Executive Team

Founder, President and CEO

Stephen S. Birnkrant, J.D., LL.M., is the founder of Amplitude Research, Inc. and expert in the field of market research. He was previously a shareholder at a large law firm where he practiced in the areas of business law, tax law, and HR related matters. Birnkrant also has extensive experience in market analytics and statistics as a registered trader/floor market maker in equity options. He is a certified HTML programmer, skilled in C++ programming, and an expert in survey engine design and load testing of web-based applications. He has published numerous articles on technology and market research subjects, and is frequently quoted in market research studies, particularly in the field of technology. Birnkrant is responsible for the overall design of Amplitude's technology programs and oversees its business operations in the areas of market research, survey sample, alumni surveys, and proxy tabulations.

Senior Consultant

Thomas J. Callahan, Ph.D., is a tenured associate professor in the College of Business at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. He has published numerous articles in the areas of decision-making, performance appraisal, compensation, buyer-supplier relationships, and data quality. In the past three years, he has conducted surveys for a big three auto assembler, a regional water and sewage system, and a federal agency, all in conjunction with the College of Businesses' iLABS. He has extensive experience in survey design, survey construction, data analyses, and data interpretation. Dr. Callahan has also been the recipient of two government research grants to identify trends among international business partners. His work has appeared in journals such as Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Making Processes, the Journal of Supply Chain Management, the International Journal of Information Quality, the Journal of Small Business Management, and Public Personnel Management. He received the Scholarly Achievement Award in 1989 from the Academy of Management and has been a member of Amplitude's Board of Directors since 2002. Dr. Callahan is available to provide survey consulting and research services for all types of quantitative research studies.

Director of Client Services

Frann L. Tillman, M.S., is Amplitude's Director of Client Services in charge of questionnaire deployment, distribution of email invitations, list management, survey administration, proxy tabulations, and all mail and online data collection activities. Her responsibilities include overall management of Amplitude's staff of project managers, data entry specialists, and verbatim coders. Tillman has a Masters degree in accounting and over 10 years of experience in survey administration and proxy tabulation services. She previously worked as a certified public accountant and assistant controller at a large real estate development company and has been a member of Amplitude's Board of Directors since 2002.

Senior Statistician

Craig Belanger, M.A., has nearly two decades of experience in all phases of quantitative marketing research and customer/employee studies, with particular emphasis on complex statistical analysis, multivariate analysis, conjoint/choice modeling, and segmentation analysis. Belanger is an expert in study design, questionnaire development, and creating research reports customized for decision-makers. He has served clients in a variety of industries including automotive, entertainment, financial services, food products, health care, information services, non-profit organizations, technology, restaurants, retail, travel, utilities, and others. Belanger's prior experience includes working as a Quantitative Research Director for Nordhaus Research and as a Research Analyst for Maritz Marketing Research. Belanger has a B.S. in Mathematics, an M.A. in Economics, and an M.A. in Mathematical Statistics.

Director of Field Research

Larry Strange, AICP, specializes in intercept surveys in general, as well as community and urban planning surveys, travel behavior surveys, and public transportation studies. He has over 20 years of experience in survey research, and has completed 100's of projects in Florida and throughout the Midwest. Strange is recognized for his innovative market research and public involvement methodologies. Past projects include automobile, ship and freight intercepts, as well as mail, online and phone surveys for public sector clients such as cities, states, and transit systems. Strange's prior experience includes working as Technical Vice President of Corradino Group. He is available to design and administer all types of intercept surveys, as well provide survey consulting and research services for community surveys, travel surveys, and public transportation studies.

Senior Consultant, Job Satisfaction Research

William Balzer, Ph.D., is a professor of I-O psychology and dean of BGSU Firelands College. He serves as co-director of the Job Satisfaction Research Team, and has been actively involved in ongoing efforts to monitor and improve the psychometric properties of the JDI and JIG measures of job satisfaction as well as maintain updated national norms. Balzer has 25 years of experience in the area of job attitudes, and has published over 40 articles or chapters on work performance, job attitudes, decision making, and other workplace topics. Balzer has consulted with many profit and non-profit organizations including Owens-Illinois, Citibank, National Broadcasting Company, Pepsico Incorporated, Merrill Lynch & Company, Procter & Gamble, and the Pennsylvania State Police. He is an Ohio-licensed psychologist.

Director of Syndicated Research, Green Technology

Ralph Cohen has over 20 years of experience in market, geopolitical and competitive intelligence. Cohen provides Amplitude's clients with research, advisory and strategic planning services in such areas as green IT, sustainability and carbon emissions management. In addition to having served as an environmental industry analyst and consultant, he has been manager of market and competitive intelligence for e-commerce software at IBM and a consulting competitive intelligence analyst for Fuld & Company. He also founded, and directed, the Eastern Europe Telecommunications Strategies Program for Gartner Group, Inc., which provided research, advisory and strategic planning services. Cohen earned a B.S. in biology and an M.B.A. in finance and marketing, and is a member of the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals.

Senior Research Consultant

Jonny A. Morell, Ph.D., is an organizational psychologist with long experience in survey construction, interviewing, focus groups, observational studies, and integrating data from across multiple sources. Jonny has an international reputation in the field of program evaluation and organizational change. He is the editor of the journal Evaluation and Program Planning, has published many articles, and is the author of two books in the field. (The latest is Evaluation in the Face of Uncertainty: Anticipating Surprise and Responding to the Inevitable, Guilford Press, 2010.) A core principle guiding Jonny's work is that theory, method, and data must be organized to serve decision makers' practical interests. His career spans academics, business, and consulting, where he has gained extensive experience in commercial and government settings. Jonny's primary professional affiliation is the American Evaluation Association, where he is a founding member of two of their special interest groups (Business and Industry, and Systems), and a recipient of the Association's Marcus Ingle Distinguished Service Award. His Ph.D. in Psychology is from Northwestern University.

Senior Developer

Raghav Tandon, M.S., has over six years of experience in survey engine installation and development, as well as real-time reporting solutions. He is highly skilled in Java and C programming, and is also an expert in distributed networks. Tandon's prior work experience includes two years of employment at Bell Laboratories as a member of its technical staff, with work on a wide range of projects including LAN management software. His responsibilities include ongoing development and technical support of Amplitude's proprietary survey engine; management and supervision of IT development staff; and large volume data processing projects. Tandon has a Masters of Science degree in Computer Engineering.

Senior Oracle DBA

Milan Nikolic has over 11 years of IT experience in database technology; client/server and web based systems design; database integration and systems administration; software for automated systems; and systems for pattern recognition. He has also been heavily involved in Oracle database administration and performance tuning since 1995. Nikolic's responsibilities include ongoing Oracle database support for Amplitude's survey engine, custom database projects, performance tuning, and backup administration. Nikolic has a B.S. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering.