ABOUT THE OCHS CENTER
What We Do
The Ochs Center is the only organization in the Chattanooga region that provides a full array of research and data analysis services for local non-profit organizations and local government:
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Collection and analysis of administrative data from government agencies or non-profit programs
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Public policy and best practices research
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Survey design and analysis
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Roundtables and focus groups
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Program evaluation
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Economic impact analysis and modeling
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Budgetary and operational reviews
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Assessment of community conditions
History
The Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies began serving the Chattanooga community as the Metropolitan Council for Community Services in 1962. The Metropolitan Council was the community’s first non-governmental health and human services planning agency. Acting as the planning arm for the local United Way, the Metropolitan Council was instrumental in the development of numerous community based efforts to provide services to children and the poor.
In 2000, the Metropolitan Council became the Community Research Council (CRC). CRC provided data collection and analysis services to non-profit organizations and local government. In addition, CRC housed the Southeast Tennessee Neighborhood Information Service, which in 2004 produced a major study on literacy in Hamilton County.
CRC became the Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies in August 2008, to better reflect an increasing focus on policy issues that affect both the Chattanooga region metropolitan areas nationally.
The Ochs Center now has an office space at:
5715 Uptain Road
Suite 300
Chattanooga, TN 37411
Vision, Mission, and Values
Vision:
“Empower organizations to better serve community needs.”
Mission:
“Providing independent evaluations and research to inform decision making that impacts the way communities think, live, work, and interact.”
Values:
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Accuracy
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Collaboration
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Objectivity
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Ethical Practices
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Equity
Board of Directors
Henry Schulson, Chair
Retired President and CEO
Creative Discovery Museum
Edna Varner, EdD, Governance
Senior Advisor, Public Education Foundation-Chattanooga
Tera Parsons, MPA
Chief Executive Officer,
Orange Grove Center
Mary Tanner, PhD
Dean Emeritus, Independent Consultant, UT Chattanooga
Hal Baker
Retired Community Resource Specialist , ArcTN
Stacy Lightfoot, MS
Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Engagement, UT Chattanooga
Benjamin Pitts, Governance
Vice President, Herman Walldorf Commercial Real Estate
Jeannine Grogg
Retired, Hamilton County Government, Executive Assistant
Professional Team
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Maryanne Cunningham
Executive Director
Kevin Collins
Strategic Planning Consultant
Olga Ebert-Holberg
Program Evaluation Consultant
Ed Sullivan
Research Librarian
Carolyn Boyd
Project Manager and Consultant
Linda Daugherty
Program Evaluation Services Director
Jorg Holberg
Statistical Consultant
Alice Wershing
Inclusion Consultant
Joyce Bridges
Early Care and Education Consultant
Elizabeth DeGeorge
Communications Director
Tracey Randolph
Program Evaluation Consultant
Janell Wood
Program Evaluation Consultant
Ochs Center Staff Retreat - 2023
Clients
Sponsors
