Conference Speaker Biography

PETER D. HART
Founder
Peter D. Hart Research Associates

Peter D. Hart founded Peter D. Hart Associates, a public opinion research firm, in 1971. Since its inception, the firm has conducted more than 5,000 public opinion surveys, including interviews with more than 2.5 million individuals.

Mr. Hart has been the pollster for NBC News and The Wall Street Journal since 1989. In the political realm, he has represented more than 40 U.S. senators and 30 governors, ranging from Hubert Humphrey to Jay Rockefeller, and has conducted public policy and cultural issue analysis for clients such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Kennedy Center. In the international realm, he has conducted studies in South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The firm also has performed strategic planning projects for such corporate clients as Time Warner Inc., American Airlines, Microsoft, and AT&T.

Mr. Hart appears frequently on major television programs that discuss public policy issues, including Meet the Press, The Today Show, and The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. Along with Robert Teeter, he has been selected by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal to conduct their public opinion polling- the first time any outside firm has been retained by a news organization to conduct surveys that bear the name of the sponsoring organization.

Mr. Hart received his BA from Colby College. He is a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow and a visiting professor at the Sanford Institute of Public Policy at Duke University.