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Lisa Blumerman

Pronouns: She/Her

Senior Vice President & Department Head
Lisa is a national expert in survey and census design, operations, data governance, and strategic communications related to economic and social data programs.

Lisa currently serves as department head and senior vice president of the Economics, Justice & Society department, where she directs many of NORC’s largest surveys, including the General Social Survey, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, and the Survey of Consumer Finances. Prior to joining NORC, she held numerous positions as a senior executive at the U.S. Census Bureau, where she demonstrated extensive survey research and operations experience for the Nation’s premier data collections; led innovation by introducing new methodologies, techniques, and data into demographic, economic, and administrative collections and products; and was integral in the development and implementation of Census Bureau policies and procedures related to data governance and evidence-based decision making. Lisa is a certified project management professional (PMP) and a certified executive leadership coach (ACC).

Lisa is a recognized expert in program management with a particular focus on census design and operations, population estimates, and longitudinal and cross-sectional data collections. She has demonstrated experience in designing and conducting large-scale, national household, establishment, and educational institution surveys; combining administrative data with survey data for policy relevant research; and conducting survey research in areas such as interviewing methods, questionnaire design, and survey automation. She is extremely effective in building client relationships, establishing open and transparent communication, and implementing large scale longitudinal and cross-sectional data collection and evaluation projects. 

While at the Census Bureau, Lisa served as the Associate Director for Decennial Census Programs where she provided executive leadership for three major programs: the 2020 Census, the American Community Survey, and the Geographic Programs. Lisa led the design, research, planning and testing effort for the 2020 Census. During her tenure at the Census Bureau, she served in various senior executive positions including associate director of the Decennial Census Programs; director of the Office of Survey and Census Analytics; director of the Center for Administrative Records Research and Applications; director of the Governments Division; director of the Customer Liaison and Marketing Services Office, and deputy director for the American Community Survey Office.  

Lisa was awarded the 2018 U.S. Department of Commerce Silver Award for Exceptional Federal Service, and in 2017 she was recognized by Forbes magazine as one of twenty-five women leading data and analytics in the U.S. government. Lisa is a recipient of the Arthur S. Flemming Award for outstanding public service and exceptional managerial achievement.

Education

MA

Georgetown University

BA

University of Massachusetts at Amherst

Project Management Professional (PMP)

Project Management Institute

Masters Certificate in Project Management

George Washington University

Associate Certified Coach (ACC)

International Coaching Federation

Executive Certificate in Leadership Coaching

Georgetown University

Honors & Awards

U.S. Department of Commerce Silver Medal Award | 2018

For significant advances in the technical field of cost estimation applied to the 2020 Census Lifecycle Cost Estimate

Top 25 Women in Data and Analytics in the U.S. Government | 2017

Recognized by Forbes Magazine as one of 25 women leading data and analytics in the U.S. Government

U.S. Department of Commerce Bronze Medal Award for Exceptional Federal Service | 2012

For outstanding contributions to the development and implementation of the Employee Time Tracking System

George Washington University’s Arthur S. Flemming Award | 2010

For exceptional managerial achievement, for efforts to modernize and reengineer the Census of Governments

U.S. Department of Commerce Bronze Medal Award for Exceptional Federal Service | 2006

For the creative planning, development, and production of an ACS product that provided a critical assessment of the impact of Hurricane’s Katrina and Rita

U.S. Department of Commerce Silver Medal Award for Exceptional Federal Service | 2002

For the development, planning, and implementation of an innovative research project to evaluate the quality of Census 2000 data

Project Contributions

America’s DataHub Consortium

Demonstrating replicable processes for acquiring and providing secure access to linked data sources

Client:

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics

The General Social Survey

The most rigorous, widely used data on the attitudes, opinions, and behaviors of the American public

Client:

The National Science Foundation

Michigan Contraceptive Access, Research and Evaluation Study

Assessing the economics of contraceptive choice and its long-term impact on women’s lives

Client:

University of Michigan

National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979

One of the nation’s preeminent surveys of labor force participation from teen years to retirement

Client:

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics