Compass Staff
Mihaela “Ina” Cernusca, MBA, is the project director for ND Compass and a research specialist within the Center for Social Research located at North Dakota State University (NDSU). In her role as director, she leads the design and operation of the ND Compass project, in addition, she strives to increase awareness and understanding of ND Compass and ensure the project’s sustainability. With extensive experience in market and social research, she has participated in many projects that involved quantitative and qualitative research, grant writing, project management, and outreach/extension activities. Ina earned her MBA from the University of Missouri Columbia and worked as a marketing research specialist with the Center for Agroforestry at the University of Missouri.
Md Rakibul Hasan Khan,MA, is a Research Specialist and Data Analyst. Rakib has a master’s degree in business analytics, a solid foundation in computer engineering, and over a decade of experience in data management and analysis, data modeling, and interactive dashboard design. Rakib is responsible for the design of complex dashboards and other data visualizations with the goal to enhance data accessibility and usability, empowering communities to track progress and set goals for improving quality of life.
Kendra Erickson-Dockter, MA is a research specialist. Currently, Kendra has a part-time appointment with the Center and provides support to various projects. Kendra led North Dakota Compass as the project director, from 2013 to 2019.
Jerry Dogbey-Gakpetor, PhD. Jerry's background is in statistics. In his role, Jerry focuses on efficient and effective means to extract data from the Center's sources for timely updates. He writes R scripts to automate the extraction and restructuring data making them dashboard user friendly.Jerry is also involved in other projects where he puts to use his statistical knowledge and model building skills. Jerry earned his Ph.D. in Statistics from North Dakota State University. Prior to joining the Center, Jerry was a Senior Data Scientist at American Express.
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North Dakota Compass employs a number of students on an on-going basis, providing research assistant positions for graduate students. The full-time staff provides mentoring to the students and enjoys contributing to their hands-on learning experience, while simultaneously benefiting from their contributions to the project’s efforts.
Center for Social Research
North Dakota State University
Compass created by:
Wilder Research
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