Unicairn is Suzanne Childress. I am building a practice around a specific problem: turning transportation data into evidence that planning agencies can actually act on.

I have spent 20 years in this field — at the Denver Regional Council of Governments, the Puget Sound Regional Council, and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission — doing the full range of work: surveys, data systems, analysis, and the harder question of whether any of it changes what gets built.

About the name

Cairns are human-centered wayfinders — stacks of stones placed by travelers to guide others through difficult terrain, built on the accumulated knowledge of everyone who passed before. That's the kind of work I want to do: analysis that helps agencies navigate complex decisions, grounded in what others have learned. The "uni" is because it's just me — and because unicorns are cool.

What I do

I work with state departments of transportation, transit agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, and research teams on projects where the goal is not just analysis but usable evidence. That means designing questions carefully, being honest about what the data can and cannot show, and connecting findings to the actual decisions being made. I also take on peer review, data infrastructure work, and evaluations of existing analytical systems.

What I am building toward

The goal is a practice grounded in that question — work that is rigorous about evidence, honest about uncertainty, and oriented toward outcomes that matter to people.

Work with me

I am available for project-based consulting, technical peer review, research collaboration, and speaking. Email childressssuzanne@gmail.com or connect via the links in the header.