About Penn and Associates

Catherine Penn founded Penn and Associates to bring clarity, discipline, and accountability to economic impact analysis—especially for public sector clients who need defensible insights to guide policy and investment. With nearly four decades of experience in research and analysis, she leads the firm with a principled commitment to analytical discipline and client responsiveness.

Her foundation in marketing research shaped the firm’s ethos: data must be collected with care, analyzed with discipline, and communicated with purpose. That philosophy now drives Penn and Associates’ economic impact work, including the development of the Penn CGE Model—a proprietary computable general equilibrium framework designed to reflect local realities and sector-specific dynamics.

Economic Impact, Humanized

Penn and Associates integrates behavioral data and statistically valid survey insights to ensure economic narratives include real voices. These analytically grounded perspectives reveal motivations, barriers, and perceptions that enrich traditional impact reporting—making findings more engaging, relatable, and actionable.

Transparent, Auditable, Defensible

• Clear documentation of model assumptions and inputs
• Contextual customization aligned with client-defined priorities
• Probability-based sampling when survey data is used
• Full analytical transparency and disciplined reporting upon release

Founder-Led, Client-Focused

Direct Oversight. Principled Stewardship. Trusted Results.

Penn and Associates is structured to ensure direct oversight, agility, and accountability. Clients work with the principal throughout every phase of analysis and delivery—no handoffs, no dilution of expertise. Strategic tools, including Microsoft Copilot, support research, modeling, and communication—extending the firm’s capabilities while preserving the clarity, discipline, and depth of principal-led work.

Looking Ahead

Penn and Associates currently serves clients across Ohio and Illinois. Growth is driven not by scale, but by substance. We invest in intellectual capital, prioritize clarity, and deliver insights that are genuinely useful.

We maintain certifications under NAICS 541910 (Public Opinion Polling) and certifications across multiple jurisdictions, including the State of Ohio, Cuyahoga County, and the City of Cleveland. These certifications reflect our longstanding commitment to public sector engagement and analytical precision.