Steve Koczela, President

​Steve Koczela is Founder and President of the MassINC Polling Group. He appears regularly in local, state, and national media outlets discussing polling, politics, and policy. His has written regularly for CNN, WBUR, NHPR, The Boston Globe, CommonWealth Magazine, and other outlets.

​He has grown MPG from its infancy to a nationally known and respected polling provider. MPG is committed to elevating the public’s voice in discussions of politics and policy. MPG’s reputation for excellence and accuracy ensures a high level of trust in the policy community.

​​Prior to founding The MassINC Polling Group, Steve led survey research programs for the U.S. Department of State in Iraq, in key states for President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, and conducted surveys and polls on behalf of many private corporations. His polling analysis is often cited in local, state, and national media outlets. He is past President of the New England Chapter of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (NEAAPOR) and served as Associate Editor of the Statistical Journal of the IAOS. He lives in Melrose, Massachusetts, and is a veteran of the war in Iraq.

Rich Parr, Senior Research Director

Rich runs MPG’s office in Western Massachusetts, and contributes a deep familiarity with Massachusetts policies, politics and media, as well as a background in public policy and media. Since joining MPG in 2013, Rich has taken primary responsibility for data processing and contributes to survey and sample design. He also works on data visualization and mapping, and he continues to co-author pieces for WBUR, NHPR, and CommonWealth magazine.

Prior to joining MPG, Rich was Policy Director at A Better City, a nonprofit representing Boston-area businesses and institutions on transportation, land development and the environment. He launched and edited ABC’s blog and oversaw its social media presence. Prior to that Rich produced web content for the PBS series FRONTLINE, produced at WGBH in Boston.

Rich is a past member of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council’s Legislative Committee and the Boston Bikes Advisory Group. He currently serves on the executive council of New England Chapter of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (NEAAPOR).

Rich grew up in Wakefield, Massachusetts, and is a graduate of Harvard College. After years living in Allston, he now lives in Northampton.

Olivia Wine, Research Director

Olivia Wine joined the MassINC Polling Group after completing a master’s degree in Public Policy with a certificate in policy analysis from the University of Chicago. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for a bachelor’s degree in sociology and continues to work remotely from Madison.

 Olivia joins MPG with extensive experience and knowledge of non-profit work, criminal legal policy, project management, consulting, and research methods. Olivia worked with the non-profit Proud Theater as a mentor, operations manager, and program manager for eight years. She has a minor in criminal justice from the University of Wisconsin, worked as a fellow with the Dane County Community Restorative Courts, and specialized in criminal and social policy at the University of Chicago. She has project management and consulting experience via her work with Proud Theater, CampusCATALYST, and the Harris Policy Labs of University of Chicago. Her experience with research spans across all areas of her education and employment history.

Mahashraya Sundararaman, Research Director

Masha brings a passion for public policy and all things data to MPG. She joins MPG after a stint as a Data and Policy Analyst at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, where she helped leadership inform workforce policy with data insights. She was a lead analyst on a first-of-its-kind survey of MassDOT state government employees to improve workforce engagement and satisfaction. Masha mined and cleaned a dataset on school reopenings in Massachusetts to help MassDOT anticipate how much support employees with caregiving responsibilities would need as schools reopened remotely. Prior to MassDOT she held a variety of roles in data analysis in the finance, health insurance, and social media industries.

Masha double-majored in Political Science and French New York University and went on to earn a Master’s in French Studies from NYU as well. She won the Prix France-Amérique for her Masters’ Thesis on Franco-American relations. She has also earned certificate in Data Visualization and Analytics from Rutgers University. She lives in Somerville.

Zayna Basma-Doyle, Research Manager

Zayna is engaged in all phases of the research process at MPG from design to analysis. Zayna leads focus group guide development and facilitation across topic areas, oversees in-person survey data collection projects, and manages client relationships. She also brings considerable statistical programming expertise.

Previously, she worked for the Systems for Student Success Office at DESE and held previous roles in research analysis on foster care programming. Zayna completed a Segal fellowship with MassINC producing research on digital equity in MA Gateway cities.

She received her BA in Political Science from UMass Lowell and a dual MBA and Master of Public Policy from The Heller School.

Nate Roberts, Field Manager

Nate Roberts is an experienced Field Manager with a demonstrated history of working in outreach strategy and implementation. Before joining MPG, he served as Organizing Director for a statewide electoral campaign in Massachusetts, leading grassroots strategy while managing several staff members to implement it.

He brings years of on-the-ground field organizing experience from the Iowa Democratic Coordinated Campaign to Senator Markey’s re-election and more. During the COVID-19 vaccine rollout he worked with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Vaccine Equity Initiative where he coordinated a coalition of community-based organization and designed a unique street-canvassing approach to vaccine outreach in New Bedford and Fall River.

His deep belief in meeting people where they are is fundamental to his experience in this field. Nate is a lifelong resident of Fall River and a graduate of UMass Dartmouth.