New Unit Chief of the Statistical Methods Unit, Melissa Cidade

BJS proudly announces Melissa A. Cidade, PhD, as the newest member of its leadership team. As Chief of the Statistical Methods Unit, a newly created branch of the Statistical Programs Division, Melissa will oversee confidentiality and data privacy efforts; data quality standards; and methodological efficiencies and innovations for the agency. Melissa brings 20 years of survey research experience to this role. She most recently served as a principal methodologist for the U.S. Census Bureau's Economic Directorate, leading the research developing the largest annual economic survey in the United States. Her areas of expertise include multimethod piloting, survey experimental design, and operationalization of complex social phenomenon into reliable survey questions. She is a founding member of the Establishment Survey Affinity Group for the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), and currently serves as the Program Chair for the local chapter, DC-AAPOR. She holds a PhD from the Department of Sociology at George Mason University.