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Acknowledgments

Writing this book became more of a lifestyle choice than a project (kind of like owning a boat, but without the enjoyment of being on a boat!). What’s more, this “lifestyle choice” was not just my own. Family, friends, and coworkers provided support and patient encouragement as they endured my long hours, late nights, and busy weekends with grace.

I would like to thank my employer, Mathematica Policy Research, as well as my colleagues. I consider myself truly blessed to work at Mathematica, a company that values the highest standards of quality, unwavering objectivity, and compassionate collegiality. My years at Mathematica have been filled with opportunities to perform interesting and relevant work, interact with some of the brightest minds in policy research, and benefit from supportive, caring, and compassionate leadership. I simply cannot imagine working anywhere else.

I would like to thank my reviewers at Mathematica: Sandi Nelson, Jeffrey Holt, Scott McCracken, and Ken Peckham. Their thoughtful reviews and commentaries, as well as their support and friendship, made this book much better than its original conception. In addition, I owe a debt of gratitude to Scott Greiner, Patrick Wang, Ken Peckham, and Scott McCracken, who assisted me with the creation of dummy data, and Susie Clausen, who did a wonderful job formatting my written materials. Carmen Ferro and Mathematica’s communications department acted as a creative force in the promotion of the book and the book’s cover design. I would like to thank John West, my editor at SAS Publishing, for his patience and guidance. Importantly, I would also like to thank the book’s technical reviewers, Gerri Barosso, Russ Tyndall, John Shipway, Bernadette Johnson, Craig Dickstein, and Deidra Peacock, for their thorough and thoughtful review of my manuscript.

My supervisor, Edward Hoke, provided supportive guidance and encouragement. Ed certainly cannot fathom what a wonderful influence he has been in my life. Senior leaders at Mathematica, Dr. Myles Maxfield, Dr. Craig Thornton, Adam Coyne, Pam Tapscott, Tamara Barnes, Andrea Darling, Patricia Guroff, and Mary Harrington, not only provided encouragement, but helpful guidance as well. Finally, my staff at Mathematica’s Ann Arbor office (Dean Miller, Ken Peckham, Kelly Zidar, Kevin Bradway, Gregory Bee, Rachel Thompson, Gerry Skurski, Anne Harlow, and Nate Darter), as well as close colleagues like Justin Oh, offered encouragement, support, and guidance.

Friends and family supported me and helped me see the project through to completion. My mom, dad, and sister taught me to believe in myself and dream big dreams. Anne, Owen, and Lucy provided a safe, loving, and nurturing place to rest and relax after long workdays. Anne, in particular, never let me forget that I could see this project through to the end. Lastly, my good friend Chris Thieme not only provided encouragement, but he also taught me much of what I know about SAS (although any mistakes are my own!). He will always be the most skilled, and coolest, SAS programmer I know.

These people allowed me to achieve a lifelong dream. I owe them a debt that I will never be able to repay. I hope they take some pride of ownership of this project, because it is just as much their project as it is mine.