Our Team

Founded in 2002 by Dr. Timothy McLarney (President) and Richard Sarles (Principal Researcher), the True North team has designed and conducted more than 1,500 research studies for public agencies and companies.

Timothy McLarney, Ph.D.

As President of True North, Dr. McLarney leads the design, analysis, reporting, and presentation tasks for every True North study. He has occupied a lead role in over 1,500 research studies for public agencies in California and across the nation, and brings to each project more than 25 years of experience in research methodology, statistics, data science, public opinion analysis, and providing data-driven strategic advice to public agencies.

Dr. McLarney is a nationally-recognized expert in survey research methodology, sampling theory, weighting, and the use of statistical methods to generalize survey results. His research has been recognized at national and state conferences, has been published in academic journals, and has earned him honors including the title of Visiting Scholar at the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley. He has also served as an independent expert witness in survey research methodology for legal cases. Dr. McLarney earned his Ph.D. and M.A. from Cornell University in Government with an emphasis in survey methodology, sampling theory, data science, and public opinion analysis.

Richard Sarles, M.S.

Richard Sarles is the Principal Researcher and co-founder of True North Research. For more than 25 years, he has helped public agencies, businesses, and nonprofit organizations make better decisions through high-quality survey research and data analysis.

Mr. Sarles has overseen more than 1,500 research studies covering topics ranging from community priorities and public policy to customer experience, transportation, education, healthcare, and voter opinion. His areas of expertise include survey design, sampling methodology, weighting, statistical analysis, and the clear communication of research findings.

Clients value Mr. Sarles for his ability to combine methodological rigor with practical insight, ensuring that research results are both statistically sound and genuinely useful to decision-makers. In addition to directing research projects, he plays a lead role in the firm's data processing, quality control, analytics, and reporting efforts.

Prior to co-founding True North Research, Mr. Sarles served as Associate Research Director for another west-coast research firm. He earned both his B.S. in Psychology (summa cum laude) and M.S. in Experimental Psychology with an emphasis in Statistics (magna cum laude) from Illinois State University. His published work has been cited in academic and industry journals.