On this episode of ITK Radio, a conversation with Adam Probolsky.

Adam is the president of Probolsky Research.

Adam has acted as a pollster and strategic advisor on hundreds of successful crisis communications and public affairs projects, local, county, and statewide initiatives, and candidate campaigns, as well as citizen outreach and education efforts.

Additionally, Adam has been a key advisor to the firm’s clients on matters of public policy, legislation, and business strategy.

Adam was both a planning and finance commissioner for the City of Irvine, where he oversaw and approved billions of dollars in private development and public infrastructure projects. As a past chairman of the Irvine Valley College Foundation, he has overseen the fundraising and the award of hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships to students and funding for college police.

He was also a member of the Orange County Waste & Recycling Commission, overseeing landfills, recycling programs, waste-hauling companies, and power-generating facilities. As a member of the Orange County Transportation Authority’s Environmental Mitigation and Oversight Committee, he oversaw the expenditure of over $175 million dollars in public transportation funds.

Adam is a former journalist, and he previously served as a board member and development committee chairman for Jewish Family Service of Orange County and volunteered for nearly eight years with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department as a spokesperson.

Adam formerly served as a member of the Policy Committee on Energy and the Environment of the United States Chamber of Commerce.

Adam’s research and commentary has been published in numerous media outlets, including The New York Times, Riverside Press Enterprise, The Chicago Sun Times, the Orange County Register and Politico, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Adam earned his master’s degree in data analytics and visualization from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland.

You can find Adam on LinkedIn here.

Insights + Ideas:

+ "as a pollster, it is part math, part art, and part psychology"

+ What is polling all about?

+ The problem of "polls of polls"

+ What is the client acquisition process for a polling firm?

+ How to best work with a pollster

+ Answering: "I think that" and "I wish I knew"

+ Is a pollster unbiased when starting a research project?

+ Wrestling with explore vs. exploit during a project

+ Pollsters are constantly innovating and evolving

+ Meeting voters where they are to conduct polling

+ "data is great"

+ "smart pollsters know their role"

+ Helping clients understand the value of research

+ How pollsters work to help a client put them in the best spot to succeed

+ The inside scoop of the fraternity of pollsters

+ Does polling happen every day?

+ Why you should participate in a poll

+ How Adam manages his firm and works with his staff