Carl Degen, Board Member; Tammy Droessler, CEO; Dianne Christensen, Chair of the Board of Directors; Kelly Eakin, President
In the summer of 1976, three inspired economists—Lau Christensen, Dianne Christensen, and Doug Caves—joined forces to create Laurits R. Christensen Associates. Their mission: help their clients, colleagues, and communities thrive by solving their most complex, real-world problems.
Their first projects began when Lau, an economics professor at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, was approached to testify on AT&T’s behalf in the defining antitrust case of the decade. While Lau testified, Dianne provided microeconomic analysis support for Lau’s testimony; and Doug was busy applying microeconomic tools to estimate changes in consumer electricity consumption for the Wisconsin Public Service Commission. This pioneering work laid the foundation for our litigation practice, marked our entry into the energy industry, and established the firm as a trusted leader in applied economics.
In those days, it was just Lau, Dianne, and Doug along with two of their first employees working in a basement apartment. But as demand for their services quickly grew, so did their need for a larger space—and a larger team. So, they began recruiting a number of talented economists, creative statisticians, passionate computer scientists, and dedicated administrators. And, in 1985, the firm’s success made it possible to expand into Madison’s iconic Pyare Square building.
Around that same time, the firm began working with the U.S. Postal Service. What started as a request to build capital stock estimates evolved into our largest and longest-standing partnership to date. The USPS also called upon them to conduct first-hand academic research in order to assess Total Factor Productivity (a responsibility that continues to this day), review their mandate that various mail classes avoid cross-subsidies in response to decreased demand, and solve a variety of other complex economic issues.
In the years that followed, Christensen Associates moved into a state-of-the-art, LEED-certified building in the heart of Madison. We grew into a team of more than 50, deepened our expertise and expanded our offerings to include economic analysis, data acquisition, litigation support, policy evaluation and more. We even transitioned ownership of the firm, making it 100% employee-owned and operated.
But, most importantly, we stayed true to our founders’ mission by developing innovative solutions to some of the most complex and meaningful economic problems of our time—helping our clients, our associates, those in our community, and ultimately, our world.