Michele Girard

Founder

Ivanhoe Development

Program Maturity for Community-Based Organizations: How finance, evaluation, and design intertwine

Ivanhoe Development serves as the first introduction to “evaluation” for many of our organizations (communities have been evaluating since the dawn of time). Our talk will discuss our clients' perceptions, barriers, and complications regarding evaluative projects, emphasizing organizations with limited financial resources. Our team will walk through case studies from Native, Latinx, Immigrant, and Black-led organizations that work nationally in homelessness, addiction, land trusts, legal aid, and more. Finally, we will walk through a few of our tools, such as Risk Tolerance and Evaluation Triage, that aid in assessing internal capacity and assumptions regarding evaluation. 

Kelly Robertson

Principal Research Associate

Western Michigan University

Megan Lopez

Senior Research Associate

Western Michigan University

Title and abstract coming soon!

Mary Gayen

Manager, Health Equity Evaluation

Corewell Health

Title and abstract coming soon!

Koren A. Dennison, M.A.

Managing Evaluation & Communications Specialist

UBUNTU Research & Evaluation

Dr. Carolina S. Sarmiento

Aurealia Johnson

Liberation Through Evaluation: Community-Centered Approaches

This session explores evaluation as a tool for liberation within communities, emphasizing our collective responsibility to foster equitable solutions. Participants will learn how everyday evaluative skills can strengthen relationships and address diverse community needs.

The presentation introduces storytelling methodologies like photovoice and journey mapping, which center community voices and lived experiences. These approaches position storytelling as a powerful evaluative practice for understanding complex community realities.
A case study featuring the UBUNTU-YWCA partnership demonstrates these methodologies in action through their Basic Tech Skills course evaluation. This collaboration enabled program participants to share insights, contributing to understanding the program's community impact while generating valuable data for future initiatives.
Participants will reflect on their responsibility to communities they serve and gain practical tools for implementing inclusive evaluation methods that amplify marginalized voices and drive meaningful change. The session highlights evaluation's role in strengthening collective ties and empowering community members as active agents

Andrea Allen, Ph.D.

Owner and Principal Consultant

AC Insights

Evaluation in a Trust-Based Philanthropy Context

Abstract coming soon!

Carl E. Hanssen

Owner

Hanssen Consulting, LLC

Evaluation in Corporate Contexts: Making the Transition from Education to Training

Abstract coming soon!