Steve Coombs

Position title: Field Director

Email: scoombs@ssc.wisc.edu

Phone: (608) 262-5603

Steve Coombs is the Field Director at the UW Survey Center. He is responsible for the Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI), Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI), Mail and Data Entry, Tracing, Coding, Transcription, and Hiring and Staffing departments. The Center has 43 CATI stations with 17 additional multi-purpose stations usable either for telephone interviewing or other aspects of field operations. The CAPI department employs a capable, veteran staff who conduct face-to-face interviews all over the country and are experienced in administering complex in-person interviews and collecting a wide range of biomarker data. Steve is responsible for 20 full-time and 120-150 part-time staff in Field.

Steve has served as Field Director for the UWSC since 2001. Prior to joining the UWSC he served as Director of Field Services for Frank N. Magid Associates, a 190 CATI station center spread between seven offices. Before that he worked as a Project Manager for Fleischman Field Research in San Francisco, assisting with questionnaire design and report writing, and managed a staff that specialized in Asian language interviewing. Mr. Coombs has a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Illinois and honed his project management and supervisory skills at the University of Wisconsin-Extension Survey Research Laboratory.