We are Nicky Bowman, Ayesha Boyce, and Gregory Phillips II, the new co-editors for the Ethics, Values & Culture Section of AJE. We have lived experiences in an ever-changing and intersectional world that few academic publications address as a normal part of scholarship, governance, professionalization, and publication agreements. We bring our praxis and scholarship, which are rooted in different positionalities, intentionally and unapologetically to AJE. We envision scholarship that is deeply valued, widely applicable, and directly addresses equity, justice, whiteness, privilege, and colonization.
Nicky (she/her): Koolamalsi (Greetings). As a traditional member, knowledge keeper, and citizen of the Stockbridge Munsee Band of Mohican Nation, the sovereign rights and responsibilities I hold are rooted in the values and ethics of the Original Caretakers on Turtle Island and Mother Earth. My day job includes being President of Bowman Performance Consulting and an evaluator and associate scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the WI Evaluation Consortium (WEC). I’m also active in AEA as part of the EPTF and IPE TIG leadership, working on evaluation policy, governance, and programming. Globally, my work is through various VOPEs, on editorial boards as permanent editor or as a special issue editor, and through appointed work groups (International Evaluation Academy, UNDRIP Work Group, and EvalIndigenous). In all of these contexts and roles, I am rooted in an ethical, cultural, and sovereign way of doing the work.
Ayesha (she/her/ella): I am an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Innovation at Arizona State University and co-direct the STEM Program Evaluation Lab. My scholarship focuses on attending to value stances and issues related to diversity, equity, inclusion, access, cultural responsiveness, and social justice within evaluation—especially multi-site, STEM, and contexts with historically and systematically marginalized populations. I also examine teaching, mentoring, and learning in evaluation. I am currently serving on AEA’s Board of Directors and am a former Chair of the GSNE, STEM Education, and MIE TIGs.
Gregory (he/him): I am an Associate Professor at Northwestern University in the Department of Medical Social Sciences, Director of the Evaluation, Data Integration, and Technical Assistance (EDIT) Program, and Co-Director of our Community Health Research Concentration for our Program in Public Health. My research and evaluation focuses on using community-led approaches that center the voices of LGBTQ+ individuals to address health disparities. I currently serve as Chair of the Social Network Analysis Topical Interest Group (TIG), and am former Chair of the LGBTQ+ Voices TIG in AEA.
Our Vision for the Ethics, Values & Culture Section
Our vision can be described in two words: decolonization and justice.
Over the course of the next three years, we aim to:
- Decolonize author agreements, including the ethical and legal governance of data with implications for evaluation policy, professional development, ?funding strategies, and practice utilizing systems and nation-building strategies. This includes a specific focus on Indigenous contributors (rights holders, not stakeholders) as well as the rights of sovereign Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities globally.
- Publish special issues around the topics of:
- Articles based on presentations from CREA 2023 (look out for a call in 2024)
- Truth, healing, justice, and reconciliation
- White privilege, fragility, and supremacy
- Perspectives on Ethics, Values & Culture from VOPEs around the world
- Intersectionality within research and evaluation
- Expanded authors:
- Under 40
- Whose first language is not English
- Residing outside of the U.S.
- Part of the LGBTQIA+ community
- Who have a disability
- Increase the diversity of types of submissions and content within articles
- Encouraging positionality statements
- Publish nontraditional articles, including conversations, photos, and dialogues
- Host webinars to engage with section content
- Online publications follow 508 compliance
Rad Resources
- New Directions for Evaluation: LBGTQ+
- New Directions for Evaluation: Examining Issues Facing Communities of Color Today: The Role of Evaluation to Incite Change
- Guide to Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation from the American Constitution Society
- Journal of Multidisciplinary Evaluation Special Issue: Decolonizing Evaluation: Towards a Fifth Paradigm (Vol. 19, No. 44, 2023).
- Collaboratory for Indigenous Data Governance: Research, Policy, and Practice for Indigenous Data Sovereignty
Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org . aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators. The views and opinions expressed on the AEA365 blog are solely those of the original authors and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the American Evaluation Association, and/or any/all contributors to this site.