It is with deep and profound sadness that we announce that our friend and colleague, Linda Houser-Marko, passed away on Thursday, January 9, 2020.
Linda joined the Research Department in the fall of 2007 after completing her doctorate in Social Psychology at the University of Missouri and a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Her contributions to our work over the past dozen years have been significant, including many validation studies regarding person-job fit, aptitudes and STEM fields, creativity, and much more. Perhaps her most important and long-lasting contribution was in suggesting and carrying out the long-term follow-up studies of past examinees, starting with a ten-year follow-up and now expanded to include one-year and five-year surveys. These have given us the chance to see how aptitudes play out over long periods of time, something that was made possible by Linda’s effort and vision.
Those who worked closely with Linda know what a joy it was. Aside from her own research projects, she also truly enjoyed her opportunities to collaborate with other departments within the Foundation. She was a valuable resource for our testing staff, always willing and available to answer questions and help them become better involved with the research aspects of our work. She will be greatly missed.