Hi, we’re Christen Pentek and Ross Velure Roholt, Site Visit Coordinator and incoming Chair for the Youth Focused Evaluation Topical Interest Group (YFE TIG). Over the last decade, youth-led and youth participatory evaluation has become mainstream. Now, funding organizations often require youth voice in the design of youth programs and in their evaluation. This year …
I’m Richard Chase. Greetings from Wilder Research in St. Paul, where I have been involved in youth-focused evaluations for about 35 years. When it comes to youth programs, we’ve known for a long time that successful programs both prevent problems and promote development. Consequently, I use the risk and protective factor framework for evaluating youth …
The Wisdom of Youth by Richard Chase Read More »
Hello, my name is Stella SiWan Zimmerman, and I am the Founder and President of ACET, Inc. in Minneapolis, MN. A year ago, ACET was selected to evaluate the Hmong American Partnership’s 21st Century Community Learning grant from the Minnesota Department of Education. The Hmong American Partnership collaborates with the Community School of Excellence to …
LAWG Week: Engaging Youth to Improve Program Quality by Stella SiWan Zimmerman Read More »
Greetings from McGregor, Minnesota! I am Cheryl Meld, Afterschool Program Director at McGregor Public School. McGregor is located in Greater Minnesota about 2.5 hours from the Twin Cities (120 miles). I am excited to share my experience about how to approach evaluating the complex 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program. This competitive grant …
LAWG Week: Afterschool Programs: Young People are Evaluation Experts by Cheryl Meld Read More »
My name is Lauren Bloem. I’m an internal evaluator at AchieveMpls. As the strategic nonprofit partner of Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), AchieveMpls rallies community support to inspire and equip Minneapolis youth for careers, college, and life. I led a strategic project this year to learn how youth want to be consulted in Career and College …
LAWG Week: MNEA and Youth Evaluation by Lauren Bloem Read More »
My name is Claire Dunlap. I serve on the Minnesota Evaluation Association (MNEA) board as program co-chair and work at Youthprise as director of organizational effectiveness. I’m here to share how and why we engage youth in our processes and decisions at Youthprise, and it starts with our mission. Youthprise’s mission is to reduce disparities …
LAWG Week: Centering Youth by Claire Dunlap Read More »
Hello! We’re Katie Fritz Fogel and Selam Tilahun, Research Associates at Rainbow Research, a nonprofit evaluation and applied community research firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In Flipping the Script: White Privilege and Community Building, Sally Leiderman challenges evaluators to imagine “What would anti-racist evaluation look like?” We see evaluation as one tool for anti-racist community building …
LAWG Week: Evaluation Firms: Let’s Hire Youth! by Katie Fritz Fogel and Selam Tilahun Read More »
Wakinyan miye yelo Sicangu Lakota Oyate hematanhan. Lakowicoh’an waun welo. My name is Wakinyan LaPointe, I am from the Burnt Thigh Lakota Nation. I am here to kick off a full week of blogs about youth-engaged evaluation on behalf of the Minnesota Evaluation Association, acting as the Local Arrangements Working Group (LAWG) planning for AEA …
LAWG Week: WOPASI: Indigenous Youth Research & Development Center by Wakinyan LaPointe Read More »
My name is Alex Fink and I’m a Research Fellow in Youth Studies at the University of Minnesota. I’m a developmental evaluator with youth-serving organizations. I’ve watched the last five years as many organizations are asking youth workers to collect more and more data about program participants. As one worker I spoke to said, “We …
Helping Organizations Understand Data and Relationships with Clients by Alex Fink Read More »
Hello, I am Pia Saunders Campbell, Director of Measurement, Evaluation & Learning at the International Youth Foundation (IYF) and Communications Co-Chair of the Youth-Focused Evaluation TIG, here with my colleague Alejandra De Freitas. IYF’s belief that educated, employed, and engaged young people possess the power to solve the world’s toughest problems inherently leads to a …
