Pop Star: Rand Director Susan Everingham

"Pittsburgh surprises most people when they first come here," Susan Everingham says. "It remains a bit of a secret."

Odd coming from the new director of the Pittsburgh office of Rand, the super-smart Santa Monica think-tank. Aren't they the ones who're supposed to do all this research so they won't be surprised?

Well, yes. Everingham glances out her window at Oakland's Fifth Avenue to St. Paul's Cathedral, and, in the distance, Carnegie Mellon. When Rand decided to expand more than a decade ago, they searched cities within a day of DC. Discovering Pittsburgh, they found it had all the talking points: competitive-to-excellent cost of living, good schools, major universities, potential clients. "These were all real draws," she says.

Opening the office in 2000, the staff swelled to a healthy 180 people – third behind the home office and Pentagon City. "We're continuing to grow," Everingham says. "We plan even more in the coming years. Pittsburgh has worked out very well. It's a nice place to be, a nice place to do research."

Forget polemics: that's what Rand does – research. Founded in 1946, Rand follows the data in education, health, criminal and civil justice, national and international security. Eschewing ideology, not-for-profit and non-partisan, Rand "does analysis of data and offers advice to policy makers," Everingham says. "The research drives where we end up." She smiles. "When people with extreme views on both sides hate our work, we know we're doing a good job."

With degrees from Williams and UCLA, the former high-school math teacher and 20-year Rand vet specializes in mathematical modeling and cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses of policy alternatives. A co-author of a study comparing cocaine control strategies, she also contributed to a number of studies on violence prevention.

Moving here last January, "it certainly was a shock coming from Southern California," she says.  Having grown up in Massachusetts, she knew what winter was like – but her family didn't.

Quickly, though, her entrepreneur husband and two soccer-playing kids took to the place. "We love it," Everingham says. "There's beautiful greenery. Nice places to walk – gorgeous, really. You can be an outdoor person here. We didn't expect that.

"And the people are extra welcoming and friendly," Everingham adds. "It's not an act. It's not fake. People are really warm. That LA high-stress – it doesn't exist here. Here, you can balance your life and live comfortably."

One bit of comfort: Everingham's Fox Chapel home is 20 minutes from her Oakland office, compared to her 90-minute commute in Santa Monica.

"Rand is a part of the Pittsburgh story," she says. "We saw great things here. We came here as a new company to set down roots. We intend to stay. We're part of the post-industrial transformation of Pittsburgh, from manufacturing to information. We're excited about that."

While Rand currently has no formal tie to any Pittsburgh G-20 activities, Everingham would like to get involved, perhaps in such key Pittsburgh areas as environmental and energy policies. "We hope to get something positive out of this experience," she says.

Ditto her adopted city.  "I hope that G-20 gets more people to realize what there is in Pittsburgh," she adds, "to see the momentum taking place here."

The Center for Women's Entrepreneurship at Chatham University will premiere its Women Business Leaders Breakfast Series with Susan Everingham on September 11, 2009 from 7:30 – 9:00 a.m. at the University's Shadyside Campus. To learn more and to register, click here.


Photographs copyright Brian Cohen