Researchers

 

The St. Louis Jewish Community Study was conducted by Jewish Policy & Action Research (JPAR). An independent agency that is a strategic alliance between Ukeles Associates, Inc and Social Science Research Solutions, JPAR has extensive experience in conducting Jewish population studies, having conducted 20 previous studies of Jewish communities in the United States, and in providing strategic planning assistance for the Jewish communal world.

JPAR’s researchers include:

Professor Steven M. Cohen, the leading sociologist of modern American Jewry and one of the principal researchers for the St. Louis Community Study. He is research professor of Jewish Social Policy at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and director of the Berman Jewish Policy Archive. He also serves as research director of Synagogue 3000, director of the Florence G. Heller/JCCA Research Center, consultant to the San Francisco Jewish Federation, consultant to Keren Keshet, and consultant to the Jim Joseph Foundation and Hillel. Engaged in Jewish social research for more than 40 years, he is the author, co-author or editor of 12 books and of several hundred social scientific articles and studies. He was awarded the National Jewish Book Award in 2011.

Dr. Jacob B. Ukeles, president of Ukeles Associates, Inc., a New York-based policy research, planning and management consulting firm with clients in the voluntary sector and local government. His firm has completed more than 150 projects in 50 communities and countries, including many Jewish population studies, most recently in Chicago, Baltimore, Cleveland and New York.

Dr. Ron Miller, senior consultant to the Berman Jewish Data Bank at the Jewish Federations of North America. He has had primary responsibility for the fieldwork phase of JPAR’s population surveys, including questionnaire development, supervision of data collection and the production of MicroCase/SPSS data files, data analysis and population estimation. He has been the research director for many of JPAR’s studies, including those in Philadelphia, Denver, Baltimore, and Phoenix.

Dr. David Dutwin, executive vice president and chief methodologist of Social Science Research Solutions and a research scholar of the Institute for Jewish and Community Research. He directs all aspects of sample design, project oversight, questionnaire development and review, weighting, statistical estimation, analysis, and reporting on Jewish Population Surveys. Dr. Dutwin has directed a dozen Jewish population studies and a number of state health interview studies and dozens of dual-frame telephone surveys, ranging from polling for ABC News to long-term high response rate studies for academic institutions.

Dr. Susan Sherr has been directing survey projects for SSRS for seven years. The majority of this work has involved oversight of large, complex studies aimed at determining health insurance status in various states and localities as well as a range of studies that focus on a variety of other populations and subject areas. Her responsibilities include questionnaire design and review, sample management, and data analysis. Dr. Sherr also serves an administrative role at SSRS focused on staff professional development. Dr. Sherr is currently the president of the Pennsylvania/New Jersey Chapter of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (PANJAAPOR).