Speakers

We’re excited about the extensive lineup of industry leaders offering their insights into a changing marketing research landscape at this year’s QRCA Annual Conference.


Each speaker brings a unique perspective, providing valuable knowledge on the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities in qualitative research.

  • David Bauer

    David has spent over twenty-five years exploring human perceptions, behaviors and their implications for business strategy. He strives to understand how both rational and emotional elements factor into decision making. Based on this approach, he founded Hemispheres.

  • Jessica Broome

    Jessica Broome founded Southpaw Insights in 2008 to conduct meaningful, human-centered research that helps organizations understand what people think, feel, and do. She earned a PhD in Survey Methodology from the University of Michigan.

  • Kathy Doyle

    Kathy is currently Principal of QualAdvisor, a consultancy that works with clients who would like to use customer insights to help fuel business growth, but do not have the “know how”, budget or staffing to hire a full-service research firm.

  • John Freiburger

    John is the founder and managing partner of Partners Wealth Management, a Certified Financial Planner™(CFP®) with more than 20 years' experience in wealth management. He is the co-author of the book, Strictly Business: Planning Strategies for Privately Owned Businesses.

  • Andy Garlikov

    I help companies grow by turning customer insight and relationships into momentum. Over the years I’ve built programs that strengthened advocacy, deepened executive engagement, and surfaced insights that shape product, marketing, and strategy decisions.

  • Norman Kallen

    As an experienced business attorney, my practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions for middle and lower middle market companies. I advise clients on a broad range of transactional matters. I work closely with startups and closely held businesses across all stages.

  • Abby Leafe

    Abby Leafe has been an independent qualitative researcher for over 15 years, and has been pricing qualitative projects for more than two decades. A past president of QRCA, she loves a good spreadsheet more than you might expect for a quallie.

  • Priscilla McKinney

    Priscilla McKinney is the CEO and Momma Bird at Little Bird Marketing, home of SOAR™ and Revenue Sprints, proprietary content processes designed to create sustainable revenue generation for busy leaders so they can have confidence in the growth of their company.

  • Katrina Noelle

    Katrina Noelle founded KNow Research—a certified, woman-owned, female-forward insights consultancy and California Certified Green Business—in 2003, and co-founded Scoot Insights, a trademarked decision-making methodology in 2015.

  • Dr. Joseph B. Paperman

    Joe has over 40 years of experience in Finance and Accounting working in industry, nonprofit, government and academia. Since retiring from full-time work he has been a bookkeeping and financial advisor that serves non-profits and small businesses.

  • Maria Rosa Puras

  • Brittany Stalsburg

    Brittany L. Stalsburg, PhD, founded BLS Research & Consulting in 2016 after several years directing market research and consulting engagements for two prominent national consulting firms (Lake Research Partners and Whitman Insight Strategies).

  • Brianna Sylver

    Brianna Sylver is a nationally recognized innovation strategist who helps Fortune 500 organizations and city governments unlock growth, align teams, and lead through complexity. She is the founder and president of Sylver Consulting, a global research and strategy firm.

  • Marilyn Gordon Weiss

    Marilyn Gordon Weiss has built her career around amplifying important voices—from her early days as an ICU nurse advocating as the Voice of the Patient to her training at General Mills representing the Voice of the Consumer.

  • Jay Zaltzman

    Jay Zaltzman has been conducting qualitative research for over twenty years focusing on how people make decisions. He also provides business coaching, helping small business people grow their businesses. He is an active member of the QRCA and a past president.

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