Hello Colleagues! We are Kimberly Harris, founder and Principal Researcher at Educa Consulting in Durham, NC; Sandra Ayoo, Assistant Professor in Educational Research Methodology at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, and evaluation scholar–practitioner; Sulianie Mertus, Founder and Principal Consultant at Meritus Insight Collective in Raleigh, NC; and Monifa Beverly, Owner of Beverly Consulting Group in Charlotte, NC, and current President of the North Carolina Evaluators Network (NCEN).
In June 2026, Drs. Ayesha Boyce, Rodney Hopson, and Tamara Bertrand Jones shared a powerful conversation on Fortifying the Infrastructure for Culturally Responsive Evaluation (CRE). This conversation, like those of CRE practitioners in North Carolina, stresses the importance of keeping to the values that sustain the work and continuing the journey of social justice.
Lessons Learned
- For Kimberly: Now more than ever, the power of language is so important, as we witness the reticence and retraction of articulated statements that are under indictment for triggering some groups, and thereby targeting others who dare speak their names. Words like diversity, equity, and inclusion have been weaponized and culturally responsive evaluators are having to do the hard heart work of walking alongside client partners as they navigate terrain that makes most of us feel uncertain of the proverbial ground underneath us. It is in this very moment that I have leaned more intently and intensely on CRE methodology in my evaluative practice, not only as a philosophical stance, but as a rigorous analytical methodology.
- For Sandra: As an immigrant, social justice advocate, and evaluation teacher-scholar-practitioner raised in a communal culture, I see CRE not simply as an approach, but as a philosophical stance that shapes my relationships with communities, organizations, and broader social systems. My practice centers meaningful engagement with historically marginalized communities through culturally responsive, collaborative, and participatory approaches. I partner with trusted community leaders as cultural brokers to build trust, foster community ownership of evaluation, and co-create meaning. A key lesson learned is that CRE also requires discernment: protecting my integrity sometimes means declining work that conflicts with my values or limits authentic engagement. What sustains me is the belief that evaluation can advance more just relationships through humility, reciprocity, and shared learning, even as I continue to wrestle with practicing CRE within institutions that often prioritize efficiency over genuine partnership.
- For Sulianie: As a current LEEAD Scholar, I engage with Culturally Responsive and Equitable Evaluation (CREE) with greater intentionality than ever before. CRE has become more than a guiding philosophy. It shapes how I frame questions, engage communities, interpret evidence, and make decisions grounded in methodological rigor and community knowledge. Even as the field evolves, my commitment to the community remains constant. What sustains me is the growing community of evaluators advancing this work and the ability to answer questions like: How do I adapt without compromising community trust? And how do I continue to demonstrate the rigor and value of CRE in practice?
- For Monifa: CRE is an evaluation approach and a stance. During my 20-year journey, with Karyl Askew, I have practiced collaborative and culturally responsive evaluation. I have found that understanding positionality with/in each evaluation context and incorporating facilitation strategies throughout evaluations is essential to foster participatory inquiry spaces. What sustains me as a CRE practitioner is co-learning with each community that entrusts their expertise and stories with me. Additionally, I am sustained by building the evaluation capacity of community members and practitioners who co-create evaluations and have the tools and voice to interrogate evaluation methodologies and findings shared in their name.
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