We are Leah C. Neubauer and Ayesha Boyce. We represent unique pathways into evaluation and we developed this blog to share our own journeys. We are also fierce amigas, collaborators, advocates, and sponsors to each and la causa. We are excited for the upcoming 10-year anniversary of LaRED. The MIE and LaRED TIGs fostered support for critical evaluation scholarship and deep community connection. People, relationships, and stories bind our work together.
I am Leah, Associate Professor at Northwestern University. I credit my initial engagement and success in evaluation to the Local Affiliate Collaborative (LAC) and the Chicagoland Evaluation Association (CEA). Finding an “evaluation home” happened in my city (Chicago) with others who practiced evaluation locally, providing me with local, cost-effective access to an evaluator community. After time spent in my local affiliate, I attended my first AEA in 2006 (Portland) and found my way through professional service to the LAC, the MIE & LaRED TIGS, and numerous task forces and committees.
Personal Values Into Professional Practice: I never imagined a career in evaluation, graduate school, or a faculty role. I am the oldest daughter of food service workers who met at Pizza Hut in the late 70s. Chicago and rural Illinois are home to my grandparents’ generation representing migration from Northern Mexico and previous generations from Germany and Scotland. I grew up around narratives of migrant work, labor, military service, grain, livestock & floor sanding. These familial experiences anchored me to values of service, collective agency, work ethic, and community amidst a hustle economy and occupational segregation. The latter inspired my co-authored 2012 AEA paper, “Where are the Latinos at?” as a call to AEA to increase profession diversity.
I am Ayesha, a cisgender Black Latina woman. I was born in Chicago, IL, but consider myself a native of Phoenix, AZ, and am the daughter of a Black American and a Black Panamanian immigrant. My husband is from Nigeria, and we have two young children. I am also an associate professor at Arizona State University and co-direct the STEM Program Evaluation Lab. My intersecting identities play a prominent role in all aspects of my personal and professional identity. However, that was not always the case.
Positionality into Professional Practice: I never imagined I could bring my whole self so fully into my professional role. I am an evaluation practitioner, teacher, scholar, and AEA award winner. As is the case with so many others, I stumbled into the field of evaluation. After completing a masters in research psychology I obtained a “research associate” position with the Arizona Department of Education evaluating state-wide character education, reading intervention, and teacher professional development. Aftering being introduced to the field of evaluation and attending my first AEA in 2008 I knew that I had found my professional calling. However, back then I thought that there were parts of myself I had to suppress, make small, or hide in order to do my job well. Over the course of the past 16 years I have examined and come to realize that my positionality impacts the work I do. Being forthright about my identities, experiences, and values has supported my scholarly work (see resources) and allowed me to authentically mentor, grieve, lead, curate, and thrive in my professional practice.
Rad Resources
- New Directions for Evaluation Volume 181 for more from Latine evaluators
- Research on intersection of Black evaluators identities, roles, and practice
- Research on how Evaluators of Color view their identities, roles, and practice
Learning with your Local AEA affiliate here and here.
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