We are Dr. Maria Jimenez, Independent Evaluation Consultant in Los Angeles, CA, and Andrea Guajardo, MPH, Director of Community Health at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System in San Antonio, TX, core members of the newly formed LARED TIG network.
The inaugural business meeting of the LA RED TIG was held at AEA 2015 in Chicago. At this event, LA RED members reviewed strategic plans, developed working groups, and recognized key members. Strategic plans involved revisiting core goals and objectives. Working groups reported on key areas including Mentoring & Professional Development Oppportunities and Membership & Member Engagement. Lastly, Dr. Arthur Hernandez, Dean of the College of Education at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, was recognized with an award for his support and leadership in the formation of the TIG and presence at AEA. What follows is a review of the LA RED’s membership, future directions, and tips for how to get involved.
LA RED’s membership includes more than 25 emerging Latina/o evaluators who have recognized the need for increasing Latina/o visibility in AEA and to create spaces for evaluation discourse that is culturally responsive to Latina/o-serving communities and programs. Led by a group of founding members, it has enlisted broad participation from Latina/o evaluators and evaluators working with Latina/o-serving organizations.
Future directions for the TIG include:
- Expansion of membership for a Latina/o Responsive Evaluation Discourse Topical Interest Group (LA RED TIG) to continue to build a platform for Latina/o voices in evaluation practice for dialogue and knowledge sharing. (LA RED in Spanish stands for “The Network”.)
- Extension of professional leadership development for novice Latina/o evaluators through formal training and supportive mentoring from senior evaluators.
- Engagement of cross-cultural partners to meet the growing needs of the Latina/o community.
- Development of culturally responsive evaluation frameworks by including Critical Race Theory, LatCrit, and the voices of other indigenous Latina/o-focused writers.
LA RED welcomes evaluators who identify as Latina/o as well as any evaluator whose work and/or practice includes the study of Latino populations.
Hot Tip #1: Email LA RED. If you are interested in joining LA RED or would like more information regarding its mission, goals, and future directions, email LA RED at lared.tig@gmail.com.
Hot Tip #2: Join a LA RED working group. If you are interested in joining a working group, email us. Our work around the year translates into activities at AEA and beyond.
The American Evaluation Association is celebrating Latina/o Responsive Evaluation Discourse TIG Week. The contributions all this week to aea365 come from LA RED Topical Interest Group members. 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.