About us

Shawn Patton,
CEO
shawn@austinmarketresearch.com

Rita McKay,
Director of Qualitative Research
rita@austinmarketresearch.com

Sarah Romo de Vivar,
Bilingual Moderator / Interpreter
sarah@austinmarketresearch.com

Shawn A. Jefferson,
Database Administrator / IT Specialist / Lead Supervisor
jefferson@austinmarketresearch.com

Patti LaGuire,
Director of Field Services
patti@austinmarketresearch.com

Brigitte Mendoza,
Bilingual Moderator / Recruiter / Intercept Interviewer
brigitte@austinmarketresearch.com

Linda Watts,
HR Director and Accounts Manager
linda@austinmarketresearch.com

Shawn worked in quantitative and qualitative research for First Market Research for 9 years. She started in the quantitative research department as a telephone interviewer before her long term spent in qualitative research. Shawn’s experience working from the “ground floor, up” has given her the insight to predict the ease or the difficulty that any project may face, due to the realm of specifications required.

During Shawn’s time working in the qualitative research department at First Market Research, she performed any and every job function within her department. In 1993, the qualitative research department consisted of two staff members: Director Ron Neumond and herself. With the quality of recruiting, client satisfaction and the growing popularity of focus groups and usability testing, the department quickly grew from the minuscule staff of two, to a staff of six full time recruiters and countless numbers of other First Market Research interviewers who assisted in the abundance of projects.

As the staff grew, Shawn Patton was promoted to Assistant Director of Focus Groups. In Shawn Patton’s last year with First Market Research, she earned the title of Director of Qualitative Research. Her prior multitude of experience in qualitative research then equipped her with the utmost knowledge of resources, networking, employee strengths and man-hours that go into every project. This inner knowledge has given her the capability to provide lower costs to the client, yet yield higher profit margins than her predecessor.

Shawn Patton brings with her to Austin Market Research, not only her vast experience in qualitative research from her career with First Market Research, but also 13 years prior experience in retail management, client and customer relations and record breaking company sales.