OPEG Affiliate Week: Raeal Moore on Becoming Active in Evaluation Organizations

My name is Raeal Moore and I am past member-at-large for the Ohio Program Evaluators’ Group (OPEG). I am always thinking of ways in which I can become more involved – especially locally – with colleagues who share an interest in evaluation and research.

As a way to get myself “out there” I ran for and was elected Member at Large to the Ohio Program Evaluator’s Group (OPEG) board.  I would like to share the benefits I imaged when running for the OPEG board and resources AEA provides on how to get involved in organizations more generally.

Top 10 reasons I ran for the OPEG board:

1. It would provide me with an avenue to network with a wide variety of evaluators close in geographical proximity and related by a local (state) context.
2. I could learn how an organization operates from the inside out.
3. I wanted to build reciprocal relationships where I could increase my experience in organizing and I could in turn share my own ideas.
4. I could collaborate with interesting people who have similar interests.
5. I wanted to make an impact with the potential to create organizational change.
6. I wanted to be challenged.
7. I wanted to be placed outside my comfort zone.
8. I thought this was an excellent opportunity to think globally and act locally.
9. I, of course, wanted to build upon my resume.

10.  And last but not least, I wanted to have fun!

Hot Tip: Becoming a board member of AEA or an affiliate organization is just one way to get involved. If this isn’t your cup of tea there are other ways to take on a leadership role or participate.

Rad Resource: AEA offers Coffee Break webinars to its members. Two notable sessions include important resources for new members and to AEA members who want to improve their leadership skills presented by Stanley Capela. Both resources get you thinking about how to get involved.

Rad Resource: AEA also provides a list of group affiliates. Perhaps there is a regional evaluation organization you can get involved with.

Hot Tip: If you are really ambitious, become a founding member of a local evaluation organization. Hopefully this week’s OPEG AEA365 posts provided useful resources for you to get started.

Hot Tip: Registration for OPEG’s interactive and experiential October 13th Fall Workshop, Embracing Change through Evaluation, is now open at www.OPEG.org.

The American Evaluation Association is celebrating the Ohio Program Evaluators’ Group (OPEG) Affiliate Week with our colleagues in the OPEG AEA Affiliate. The contributions all this week to aea365 come from our OPEG 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.