GALILEO RESEARCH & STRATEGY CONSULTANCY - Key Persons


Aaron Villa

Job Titles:
  • Executive Director, Strategic Consulting

Abby De Shazo

Job Titles:
  • Senior Analyst

Alex Kalmanofsky

Job Titles:
  • Executive Director, Strategic Consulting

Ben Anderson

Job Titles:
  • Executive Director, Strategic Consulting

Cathy Lennox - Founder

Job Titles:
  • Co - Founder
  • Co - President
  • Co - Principal
Cathy co-founded Galileo in 2006, driven by a passion for decoding intricate decision-making, especially in complex emotionally charged categories like healthcare. Nearly two decades on, Cathy is particularly excited by how Galileo continues to harness the latest theory and practice from academic and therapeutic psychology, and behavioral economics - to create potent new qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. And she loves that these unique and innovative approaches not only enable Galileo to bring more authentic, valuable insight to clients, but also to provide an engaging quasi-therapeutic experience to participants - and to bring tremendous professional challenge and reward to the team, working as they do, at the cutting edge of market research! Prior to founding Galileo, Cathy was a creative thinker and business strategist in consumer marketing and advertising for nearly 20 years, first in the UK and Europe, then in Asia Pacific and the US, most recently working for J. Walter Thompson NY. She teaches qualitative research methods to the Master's Programs at Columbia University, and NYU.

Cecilia Brown

Job Titles:
  • Director, Strategic Consulting

Christina Zachariades

Job Titles:
  • Director of Videography

Claire Murray

Job Titles:
  • Director, Strategic Consulting

Colleen Branigan

Job Titles:
  • Director, New Business and Operations
  • New Business Manager

Daniel Wolfgang

Job Titles:
  • Analyst

David Sisson - VP

Job Titles:
  • Vice President

Dee de Lara

Job Titles:
  • Director, Strategic Consulting

Dr. Nick Baylis

Job Titles:
  • Cambridge University, Senior Associate Royal Society of Medicine

Dr. Sarah Fitzharding - Founder

Job Titles:
  • Co - Founder
  • Co - President
  • Co - Principal
Sarah has over 25 years of strategic planning and qualitative research experience spanning the worlds of academia, non-profit leadership and government, as well as advertising and marketing. Having studied at Cambridge, Harvard and Yale, she has a Ph.D. in psychology and a Masters in criminology. She conducted research for Her Majesty's Prison Service, and has taught qualitative research methods at Cambridge, London and Columbia Universities. Her study of diverse populations has also included pioneering research within the LGBTQ+ community. In co-founding Galileo, it has been her mission to find new ways to infuse market research practices with deep psychological understanding and cutting-edge protocols from therapeutic practice, creating techniques that bridge the conscious and subconscious and thus more profoundly access consumer triggers, barriers and beliefs. Her research and consulting experience has spanned categories from healthcare and technology to luxury and financial services, always with a focus on deep psychological insight and strategic, action-oriented recommendations. Within healthcare, she is particularly fascinated by questions related to the doctor-patient dynamic, and the patterns of denial that can contribute to patients not voicing (or sometimes even acknowledging) their true needs. Sarah has also pioneered the research application of techniques that harness the mind-body connection, recognizing that this can be a critical key to understanding the true impact of health-related experiences. Prior to forming Galileo, Sarah was a Planning Director at J. Walter Thompson, NY, where for 7 years she guided businesses such as Pfizer, Merck and the Diamond Trading Company.

Edy Jostol

Job Titles:
  • Analyst

Erica Ross

Job Titles:
  • Director, Strategic Consulting

Genevieve White

Job Titles:
  • Director, Strategic Consulting

Jay Smith

Job Titles:
  • Director of Videography

Jen Gzesh

Job Titles:
  • Director, Strategic Consulting

Karen Silverthorne-Kaldy

Job Titles:
  • Executive Director
  • Head of Operations

Kristen Norton

Job Titles:
  • Associate Research Director, Strategic Consulting

Kristin Wittmer

Job Titles:
  • Senior Project Director

Kyra Barker

Job Titles:
  • Director, Strategic Consulting

Melanie Benson

Job Titles:
  • Associate Research Director, Strategic Consulting

Michelle Brown

Job Titles:
  • Director, Strategic Consulting
Michelle prides herself on digging into research to understand the core motivations behind human behavior to answer a business question. This fascination with uncovering, "what makes people tick" ultimately led her to focus her career on psychology-based research methods with Galileo. Her experience as a researcher and brand strategist spans categories including healthcare, CPG, retail, consumer electronics, personal care, vitamins minerals and supplements, wine and spirits, pet care and e-commerce. Michelle began her career in archaeology which was fueled by her passion for studying human behavior. With a degree in Social Sciences and Anthropology, Michelle found her way to the planning discipline in the ad agency world. While working in advertising, Michelle gained extensive experience in qualitative research techniques, insights mining and brand strategy development, which she then applied when she moved across to the world of market research. Her experience includes quantitative analysis as well as qualitative moderation. Outside of work, Michelle is passionate about health and wellness, always looking for new ways to challenge herself physically and mentally. She also enjoys exploring all the food and outdoor adventures Portland has to offer with her family and two crazy dogs.

Molly Brozell

Job Titles:
  • Senior Director, Strategic Consulting

Sami Biggs

Job Titles:
  • Project Director

Sarah Tabeek

Job Titles:
  • Senior Analyst

Sima Fried

Job Titles:
  • Senior Analyst

Tamieka Hopkins

Job Titles:
  • Senior Project Director

Tracey Paverud

Job Titles:
  • Senior Director, Strategic Consulting

Veronica McGovern

Job Titles:
  • Associate Research Director, Strategic Consulting

Vino Lakshmanan

Job Titles:
  • Associate Research Director, Strategic Consulting