Chris McKenna’s passion for research has improved the operation and effectiveness of utility companies, prisons, physicians’ societies and realtors’ associations. He has helped clients demonstrate the absence of discrimination as well as better understand their customers and non-customers. As a principal, the expertise he brings to the Michael Young Strategic Research team blends his understanding of mathematics with organizational and policy issues to create a rich and unique depth of knowledge to assist clients solve problems and understand complex issues.

Some of the organizations that have benefited from his applied research include:
• National Institute of Justice
• Pennsylvania Departments of Transportation, Health, Welfare, Labor & Industry, Education
• Office of the Attorney General
• West Virginia-American Water Company
• Lancaster Association Of Realtors
• Hospitals and health systems
• Community Action Association of Pennsylvania
• Pennsylvania-American Water Company
• The Patriot News Company
• Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission
• Pennsylvania Dental Association

Here’s how his strategic research benefited his clients:
- A survey of customers of the West Virginia-American Water Company was subsequently incorporated into expert testimony critical to WVA’s rate request hearings.

- A survey and focus group study of members of the Realtors Association supported strategic decision-making for the organization’s leadership.

- A social service agency used intensive interviews with community leaders to provide an “other’s view” of the agency’s image and what it would take to enhance it.

- For an electric utility, a customer survey and community leader interviews provided strong footing for presentations to utility commission re rate request.

- A recently completed evaluation of driver education in Pennsylvania, funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, is being used to make young people better drivers.

Chris was on the faculty of The School of Pubic Affairs at Penn State University in Harrisburg for more than 30 years where he taught the next generation of researchers statistics, research and survey methods, advanced research design, decision models and computer applications in statistics.

He has written and published extensively including creating and writing a textbook for graduate students, “Quantitative Methods for Public Decision Making,” published by McGraw-Hill. He has authored or co-authored numerous publications including a recent social policy study, “Using Publicly Available Data to Identify Potential Discrimination in Residential Mortgage Lending by Pennsylvania Financial Institutions.”

Hershey Main Post Office
Box 526
Hershey, PA 17033-0526

tel: (717) 566-7323
Email: mckenna@michaelyoungresearch.com