#Eval22 Roundup by Elizabeth DiLuzio

Greetings, AEA365 readers! Elizabeth (Liz) DiLuzio here, Lead Curator of the blog. Today marks the last day of this year’s conference. I hope that you who participated are feeling as inspired, reflective, and fulfilled as I am. If you were unable to to attend, or if you want to relive it, let’s take a non-exhaustive tour of some of the conference’s greatest takeaways as determined by the Twitterverse.

Before the conference kicked off with its opening plenary, the planning committee greeted us with the invigorating sounds of New Orleans. You can listen for yourself via Ayesha Boyce and Jen Billman‘s tweets.
The plenaries and presidential strands raised a lot of discussion online. Here’s a smattering of takeaways from attendees:

@VillaneuevaEdgar: We need to recognize where people are on their decolonization & equity journeys, and welcome each other into the conversation by sharing grace and space. Time for grieving, healing, nurturing, and repairing.

Call it what it is. "The colonizer virus"

Evaluators aren't taught how to wield and shift the power they have - yes! #Eval22 plenary nugget from Elizabeth Taylor Schiro

Whew what a panel. Monique Liston and Zuri Tau speaking on power and how we show up in spaces of evaluation. Some of us need to take a nap and some of us need to realize we're late to the party.

We are not going to out-evaluate white supremacy. Monique Liston

Youth are not the future. Youth are the present and they help to ensure a better evaluation for all of us. @msegone

Amazing panel at Evaluation 2022 with rock star entrepreneurs Mindelyn Anderson Nina Sabarre, PhD @NBPC1 and Stephanie Evergreen. Their expert panel discussion addressed working within your values, taking care of people and communities...

Many posts highlighted the exciting exhibits that were on display throughout the conference, including AEA’s DEI Journey Map and The Power of Perspective.
As always, a bulk of the posts were those of us inspired by the quotes or poignant messages we received from our sessions. Here are some highlights:

“Focus on evidence of resilience”rather than documenting problems ?
@erika_takada
? ?
@EngageRD
? ?
@i_heart_eval
? on trauma-informed evaluation #Eval22 ?
@aeaweb

This paper was fabulous. #Eval22

When black and brown theorists aren't included in theory taxonomies, this is the experience of 3 black women learning evaluation: "For me it's a microaggression because it says you can never ascend to the level of theorizing."

Amazing discussion on data violence led by Elizabeth McGee. #Eval22

One of my #Eval22 takeaways that I'd already been thinking about. We are constantly asked to complete surveys. It's hard to see that data put to use (if it is). That's killing a method. Don't be that surveyer.

Researchers. When analyzing food #insecurity, consider whether it's a food desert or food apartheid. The latter implies it was part of an intended policy action against a group of people. #eval2022 #Eval22 #geospatial

One theme I am hearing during virtual #Eval22 is the need for humility when co-creating & adapting our ways of doing #eval to be more in service of equity & communities.

We had a lot to celebrate this week, from the USA’s first Indigenous person to be awarded a PhD in Evaluation, multiple generations of evaluators in the same room, our talented new AJE co-editors meeting for the first time, and discovering you’re the host of a standing-room-only session.

Thank you to everyone who thoughtfully planned such an incredible experience! It meant a lot to a lot of people, and we are already looking forward to #Eval23.

The value in conferences is less about the explicit content shared and more in the structured serendipity that they allow for when and if you’re open to it. I’ve been reminded of this every day at #Eval22

This has been an incredible week of learning, networking, and shared passion for evaluation theory and practice. I am beyond grateful to the American Evaluation Association
@AEAamp
for organizing this year’s annual conference in person. It’s great to be back!!#Eval22

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