An Interview with Sherrie S. Aitken, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Sherrie S. Aitken is a recognized leader in the government contract industry. Since founding CSR in 1978, she has become known for her extensive work in the government policy arena. She has served as the project director or a senior advisor on more than 75 projects to evaluate health and human service programs, to build databases that support policy decisions, and to oversee the development of innovative approaches to marketing and communication of key government messages.
In building CSR, Dr. Aitken combined a solid scientific background with a savvy business sense. Her principles continue to drive CSR today. And her values remain at the heart of our corporation—listen to the client, respond promptly to all requests, and use innovative, well-tested methods for every project we undertake. We sat down with Dr. Aitken and asked her about her work, about CSR, and about its special niche in the consulting marketplace. Her answers show clearly CSR’s philosophy toward our work and what sets us apart from other firms in our industry.
Question: Dr. Aitken, how long have you worked in the consulting industry?
Dr. Aitken: I began my career working with the U.S. House of Representatives in 1965, followed by a year consulting assignment with the U.S. Office of Civil Rights. I then joined the ranks of a small consulting firm that conducted evaluation research in the child and family support area. For 9 years, I worked around the country conducting site visits and field research to support those studies. In 1978, I took that experience with me to open the doors of CSR, Incorporated.
Question: Why did you form CSR, Incorporated?
Dr. Aitken: After spending more than a decade in and around government, I saw the need for an organization that could work side-by-side with government agencies to help them develop viable solutions to meet their own legislative and regulatory mandates. By that time, I had worked with a wide range of government-funded programs serving children; youth; the unemployed; educators; personnel on the frontlines of drug and alcohol treatment and prevention; social workers in the child welfare system; and program operators and planners who were addressing the needs of our growing elderly population. I saw the nexus of social and health issues that all of these programs were facing. I wanted to develop an organization that could introduce strong methodological solutions in a variety of program settings to support research that would be both defensible and practical.
Question: You actually began your career as a scientist. And, in fact, you’ve done a lot of work in the field, pioneering a number of evaluation methods. What work have you found most rewarding?
Dr. Aitken: I was fortunate to become involved with program evaluation research in the early days of the field’s development. I studied for both my master’s and my doctorate in the evening while working full time in the consulting field. Therefore, I had the opportunity to bring my own experience into the classroom, and from the classroom back into the field, during the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. This allowed me to create new methods for evaluating multisite, community-based projects, to implement quasi-experimental studies that responded to community concerns about human research, and to integrate qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis procedures to strengthen study results. I am especially pleased with this work because it helped to define methods that would enable program planners and service providers to put their research into practice and to really make a difference in people’s lives.
Question: As a woman business owner and a scientist, how have you seen the opportunities in this industry change for women over the past 30 years?
Dr. Aitken: Women have always been on the frontlines as teachers, nurses, social workers, and caregivers. I have had the privilege of working with many of these women to engage them in the process of planning, evaluating, and managing their programs in a way that has translated into more efficient and improved services to their clients. Many of these women pioneered new standards and approaches to support solid policy decisions and to improve government’s approach to serving our citizens. I am proud to recognize these women and their successors as my colleagues.
Question: What was the most challenging task asked of you by a client?
Dr. Aitken: Over the past 28 years, CSR has held approximately 300 contracts, grants, and related procurements with a broad range of federal, state and local government agencies and nonprofit organizations—valued at just under $200,000,000 in revenues. That’s a lot of work and it’s involved many interesting and unique assignments.
Our work is rewarding but certainly not without challenges, like the time we planned for special security for then First Lady Barbara Bush to enable her to safely attend a conference commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Head Start program. And then there were the long hours spent traveling the back roads of Appalachian coal country late at night to facilitate citizen meetings. This extra effort ensured that people from the community were well represented, even those from the most isolated areas. Or there was the time we assisted the gambling commission in preparing their report to Congress, which was still being revised by the panel only hours before the report was due to be released. One thing you learn quickly in the consulting business is that the work we do usually is more complex than our clients ever realize. They see the end product and they’re satisfied with our work. And that’s what really counts.
Question: How do you rate CSR’s success? In other words, how do you know when CSR is doing a good job?
Dr. Aitken: I listen carefully to our clients. We probably have one of the best overall ratings on contract performance, measured by our past performance reviews from our clients. Our clients return to us year after year because they know that our first commitment is to support their organizational missions and to provide tailored personal attention and service. Our approach to working with our clients is guided by our commitment to integrity, quality, and creativity. This approach has earned us the respect of our clients, expressed through hundreds of congratulatory communications and outstanding reports that grade our past performance on timeliness of delivery, quality of service, technical support, attitude of our employees, and cost control.
Question: As we wrap up this interview, can you summarize what you believe is CSR’s key strength? What can CSR offer that no other firm can?
Dr. Aitken: Unlike other government contractors in the small business arena, CSR has a highly diversified portfolio of clients and practice areas. Our reputation is not limited to expertise in a single subject area, such as education, health, or child welfare. Rather, we have distinguished ourselves over the years by developing and maintaining an interdisciplinary team that develops practical solutions to complicated health and human service issues—solutions that require the integration of state of the art knowledge from diverse fields and a collaborative approach to designing and implementing projects. A clear strength of CSR is the synergy created by our staff that comes from many disciplines and brings multiple technical skills to each project team.
We also offer highly tailored services to our clients. Project managers, corporate officers, and other staff are always available to communicate directly with our clients, to listen to their needs, and to respond in a heartbeat to changes in project needs and schedules. Our small size, our excellent staff, and our streamlined management structure truly set us apart. We know what questions to ask and what problems to anticipate. Our success rests with the details—our emphasis on accuracy, thoroughness and timeliness, and our dedication to our clients.
Visit the biography section of this Web site for more information about Dr. Aitken and the other executive leaders of CSR.
