Sarah Phillips

Sarah Phillips came to market research through a graduate program in Political Science at Michigan State University, where she discovered a fascination with human decision-making and an unexpected love of statistics. Recognizing that applied work suited her outcomes-driven nature better than academia, she made the move into market research and never looked back. She holds a B.A. and M.A. (A.B.D.) from Michigan State University and completed Advanced Statistical Analysis training at the University of Michigan. Her academic ties remain active: she has served as a marketing instructor at MSU’s Eli Broad College of Business and is a current Advisory Board Member for its MSMR program.

Over more than two decades in the insights industry, Sarah has held senior leadership roles at some of the field’s most respected firms. As Executive Director of Research at Clear Seas Research, she led B2B market research solutions across complex industrial and professional categories. At Gongos (now Human8), she served as Vice President of Client Consulting, partnering with organizations across consumer goods, automotive, technology, and healthcare categories to turn research into strategic action. Clients and colleagues consistently describe her as a sharp problem solver who brings strategic vision, genuine empathy, and a direct, collaborative communication style to every engagement.

At TRC Insights, Sarah helps lead the firm’s growing healthcare practice. She works with hospitals and health systems, health insurers, pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, and healthcare technology firms on some of the most consequential research challenges in the industry – from understanding patient and member loyalty, to evaluating pricing sensitivity across procedural codes, to guiding new product development in competitive markets. Her methodological toolkit spans pricing research, brand equity, segmentation, satisfaction and loyalty measurement, and new product research, applied through both quantitative and qualitative lenses.

For healthcare organizations seeking a research partner who understands the complexity of the industry and stays invested in outcomes long after the final report, Sarah offers a rare combination of analytical rigor, industry depth, and senior-level engagement that defines the TRC Insights difference.

Education: M.A. (A.B.D.), Political Science – Michigan State University; B.A., Political Science + Pre-Law – Michigan State University; Advanced Statistical Analysis – University of Michigan.

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You can read some of Sarah’s research thoughts at TRC Blog.