Nicole Vicinanza on Connecting to AEA and a Chance to Win a Prize from SAGE

I’m Nicole Vicinanza, a Senior Research Associate at JBS International, and a member of the AEA Board.  As part of our work on the board, we seek input from AEA members and other stakeholders so that we can establish policies that help AEA as an association better succeed in our mission, attain our vision and live our values.  As we look at priority setting for the next year, it would be helpful for us to know how members and non-members connect (or don’t) with AEA.

Rad Resource: The AEA Web page is your portal for dozens of different ways to learn from, contribute to and connect with the AEA community.  If you haven’t already, visit the home page – almost every link will lead to a new way to connect with AEA.

Since you’re reading this post, I’m assuming you do connect with AEA in some way (at least through AEA365, or a colleague who forwards you AEA365 posts). However, there are lots of ways to connect – some available only to members, and some available to everyone.  For example, I connect to AEA through attending conferences, volunteering (on the Board, as a proposal reviewer for TIGs of which I’m a member, and at the conference), through LinkedIn, and (of course) through AEA365.  Other folks I know participate in local affiliates, contribute to AEA Journals or participate in the Thought Leaders Forum.

I consider AEA my primary professional “home” however many of my colleagues call other professions or disciplines their “home” but still use the AEA Library, eStudy courses or journals in their work.   Some are connected to AEA indirectly, through friends and colleagues who forward AEA365 postings, public access Coffee Break options or share AEA public statements.

Cool Trick: Sponsored by the AEA Board, enter this AEA365 drawing to win a $75 SAGE gift certificate.  To enter, all you have to do by midnight, December 10, in any time zone, is add a note to the comments section of this post that describes, 1) whether you consider AEA your professional “home” and 2) how you connect to AEA.

Hot tip: You don’t have to be a member of AEA to enter or win (but if you aren’t, wouldn’t you like to join?).  If you are receiving this via email, just click on the post’s title to return to this post on the AEA365 website and click on the word “comments.” One entry per person please (although you are welcome to comment on each other’s connections and ideas all you wish)! We will randomly select a winner from all those who add an on-topic comment by midnight December 10. The winner will receive a $75 Sage gift certificate.

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.

46 thoughts on “Nicole Vicinanza on Connecting to AEA and a Chance to Win a Prize from SAGE”

  1. Thank you everyone! Our winner, chosen at random, is Asgar Bhikoo! Congratulations! You will be hearing from someone very soon! 🙂

  2. Thanks, everyone for the great comments and connections! This input will be helpful as the board works on priority setting this year. Though the drawing deadline is tonight, feel free to add thoughts to the list, as we’ll be using this information in our meetings coming up at the beginning of 2014.

  3. AEA is Absolutely my professional home along with the Art of Hosting community!

    I am very active in the Independent Consulting TIG where I had been both Chair and Program co-chair. Also, this year I’m editing the Feminist TIG newsletter.

    I love volunteering with AEA, I ge to network and meet awesome people!

  4. Emily Subialka Nowariak

    I definitely consider AEA to be my professional home. I love connecting with AEA via the 365 blog posts, other online communications and the annual conference. AEA helps me to step back from my practice to continuously reflect and hone my skill set. I also enjoy connecting with my local affiliate (the Minnesota Evaluation Association) for face-to-face networking in between the annual conference.

  5. AEA is my professional home of choice because it offers so a diversity of perspectives. Evaluation is just part of what I do.

    I try to take advantage of the multiple ways of connecting to AEA, especially electronic messages that are easily shared.

  6. AEA is like a professional ‘cottage’ (cabin?) for me. My professional home is my workplace team – but we go up to the cottage to recharge…or dig out some things from the bookshelf? (This metaphor may be getting tired)

    I connect mostly to AEA through an RSS feed of the AEA365 blog, and also through the conference about once every 2 years.

  7. AEA is my vacation home. My regular home is Canada. I’m love the email updates and hot tips, they are very helpful as some one getting started in the field.

  8. I absolutely consider AEA to be my professional home, and evaluation to be my core, regardless of any job title.

    I connect to AEA as a member for 20 years, a conference attendee and TIG volunteer, the website, AEA365, Linkedin, and any way I can. I really appreciate AEA and the wonderful evaluation committee it supports.

  9. AEA is becoming my professional home more and more. The conference, however, is not my preferred connection. The AEA365 and coffee-break webinars along with the periodic paid training offerings help keep me engaged. It is also a good resource to mine when I have a specific practice question I can look in the library or quickly network my way to an answer from a colleague.
    The national aspect, rather than state or city, makes it a little overwhelming as a network but I also feel that I am getting the best in the field or a representation of what our field has to offer when I consult AEA sources. I think being a member of AEA and connecting to content in some way is important to my development as a professional evaluator and a must-have for practicing in this profession. It is a useful unifier for all of us evaluators who come to the field from so many disparate backgrounds.

  10. AEA has been my professional home for a long time (since I realized that being an evaluator was my path). There have been other organizations that have waxed and waned–AEA is the only one that continues. The conference is the touchstone for me. Other connections are volunteering (Board, reviewer, TIG officer, journal editor), LinkedIn, EvalTalk, AEA365, among others. For me, watching AEA grow (and grow up) has been quite an experience.

  11. I am considering AEA to be my professional ‘home’ more and more. I’m still relatively new to the field of evaluation and AEA has been a great go-to place to get connected with others in evaluation and grow professionally.

    I connect to AEA through the annual conference, AEA365, coffee hour webinars, and the e-library. I hope to get more involved with my local affiliate and TIG over the next year.

  12. AEA is my professional “home.” It’s one of several organizations to which I belong, but most certainly the one in which I am the most involved. As an AEA member, I’m connected mostly through the PreK-12 Educational Evaluation TIG and our leadership team. I’ve been a Member-at-Large, Program Chair-elect, and will be Program Chair starting in January. As a doctoral student, this has been a great opportunity to get involved and learn about preparing and presenting my research at annual conferences. The great people I’ve met through AEA are an added bonus!

  13. AEA was my professional home (or one of them) at one time when I primarily worked as an evaluator. I still stay in touch through AEA365, and value that content. Whatever you do, there is an evaluative component!

    If I had more funding, would love to attend the conferences… but…

  14. I consider AEA my professional home and have been comfortable and nourished here since 2002. I have been connected through several TIGs and now consider the Independent Consulting TIG my home. I enjoy many of the coffee breaks webinars, take eStudy classes, get daily AEA 365 blog posts delivered daily and use several of the web resources that are freely available. The conference is my favorite way to connect.

  15. I’m beginning to see AEA as more of my professional home as of late, especially because of the regular AEA365 updates. While I’m not a member, it’s something I am considering!

  16. I have many professional ‘homes’ – some related to methodology (AEA, and both epidemiology and biostatistics organizations) and some related to content (public health and family/community medicine). All provide a wealth of knowledge and tools to help keep current. I stay in close contact with the evaluation world of AEA through aea365 (my colleagues and I submit a blog once/month and read these daily), Linkedin, attending annual conferences, using the Coffee Break webinars as a professional development tool with colleagues during ‘brown bag webinar lunches’ (and recently co-presenting one), and the many resources easily found on the website!

  17. I consider AEA my professional home as it provides me with access to tools, insights and online learning initiatives that allow me to reflect and improve on the work I do on a daily basis. I connect with AEA through regularly reading the AEA 365 Blog and participating in Webinars and E-learning initiatives. This participation has given me access to thought leaders (that I would not have accessed otherwise) and with relevant and easy to understand information, that has accelerated the learning process for myself and my colleagues. Thank you AEA for the great work!

  18. Shureka Hargrove

    I consider AEA my professional “home” because AEA allows me to connect with people all over the world in gaining knowledge and skills about evaluation. As a new evaluator, connection to AEA through AEA365 and through Facebook provides me with valuable tools to enhance my career.

  19. AEA is one of my professional homes (but I also pick up a lot from others like Eval Central, the UK-based Evidence Based Policy in Development Network, etc.).
    I do read AEA365 and regularly explore the links in these to other sites and documents. I occasionally also check the AEA e-library.
    As I do not live in the US (I write this from Dili, Timor-Leste) my interaction with AEA is primarily electronic. I also get the AEA postings on Facebook.

  20. AEA is my professional home. I connect through a position as a TIG leader, and connections made at the AEA Meeting. Sometimes I also connect through the journals, social media, blogs, and coffee break webinars. Somethings work better than others so i thank AEA for trying to provide multiple avenues for its members to connect.

  21. I consider AEA my professional home. I connect to AEA through the AEA365 blog, EVALTALK, LinkedIn, the AEA Library, AEA journals, and Coffee Break webinars. I regularly attend and contribute to the annual conferences; haven’t missed one in eight years!

  22. I consider AEA my professional home and connect via AEA 365, interesting coffee break webinars, Twitter, Facebook, the newsletter, the journals, and the conference.

  23. AEA has become one of my professional homes, and I connect with it through AEA365, conference attendance and my own conference presentations, as well as proposal reviews. I hope to become more involved!

  24. Jeanne Hubelbank

    AEA is my professional home. There are so many resources: AEA conferences, aea365 tips, website resources, journals, TIGs, LinkedIn, proposal reviewing. I participate in and use them all. Thank you AEA. As an independent consultant, I especially appreciate the opportunity to connect with the evaluation field.

  25. I consider AEA my professional home and connect through the website, the annual conference, AEA365, webinars, and colleagues like Nicole. I would just like to say thanks to all the people who make AEA a great professional home!

  26. AEA is my second home at which I wish I could spend more time. I connect through the various newsletters and search on the website for tools I need for my first home.

  27. AEA is definitely my professional home. I am making the transition from the for profit sector to the non-porfit sector and the resources of AEA have been an incredible help. I have never come across another organization in any other field that is as dedicated as the members of AEA to advance best practices to its field of practice.

  28. AEA is one of two professional homes. I connect by having served on the boards of two of my TIGs, presenting at AEA conferences, reviewing proposals, and presenting Coffee Breaks and eStudy seminars. And subscribing to aea365.

  29. AEA is becoming more and more like my professional home, I am still learning about how best to connect with people and utilize the vast array of information available. I connect through 365 Tip-A-Day blog, LinkedIn page, and by browsing the conference presentations and upcoming workshops.

  30. I consider AEA to be my professional home, and I stay connected through aea365, Twitter, Facebook, national conferences, and volunteering for several TIGs!

  31. I wouldn´t say that AEA my professional home, although I am a full member of AEA and heavy user of its several services. But without doubt it is in my “top five” of resources on evaluation. My connections to AEA are by following its twitter and facebook account, AEA365 by email and RSS, and I also usually visit the LinkedIn group.

  32. 1. I do consider AEA one of my professional homes. I also belong to an academic organization focused on agricultural education.
    2.I connect by receiving the AEA365, attending the Eval conference, and following some thought leaders chats.

  33. AEA is a fantastic resource and my professional home. I use the online tools to brush up on evaluation topics and learn about what’s coming up next in the field.

  34. I do not consider AEA to be my primary professional home, although I value my membership benefits highly. I am on EVALTALK, AEA365, and a couple of TIG listserves which are the main ways I connect. There are many interesting discussions and links to helpful resources, so I check out every email that comes from AEA. It is a great organization, and would be my professional home if evaluation was the primary focus of my work.

  35. 1) Yes! AEA is my professional home.
    2)As a member of AEA, I use resources like AEA365 to keep up to date on the field. I try to attend the national conference each year for similar reasons. And lastly, I use the AEA library to look up and gain ideas from other evaluators when I am stuck on a project.

  36. AEA is definitely one of the places that I look to as a “professional home” as I continue to grow in my career. I connect through their Coffee Break webinars, eStudy courses, journals and of course, the aea365 blog!

  37. I am a member because another member shared some of the AEA 365 posts with me and encouraged me to join. I realized after I joined that I think like an evaluator, even though I previously would not have identified myself as an evaluator.

  38. I consider AEA one of my two professional homes — the other is the Society for Community Research and Action (Division 27 of the American Psychological Association — http://www.scra27.org). I work as a community psychology consultant and most of the work I do is evaluation. I joined AEA before I went into business for myself. When I decided to pursue consulting, the members of the Independent Consulting TIG were amazingly supportive and helpful. AEA is valuable to me because it helps me to continue to develop professionally, has provided me with a network of amazing peers, and gives me a professional home specifically for evaluation.

  39. AEA is one of several associations I belong to, but not the one I would call my core home. I regard evaluation as essential to almost everything I do professionally (teach, research, consult with nonprofit organizations) but I do not identify solely as an evaluator.

  40. I consider AEA my professional home, and am a charter member. I connect to AEA through Headlines and Resources, the 365 Tip-A-Day blog, the online newsletter, and Coffee Break webinars. I frequently use tips and techniques I learn through these mechanisms, and share them with others. AEA is the best professional association around!

  41. I consider AEA my professional home, and use the tools available to stay current, since my day to day work is not directly related to evaluation.

  42. – AEA is my second “home.” My first is the professional association of my field.
    – I connect to AEA through AEA365, the conference (first attended in 2013), a few Coffee Break Webinars, the awesomely extensive e-library, and a couple of TIGs. – Overall, this has been a tremendous help in my profession, and I’m grateful for all you do!

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