Hi, my name is Sonia Chen. I’m a Principal Research Advisor at the Ministry of Health in New Zealand. In the last five years, I have transitioned from being a researcher and evaluator to overseeing research projects as a research commissioner and contract manager for the New Zealand government.

A crucial aspect of my role involves reviewing draft research reports and associated materials. During the review process, I have noticed some common issues.

Sometimes assumptions were presented as facts, sometimes survey questions lack the needed depth to provide the specific knowledge needed, sometimes as interesting as the findings are there is a misalignment between research aims and findings, and sometimes reporting structure and presentation of results (especially tables and charts) needed to be rearranged to effectively deliver important insight.

Hi fellow evaluators, this is Domonique, Vanessa, Mili, Jared, and Cristina of Harder + Company Community Research who works with public and social-sector organizations to promote lasting change. This blog post focuses on evaluation technical assistance (TA) as a practice for advancing equity through evaluation.

Hello, I’m Fardin (far-deen) Rahman, MPH. I joined the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) fellow in September 2023 after completing my Master’s degree earlier that year. It was quite a rapid transition—one moment I was a student and the next I’m a professional in the public health evaluation field. At the start of my fellowship, I struggled to let go of the familiar deadlines and commitments of graduate school to embrace the fluidity of the workplace. I want to share three lessons that helped me adjust to my new role and responsibilities while maintaining work-life balance.

Hello AEA365 subscribers! We are Alysson Akiko Oakley and Caitlin Blaser-Mapitsa, and we are the co-editors of the International Advances in Evaluation section of the American Journal of Evaluation (AJE). We are thrilled to share articles with you that are featured in an upcoming AJE issue. These articles highlight the interplay between geography (global, local), principles, and culture in informing evaluation practice.

Hi, I’m Midjina Richard, MPH, CHES. I’m an Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) Fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. in Atlanta, Georgia. Before becoming a fellow, I had recently graduated from the University of Georgia and was just starting my public health career. I had some assumptions about my new position, but I wasn’t sure what to expect especially after finding out I had to work with a co-fellow. Collaboration in the workplace amazed me. It was so different from the competition in my graduate program. I want to share some lessons I learned that helped me with this transition from school to work.

Hi! I’m Amy Washbush, Associate Director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Community and Nonprofit Studies. Through our Co-Create team we partner with nonprofit organizations and others to answer the evaluation and research questions that can make communities better.

After having babies with the support of a birth doula, I decided to train as one myself. I supported friends as they prepared, gave birth, and adapted to their lives as parents. This transformative experience shifted how I see the world and can contribute to it, including in my work as an evaluator.

Hello, AEA365 community! We are Orna Ehrlich (Vice President, Strategic Impact) and Mary Harkins-Schwarz (Senior Director, Health Services Research). We work for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, a non-profit, volunteer-fueled organization dedicated to finding cures for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and improving the quality of life of children and adults
affected by these diseases.

We are AEA’s Student Evaluation Case Competition Working Group: Dana Linnell – Chair, Asma Ali, Brianna Crumly, Carolina De La Rosa Mateo, Rana Gautam, Meg Johnson, Gabriel Keney, Jonny Morell, Steve Mumford, Julian Nyamupachitu, Elena Polush, and Jennifer Yessis. Last year, we held the inaugural US Student Evaluation Case Competition, which we shared in a previous blog post on AEA365. In this year’s update, we announce the winning team and talk about how you can connect and be involved in this work going forward.