Brianne Gilbert of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles has been named president-elect of the Association of Academic Survey Research Organizations (AASRO), a collaborative of some 60 university-based research organizations. It is dedicated to advancing the methods, standards, and practices of academic survey research and preparing the next generation of researchers. After a one-year term as president-elect, Gilbert will serve as AASRO president beginning in Fall 2027.
“At the heart of our work is a simple but important question: How do we better understand the people and communities around us?” said Gilbert. “I’m looking forward to bringing researchers together around that shared purpose, building on what we’ve learned at LMU, and finding new ways to strengthen the work universities are doing in communities across the country.”
Gilbert currently serves as the managing director of Loyola Marymount’s Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles (StudyLA), a comprehensive research center focused on civic life, governance, and quality-of-life trends in Los Angeles County. Gilbert has worked with StudyLA since 2008, overseeing more than 60 major projects centered on understanding key issues shaping the city.
In addition to her leadership role, Gilbert is a senior lecturer in political science. She teaches courses in political internships, geographic information systems, spatial research, and urban studies. Throughout her tenure with Loyola Marymount, she has mentored more than 100 undergraduate researchers.
Gilbert is a summa cum laude graduate of Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, where she majored in sociology with a minor in statistics. She holds a master’s degree in comparative sociology from Florida International University.