Bios | Clients

Senior Analysts

Donna Addkison

Donna recently joined Lake Research Partners as a Senior Analyst following a 15-year career spanning higher education, political consulting, public service, economic and community development in several Southern states. Most recently she served as Chief Development Officer for the City of New Orleans, overseeing the reorganization of economic development, workforce development, housing and neighborhood services, environmental affairs and other offices, property management boards and commissions. Prior to this, she started and managed a successful legal marketing and strategic communications firm.

Additionally she paved the way for the expansion of a community development credit union into New Orleans and led the retooling of economic and community development organizations in Southwest Louisiana. Highlighting her career are numerous victories working with candidates including former Governor Ronnie Musgrove of Mississippi and U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana; the successful passage of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program; the development of a low-cost, high-quality rural housing program for elderly citizens; and the revamping of Mississippi's economic development strategies.

Donna served as an adjunct faculty member for many years, teaching both political science and criminal justice courses. She is known in her field for papers, articles and chapters published on an array of subjects related to political structure and political economics.

Donna holds a B.A. in English and Political Science from Mississippi University for Women, M.A. in Political Science from Mississippi State University and M.S. in Criminal Justice from Troy State University. She is married to Jack C Giovo, Jr., and they have one son, Tres Simmons, a Senior at the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts. In their spare time, Donna and Jack enjoying biking, drag racing, and milder activities including writing and entertaining at home.

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Mark S. Keida

Mark joined Lake Research Partners as a senior analyst on the firm's political team. He has conducted and analyzed surveys for political candidates for political campaigns and candidates at many levels, including Congressional, gubernatorial, statewide, and municipal races. His work during this election cycle includes research and polling for Joe Biden for President, Oxfam, Mike Ciresi for U.S. Senate, the Missouri Foundation for Health, Donna Edwards for Congress, Acorn, Chellie Pingree for Congress, Mike Coleman for Columbus (OH) Mayor, and others.

Prior to joining LRP, Mark was also a researcher at the AFL-CIO's Solidarity Center, where he worked on international trade and labor issues. Mark is a graduate of Miami University (OH) and is a native of Syracuse, NY.

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Martin Lachter

Martin Lachter is a strategic research analyst with over seventeen years of experience in politics and government. He has conducted and analyzed surveys for political candidates at many levels of government from the state legislature to the U.S. Senate in more than a dozen states. His work during the 2006 election cycle includes polling for Tim Walz for Congress in Minnesota, Congressman Ron Kind in Wisconsin, Gary King for Attorney General of New Mexico, and Lynn Peterson for Clackamas County Commissioner in Oregon.

Before joining Lake Research Partners in 2005, he was a research analyst for Kiley and Company. He is also a former campaign coordinator for the New York State Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee, and served as the political director for the Assembly Democratic Caucus of Nevada.

Martin received a BA in Political Science from the University of Arizona, and is currently working toward a master’s degree from Columbia University in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences. A native of Canada, he is proud to be the first member of his family to become a naturalized American citizen.

Caitlin Murphy

Caitlin is a Senior Analyst at Lake Research Partners. She joined the firm in the summer of 2003 and works on a range of research projects focusing on reproductive choice, women's political leadership, women's health, and other social issues. Current clients include Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the White House Project, and the California Breast Cancer Research Program.

Prior to joining LRP, Caitlin worked as a Research Analyst for Belden Russonello & Stewart, where she designed and analyzed survey and focus group research on a range of environmental, education and civil liberties issues. Previously, Caitlin was a Junior Account Executive at Fenton Communications, a DC-based public relations firm. She holds a BA from Bryn Mawr College in Anthropology.

Anita Sharma

Anita Sharma joined Lake Research Partners as a senior analyst in 2006. At LRP, she works on a range of issues, with most recent work focusing on children’s health, education and early childhood development. Her current clients include the Kellogg Foundation, the Center for Summer Learning, the Early Childhood Investment Corporation, and Community Service Society of New York.

Prior to joining LRP, Anita was Assistant Director of the Government Performance Project, a research project funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and now under the Pew Center on the States. While there, she helped oversee the research and reporting for a study of state governments. Anita has also worked as a consultant for the United States Agency for International Development on an evaluation of a local economic development initiative in Livingstone, Zambia.

A native of Connecticut, Anita holds a BA in political science from Georgetown University, with a concentration in comparative government. She completed her masters studies in public policy at New York University.

Daniel N. Spicer

Dan joined Lake Research Partners in 2005, when Decision Research merged with Lake Snell Perry Mermin & Associates. He has served as an analyst on work for the Oregon House and Senate Caucuses, and on numerous education policy projects, and has published research on the politics of abortion.

Prior to joining Decision Research, he taught numerous political science courses at the University of Minnesota and worked as a policy research consultant in Washington, D.C.

Dan, a Minneapolis native, received his undergraduate degree in political science, sociology, and philosophy from Macalester College and his Master of Arts in political science from the University of Minnesota

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