Meet the Agents
Rebecca Brooks
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Rebecca Brooks
Founder and CEO
Rebecca Brooks - Founder and CEO
Human behavior has always fascinated Rebecca, which is one key reason why she entered the consumer insights field over twenty years ago. She feeds her curiosity by uncovering the complicated paths of today’s consumers to help clients make better decisions every day. Rebecca’s passion for creating a rich, energized and balanced work environment — while delivering exceptional quality and value - has created a true culture of collaboration at Alter Agents. She loves to share her thoughts speaking at conferences and writing for industry publications — and she loves to share her free time with her husband, two kids, a very handsome cat, and a fish that has lived well past his expiration date.
Carmen Schalk
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Carmen Schalk
General Manager
Carmen Schalk - General Manager
With a strong background in the market research industry that spans more than 20 years, Carmen keeps the ship sailing smoothly at Alter Agents. She enjoys the calm feeling she gets from keeping good records, paying attention to the details and tracking the consultancy’s many varied projects. Organization is her game and when she’s not outwitting her co-workers with friendly banter, you’ll find her out and about with her friends and her rescue dog, Frankie.
Eddie Francis
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Eddie Francis
Director
Eddie Francis - Director
Why do we make the decisions we do? That’s a question that Eddie continuously works to answer for clients, helping them understand consumers and the choices they make. His natural empathy gives him a unique perspective when diving into data surrounding human behavior. He loves the open work environment at Alter Agents, which allows one of his favorite activities: collaborating with others. Eddie enjoys finding paths to greater efficiency and improvements, small and large, in order to deliver better outcomes. In his off time he and his wife like to travel – or plan travel – and hang out with their family’s pugs, Boss and Huntington.
Miriam Bishay
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Miriam Bishay
Director
Miriam Bishay - Director
Investigating the data to go deeper, beyond the obvious, is what keeps Miriam engaged and passionate in her work as a market researcher. She loves connecting ideas to see the big picture, and then sharing those insights with clients in a meaningful way that impacts business strategies. When she isn’t playing with data, she’s doing some unexpected activities like improv and computer programming. She enjoys spending time both creating and enjoying art, relaxing with her cat, and enjoying the outdoors.
Xavier Alvarez
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Xavier Alvarez
Senior Research Manager
Mike Dickerson - Senior Research Manager
A self-proclaimed Excel nerd, Mike loves uncovering exactly the right approach to extract insights from data and applying those insights to help answer clients’ most pressing business questions. He takes a creative, solutions-oriented approach to every project, making results understandable and accessible for all. When he’s not crunching data, he enjoys cooking with an eye to the diverse cultures and ingredients that Southern CA has to offer, playing music, hanging out with his wife and cat, and advocating for the city’s homeless population.
Mike Dickerson
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Mike Dickerson
Senior Research Manager
Xavier Alvarez - Senior Research Manager
Xavier’s career in market research began in high school. While he earned his degree in biomedical engineering, he stayed in market research to apply his skills toward consumer insights. He enjoys the relationship-building side of the business, and overcoming obstacles to ensure that every project succeeds. When he’s not finding solutions to challenges – even unexpected ones – you’ll find Xavi road tripping, camping, fly fishing with his new Tenkara rod, and making sure his wife and three pets are happy (or at least not trying to kill him).
Johnny Goukassian
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Johnny Goukassian
Senior Research Manager
Johnny Goukassian - Senior Research Manager
From Johnny’s point of view, research challenges are simply puzzles that need solving – and he love puzzles. Although Johnny’s degrees are in psychology, which come in handy when studying human behavior, his favorite part of his job is crunching numbers. He loves transforming numbers into actionable insights that form a cohesive narrative for clients. His motto? Take advantage of every moment. Some of these moments (not spent at work) include spending time with his wife and dog, and feeding his entrepreneurial spirit through hobby businesses.
Alexis Lopez
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Alexis Lopez
Project Associate
Alexis Lopez - Project Associate
Soaking up experience and knowledge from all around her is Alexis’s favorite part of her job. Her open mindset inspires collaboration and sharing, uncovering information and insights that may otherwise have been overlooked. Seeing the fruition of the team’s hard work when she builds and edits reports is satisfying for Alexis, and she loves the reporting stage’s tangible representation of the data. She enjoys non-superficial conversations, exploring the city’s food scene, listening to podcasts, reading books, and spending time with her family.
Meet the Agents
Rebecca Brooks
View Full Bio
Rebecca Brooks
Founder and CEO
Rebecca Brooks - Founder and CEO
Human behavior has always fascinated Rebecca, which is one key reason why she entered the consumer insights field over twenty years ago. She feeds her curiosity by uncovering the complicated paths of today’s consumers to help clients make better decisions every day. Rebecca’s passion for creating a rich, energized and balanced work environment – while delivering exceptional quality and value - has created a true culture of collaboration at Alter Agents. She loves to share her thoughts speaking at conferences and writing for industry publications - and she loves to share her free time with her husband, two kids, a very handsome cat, and a fish that has lived well past his expiration date.
Eddie Francis
View Full Bio
Eddie Francis
Director
Eddie Francis - Director
Why do we make the decisions we do? That’s a question that Eddie continuously works to answer for clients, helping them understand consumers and the choices they make. His natural empathy gives him a unique perspective when diving into data surrounding human behavior. He loves the open work environment at Alter Agents, which allows one of his favorite activities: collaborating with others. Eddie enjoys finding paths to greater efficiency and improvements, small and large, in order to deliver better outcomes. In his off time he and his wife like to travel – or plan travel – and hang out with their family’s pugs, Boss and Huntington.
Johnny Goukassian
View Full Bio
Johnny Goukassian
Senior Research Manager
Johnny Goukassian - Senior Research Manager
From Johnny’s point of view, research challenges are simply puzzles that need solving – and he love puzzles. Although Johnny’s degrees are in psychology, which come in handy when studying human behavior, his favorite part of his job is crunching numbers. He loves transforming numbers into actionable insights that form a cohesive narrative for clients. His motto? Take advantage of every moment. Some of these moments (not spent at work) include spending time with his wife and dog, and feeding his entrepreneurial spirit through hobby businesses.
Mike Dickerson
View Full Bio
Mike Dickerson
Senior Research Manager
Mike Dickerson - Senior Research Manager
A self-proclaimed Excel nerd, Mike loves uncovering exactly the right approach to extract insights from data and applying those insights to help answer clients’ most pressing business questions. He takes a creative, solutions-oriented approach to every project, making results understandable and accessible for all. When he’s not crunching data, he enjoys cooking with an eye to the diverse cultures and ingredients that Southern CA has to offer, playing music, hanging out with his wife and cat, and advocating for the city’s homeless population.
Carmen Schalk
View Full Bio
Carmen Schalk
General Manager
Carmen Schalk - General Manager
With a strong background in the market research industry that spans more than 20 years, Carmen keeps the ship sailing smoothly at Alter Agents. She enjoys the calm feeling she gets from keeping good records, paying attention to the details and tracking the consultancy’s many varied projects. Organization is her game and when she’s not outwitting her co-workers with friendly banter, you’ll find her out and about with her friends and her rescue dog, Frankie.
Xavier Alvarez
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Xavier Alvarez
Senior Research Manager
Xavier Alvarez - Senior Research Manager
Xavier’s career in market research began in high school. While he earned his degree in biomedical engineering, he stayed in market research to apply his skills toward consumer insights. He enjoys the relationship-building side of the business, and overcoming obstacles to ensure that every project succeeds. When he’s not finding solutions to challenges – even unexpected ones – you’ll find Xavi road tripping, camping, fly fishing with his new Tenkara rod, and making sure his wife and three pets are happy (or at least not trying to kill him).
Miriam Bishay
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Miriam Bishay
Director
Miriam Bishay - Director
Investigating the data to go deeper, beyond the obvious, is what keeps Miriam engaged and passionate in her work as a market researcher. She loves connecting ideas to see the big picture, and then sharing those insights with clients in a meaningful way that impacts business strategies. When she isn’t playing with data, she’s doing some unexpected activities like improv and computer programming. She enjoys spending time both creating and enjoying art, relaxing with her cat, and enjoying the outdoors.
Alexis Lopez
View Full Bio
Alexis Lopez
Project Associate
Alexis Lopez - Project Associate
Soaking up experience and knowledge from all around her is Alexis’ favorite part of her job. Her open mindset inspires collaboration and sharing, uncovering information and insights that may otherwise have been overlooked. Seeing the fruition of the team’s hard work when she builds and edits reports is satisfying for Alexis, and she loves the reporting stage’s tangible representation of the data. She enjoys non-superficial conversations, exploring the city’s food scene, listening to podcasts, reading books, and spending time with her family.
Meet the Agents
Rebecca Brooks
View Full Bio
Rebecca Brooks
Founder and CEO
Rebecca Brooks - Founder and CEO
Human behavior has always fascinated Rebecca, which is one key reason why she entered the consumer insights field over twenty years ago. She feeds her curiosity by uncovering the complicated paths of today’s consumers to help clients make better decisions every day. Rebecca’s passion for creating a rich, energized and balanced work environment – while delivering exceptional quality and value - has created a true culture of collaboration at Alter Agents. She loves to share her thoughts speaking at conferences and writing for industry publications - and she loves to share her free time with her husband, two kids, a very handsome cat, and a fish that has lived well past his expiration date.
Carmen Schalk
View Full Bio
Carmen Schalk
General Manager
Carmen Schalk - General Manager
With a strong background in the market research industry that spans more than 20 years, Carmen keeps the ship sailing smoothly at Alter Agents. She enjoys the calm feeling she gets from keeping good records, paying attention to the details and tracking the consultancy’s many varied projects. Organization is her game and when she’s not outwitting her co-workers with friendly banter, you’ll find her out and about with her friends and her rescue dog, Frankie.
Eddie Francis
View Full Bio
Eddie Francis
Director
Eddie Francis - Director
Why do we make the decisions we do? That’s a question that Eddie continuously works to answer for clients, helping them understand consumers and the choices they make. His natural empathy gives him a unique perspective when diving into data surrounding human behavior. He loves the open work environment at Alter Agents, which allows one of his favorite activities: collaborating with others. Eddie enjoys finding paths to greater efficiency and improvements, small and large, in order to deliver better outcomes. In his off time he and his wife like to travel – or plan travel – and hang out with their family’s pugs, Boss and Huntington.
Xavier Alvarez
View Full Bio
Xavier Alvarez
Senior Research Manager
Xavier Alvarez - Senior Research Manager
Xavier’s career in market research began in high school. While he earned his degree in biomedical engineering, he stayed in market research to apply his skills toward consumer insights. He enjoys the relationship-building side of the business, and overcoming obstacles to ensure that every project succeeds. When he’s not finding solutions to challenges – even unexpected ones – you’ll find Xavi road tripping, camping, fly fishing with his new Tenkara rod, and making sure his wife and three pets are happy (or at least not trying to kill him).
Johnny Goukassian
View Full Bio
Johnny Goukassian
Senior Research Manager
Johnny Goukassian - Senior Research Manager
From Johnny’s point of view, research challenges are simply puzzles that need solving – and he love puzzles. Although Johnny’s degrees are in psychology, which come in handy when studying human behavior, his favorite part of his job is crunching numbers. He loves transforming numbers into actionable insights that form a cohesive narrative for clients. His motto? Take advantage of every moment. Some of these moments (not spent at work) include spending time with his wife and dog, and feeding his entrepreneurial spirit through hobby businesses.
Miriam Bishay
View Full Bio
Miriam Bishay
Director
Miriam Bishay - Director
Investigating the data to go deeper, beyond the obvious, is what keeps Miriam engaged and passionate in her work as a market researcher. She loves connecting ideas to see the big picture, and then sharing those insights with clients in a meaningful way that impacts business strategies. When she isn’t playing with data, she’s doing some unexpected activities like improv and computer programming. She enjoys spending time both creating and enjoying art, relaxing with her cat, and enjoying the outdoors.
Mike Dickerson
View Full Bio
Mike Dickerson
Senior Research Manager
Mike Dickerson - Senior Research Manager
A self-proclaimed Excel nerd, Mike loves uncovering exactly the right approach to extract insights from data and applying those insights to help answer clients’ most pressing business questions. He takes a creative, solutions-oriented approach to every project, making results understandable and accessible for all. When he’s not crunching data, he enjoys cooking with an eye to the diverse cultures and ingredients that Southern CA has to offer, playing music, hanging out with his wife and cat, and advocating for the city’s homeless population.
Alexis Lopez
View Full Bio
Alexis Lopez
Project Associate
Alexis Lopez - Project Associate
Soaking up experience and knowledge from all around her is Alexis’ favorite part of her job. Her open mindset inspires collaboration and sharing, uncovering information and insights that may otherwise have been overlooked. Seeing the fruition of the team’s hard work when she builds and edits reports is satisfying for Alexis, and she loves the reporting stage’s tangible representation of the data. She enjoys non-superficial conversations, exploring the city’s food scene, listening to podcasts, reading books, and spending time with her family.