Dr. Edward T. Rincón, President, has primary responsibility for research design and statistical analysis. He is a research psychologist with a B.S. in Psychology from Southern Methodist University; and an M.A. in School Psychology and Ph.D. in Psychological Quantitative Methods from The University of Texas at Austin. He also received a Master’s Certificate in Geographic Information Systems from The University of Texas at Dallas. He has 45 years of experience working in research organizations, and has conducted numerous studies of general population and multicultural consumers in major U.S. markets. Dr. Rincón has provided expert witness testimony on various issues and addressed key topics on radio, television, newspapers and various public forums. Dr. Rincón has taught Mass Communications Research at The University of North Texas – Denton; Statistics, Hispanic Marketing, Survey Research Methods, and Methods of Research in Public Relations at Southern Methodist University;  Survey Analysis at The University of Texas at Dallas; and currently teaches Multicultural Research Methods at The University of Texas at Arlington School of Business. Dr. Rincon is an Associate with the SMU Tower Center for Political Studies and a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR).

Lupita C. Rincon, Vice President, has primary responsibility for account management and operations. During her 25 years with Rincón & Associates, LLC, Ms. Rincón has accumulated significant expertise in assuring that all operational aspects of the research projects are conducted with the highest standards. Once a project begins, Ms. Rincón ensures that all departments are coordinated and on-schedule, including the focus group unit, telephone interviewing center, and data processing area. Ms. Rincón also manages all accounts and related financial matters to ensure the congruence between services rendered and billed. Her 20 years of corporate experience in information technology and personnel training is a significant factor in assuring the overall integrity of the research process.

Surveys that require complex sample designs and weighting are easily accommodated by our sampling statistician, Dr. Bodhini Jarasuriya, who received her advanced training in survey sampling at Texas A & M University. Her experience includes large-scale government surveys as well as commercial projects.

Depending upon the project needs, Rincón & Associates, LLC will ensure that the best talent is available to facilitate the successful completion of a project. Our cadre of professional associates includes moderators who are Hispanic, African-American or Asian, and translators proficient in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and other languages.  Following is a description of key members of our multicultural team:

Justin Rudelson, Ph.D., Director of Asian Consulting Division.:  Dr. Rudelson is a Psychological Anthropologist and Chinese language expert who earned his B.A. in Asian Studies from Dartmouth College, and his master’s and doctorate degrees in Anthropology from Harvard University focused on China’s Silk Road region.  He is currently an Adjunct Professor at SMU, formerly taught Chinese language and Asian Studies at Dartmouth College, and has taught at Tulane, Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing Normal University, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.  He has provided cultural and strategic analysis to help businesses and organizations better interact, engage and innovate in the United States and in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Central Asia, and Israel. He has envisioned and implemented projects in business, health, education, and agricultural development.  Dr. Rudelson has command of such languages as Mandarin, Cantonese, Uyghur, Japanese, Russian, and Hebrew.  He also has a working knowledge of French, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Kazakh, Uzbek, Farsi, Urdu, and Arabic.

Wenyu Zhao, MBA, Chinese Moderator:  Wenyu earned her MBA from Brandeis University International Business School in 2006. She is a native of China and proficient in Mandarin and English. In her professional experience, she has worked as a marketing manager and market researcher for sales and manufacturing companies in the U.S. and China. She is responsible for both qualitative and quantitative studies with Chinese consumers.

Ian Bui, MS, Vietnamese Research Analyst: Ian earned a B.S. in Computer Science from Louisiana State University, and minored in Economics and English.  This year, he is completing an M.S. in Systems Engineering and Management with a focus on marketing and innovation. Ian provides linguistic expertise to organizations that target Vietnamese consumers, and works closely with market research and product innovation teams in technology environments. He is a native Vietnamese speaker, born in Saigon, and has translated many literary works from English to Vietnamese. Ian also has extensive experience with Vietnamese media — serving as a regular contributor to Tre Magazine in the DFW area, and hosting the first Vietnamese radio program in Dallas. He is frequently involved in Vietnamese community, youth and civic organizations.

Lisa Gaines McDonald, MBA, African American Moderator and Marketing: Lisa has conducted qualitative research since 1994. Her specialty has been in the areas of communications and messaging testing, consumer package goods, social marketing, healthcare, arts, and new products and services. Over her career she has worked with a broad range of respondents including African Americans, women, the elderly, public officials, tweens, teens, medical professionals and business owners. Prior to moderating Lisa McDonald worked fifteen years in both consumer and health care marketing for such notable companies as General Mills, Inc., The University of Minnesota Hospital and Clinic, Avery Label, Eli Lilly and Company, and TomTec Medical Imaging Systems, Inc.

Our supervisors are bilingual and have many years of experience monitoring research studies according to client specifications. Supervisors closely monitor the interviewers, manage the distribution of random samples, and oversee the coding and editing process.

All interviewers at Rincón & Associates, LLC are bilingual (English and Spanish), while a selected group of interviewers are trained to conduct interviews in such Asian languages as Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. All interviewers are required to take both general and project specific training classes. Interviewers are trained to conduct different types of interviews, including at-home, store intercepts, in-depth, and telephone surveys.