Our Collective Impact: AAPOR’s 2025 Accomplishments
12/23/2025
As we close out the year, I have been reflecting on my first three months as AAPOR Executive Director and want to share a few thoughts on what I have learned.
First off, I am genuinely inspired by the dedication of our 2,200+ members—to one another, to this organization, and to the profession. Your collective expertise and willingness to share with the community elevate the work we do together.
Next, I would like to thank everyone who reached out to welcome me and to those who patiently answered my many questions. A special note of gratitude to Jordon Peugh, Mary Losch, Frauke Kreuter, Tamara Terry, Kathleen Weldon, Emily Guskin, and Sandra Bauman for keeping operations running smoothly during the transition. Your support has been invaluable.
This year has been full of accomplishments, and I would like to share a few highlights that reflect the strength, creativity, and dedication of this impressive community.
In 2025, AAPOR:
- Hosted a successful conference in St. Louis with more than 1,060 attendees, 54 sponsors and exhibitors, 546 speakers, 94 sessions, and 73 posters. We also debuted our new AI track.
- Launched the interactive Response Rates Calculator—in addition to our existing Excel version—on the AAPOR website. The interactive version has already been used more than 800 times!
- Issued critical statements on the removal of BLS Commissioner McEntarfer and the removal of access to federal data.
- Released the final report from the Task Force on 2024 Pre-Election Polling and hosted a webinar on its key findings.
- Worked with over 450 volunteers, who generously gave (and continue to give) their time and energy to our committees, sub-committees, task forces, and micro-volunteer opportunities.
- Hosted 11 webinars for more than 1,400 attendees on a wide range of topics—all free to members. Remember, recent past webinars are also available on-demand to members at no cost.
- Held a community forum on current challenges with federal research and how AAPOR can support members during this challenging time, garnering over 200 registrants.
- Published leading research in our journals, including Public Opinion Quarterly (68 articles), Survey Practice (17 articles), and the Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology (27 articles).
- Released essential guides for members and the community, including “Ethical Issues in Linking Non-Survey Data to Survey Data: A Practical Guide,” “Texting for Research: A Brief Guide to the Regulatory Environment and Operational Consideration,” “Standard Definitions for Establishment Surveys,” and “Understanding the 2024 OMB Updates to Race and Ethnicity Standards.”
- Held six short courses on a variety of topics, including survey sampling and communicating your data.
- Verified 91 companies that pledged transparency in reporting survey-based research findings, as part of AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative.
- Raised over $33,000 in tax-deductible donations from over 300 members and contributors to support AAPOR work, provide AAPOR Conference attendance grants, and help rebuild our reserves. Thank you for your generosity!
Finally, a special thanks to our incredible staff: Education Manager Ryan Green, Program Manager Lailah Johnson, Membership Manager Leon Spinner, and our newest addition, Director of Communications and Marketing Alexandra Bradley. Thank you for your hard work and professionalism every single day. You are the backbone of this organization, and I am so grateful for all you do.
As we look ahead to the coming year, I am excited about the opportunities before us. Together, we will continue to advance the field, support one another, and make AAPOR an even stronger home for public opinion research.
Thank you for being part of this journey. I can’t wait to see what we accomplish next.
With gratitude,
Betty Whitaker, MBA, CAE, CMP
AAPOR Executive Director