff

ARI’s team has more than 100 years of combined research experience, using best practices to deliver strong insights for our clients and position them as industry leaders.

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

President

Megan Kirkegaard

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Working directly alongside ARI’s founder Michael Sherman since 1988 and serving as his vice president for 15 years, Megan became president of ARI in March 2011. Along with overseeing ARI’s operations and managing many of ARI's ongoing research projects, Megan is responsible for setting up and administering ARI’s Web-based (online) surveys and collaborating with association committees and staff to design and set up survey programs and operating procedures required for reliable, timely survey reports. She holds a B.A. from the University of Maryland.

Vice President

Mike Egart

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Employed by ARI since 1990, Mike currently serves as vice president, working closely with association staff and members to manage projects, collect data, and publish timely research reports. Mike, whose area of expertise lies in periodic business surveys and reports provides consult to staff and statistics committees for a number of our association clients. Mike interacts frequently with clients’ members working to review, validate, and confirm data submissions. He is typically the point of contact for questions about the reports generated and distributed to members. Mike previously served ARI as a project manager and senior project manager before being named vice president in 2011.

Vice President of Economic Research

Ashraf Abdul-Mohsen, Ph.D.

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Ashraf has been with ARI since 2011 and holds a Ph.D. in Environmental and Resource Economics from Ohio State University. He has taught courses in environmental economics and finance and held a post-doctoral position at the EPA. Prior to his time with ARI he also conducted survey research, including design, pre-testing, implementation and analysis. While Ashraf is involved in many of our projects, he is also in charge of producing periodic forecasts for client industries as well as spearheading financial operations surveys.

Editor, Special Projects

Maureen Martin

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Maureen Martin, who holds a degree in communications/public relations from Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College), has been employed by ARI since 2002. Her responsibilities include collaborating on research projects; assisting in the writing, editing, and layout of surveys and reports; helping with data analysis and verification; and serving as project lead for one of ARI’s largest annual projects.

Associates

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

Associate

Joy Levin

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As the owner and president of Allium Research and Analytics, Joy works with ARI on projects providing assistance with research design, data interpretation and analysis; report and results presentation.

Joy received her B.A. cum laude from Brandeis University and her M.B.A. with High Honors from Boston University, where she was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma, the international business academic honor society. Joy has been partnering with ARI on research projects since 2006.

Associate

Nathaniel (Nat) Cooper

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