The U.S. Census Bureau today announced 10 new members of its National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic and Other Populations and has named Alisú Schoua-Glusberg from Research Support Services Inc. as a member of the committee.

The National Advisory Committee advises the Census Bureau on a wide range of variables that affect the cost, accuracy and implementation of the Census Bureau's programs and surveys, including the once-a-decade census. The committee, which is comprised of 32 members from multiple disciplines, advises the Census Bureau on topics such as housing, children, youth, poverty, privacy, race, ethnicity and sexual-orientation issues.

"The committee has helped us meet emerging challenges the Census Bureau faces in producing high-quality statistics about our diverse nation," said Thomas Mesenbourg, the Census Bureau's acting director. "By helping us better understand a variety of issues that affect statistical measurement, this committee ensures that the Census Bureau continues to provide relevant and timely statistics used by federal, state and local governments as well as business and industry in an increasingly technologically oriented society."

The National Advisory Committee members, who serve at the discretion of the Census Bureau director, are chosen to serve based on their expertise and knowledge of the cultural patterns, issues and/or statistical needs of "hard-to-count" populations. The new members will be seated on Aug. 1.

Schoua-Glusberg is a survey methodologist with almost 30 years of experience researching under-served populations both within and outside of the United States. Her experience crosses racial and ethnic boundaries, focusing on the specific cultural factors that can impede survey or program effectiveness. She completed her Ph.D. in anthropology at Northwestern University. She is considered an expert in cross-cultural qualitative methods in the field of survey methodology. She is also an expert in the field of survey instrument translation methodology and is a member of the European Social Survey translation task group.

Schoua-Glusberg owns and operates a small minority business, Research Support Services Inc., that provides qualitative and quantitative research services to nonprofit, government and corporate clients. She is also the senior director for survey operations at IMPAQ International, where she designs and manages social policy research studies.

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