Over 20 years, Barker has gained senior research experience working in a spectrum of sectors including: agriculture, forestry, manufacturing, non-profit, financial services, agriculture, insurance, retail, tourism, and economic development. Barker has worked both corporately and as an independent contractor for United Grain Growers, one of Canada’s largest agricultural corporations, and dozens of other clients ranging from John Deere / Nortrax (USA and Canada), and Ducks Unlimited Canada, to the United Way, Monsanto, and Scotiabank.

Barker’s research project experience includes: design and implementation of syndicated research studies, management of corporate research departments, and design of market share studies. She has also led multiple research studies that measure the effectiveness of marketing initiatives and provided recommendations for their improvement. Much of her work has been focused on integrating database research and analysis with marketing planning. Other specialized research study experience includes: brand equity measurement, psychographic segmentation studies, and share-of-customer analysis.

Completing the Burke Institute Customer Segmentation course, SPSS Advanced Data Analysis, Professional Market Research Society courses on How To Measure Service Quality and Qualitative Research Methods, along with a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Calgary, have all contributed to Barker’s career successes.

An avid runner, Sharon has completed marathons in nine Canadian provinces and is looking forward to completing the final marathon this year.