Wendy Hicks
Vice President & Director, Survey Management & Design
Contact
WendyHicks@westat.comOverview
Wendy Hicks is Vice President and Director for Survey Management and Design, where she provides strategic leadership across complex research programs. She began her career at the U.S. Census Bureau and, since joining Westat in 2007, has partnered with a wide range of federal departments and statistical agencies to modernize data collection and support empirically based decision-making.
With more than 30 years of experience, Hicks leads multidisciplinary teams to design and operate evidence-based solutions that improve data quality, reduce measurement error, and enhance efficiency at scale. She integrates methodological research into operational environments and deploys experimental and exploratory methods to strengthen outcomes, accelerate learning, and reduce implementation risks.
Recognized for uniting rigorous methodology with practical delivery, Hicks helps clients translate complex data challenges into actionable insights that inform policy and program decisions. Her leadership spans strategy, cross-agency collaboration, and change management to advance resilient, modern survey and data solutions.
Education
- MS, Survey Methods and Statistics, Joint Program in Survey Methodology, University of Maryland
- BA, Psychology, Vanderbilt University
- Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification, Project Management Institute
Areas of Expertise
Data Collection Data Collection Modes Data Quality Survey Design Survey MethodsTopics
Complex Surveys Multimode Data Collection-
Healthy eating patterns and epigenetic measures of biological age
115,
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
January 2022
J.K. Kresovich, Y.-M.M. Park, J.A. Keller, D.P. Sandler, J.A. Taylor
DOILink for: Healthy eating patterns and epigenetic measures of biological age -
Validation of the Wave 1 and Wave 2 Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study indicators of tobacco dependence using biomarkers of nicotine exposure across tobacco products
24,
Nicotine and Tobacco Research
January 2022
D.R. Strong, E. Leas, M. Noble, M. White, A. Glasser, Kristie Taylor, K.C. Edwards, et al.
DOILink for: Validation of the Wave 1 and Wave 2 Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study indicators of tobacco dependence using biomarkers of nicotine exposure across tobacco products -
Correlates of tobacco product initiation among youth and young adults between waves 1–4 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study (2013–2018)
134,
Addictive Behaviors
January 2022
M. Cooper, H.R. Day, C. Ren, O. Oniyide, C.G. Corey, B.K. Ambrose, K.M. Cummings, et al.
DOILink for: Correlates of tobacco product initiation among youth and young adults between waves 1–4 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study (2013–2018)