March 12, 2025

Karen T. Jackson, Ph.D.

Associate Professor Leadership Studies

North Carolina A&T State University

President, American Evaluation Association

Dr. Jackson's visit included in-person meetings with The Evaluation Center and Evaluation Lab staff and doctoral students. She also gave a presentation for our Evaluation Café series titled, "Evaluation, Engaging Community, Sharing Leadership." Her presentation was followed by a panel discussion about connecting and engaging in the evaluation field. That conversation featured Dr. Jackson and leaders from the Michigan Association for Evaluation, Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation, and Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation.

Our Evaluation Café features discussions and presentations about evaluation over the lunch hour. Café presenters introduce new ideas, solicit feedback on real-world evaluation issues, and share recent evaluation work. 

In 2024-25, The Evaluation Center hosted one in-person and nine hybrid presentations featuring 15 speakers on diverse topics. 

Evaluation Center staff regularly present at national and regional conferences. In 2024-25, our staff gave 30 presentations at eight conferences and other evaluation-related convenings.

Boyce, A., Cooper, A., Reid, A. M., Yom, T., Youker, B., & Wingate, L. A. (2024, October). Beyond the classroom: Lessons learned from four evaluation labs. Panel session at the annual meeting of the American Evaluation Association, Portland, OR.

Fields, J., Hazen, M., Fleury, R., & Youker, B. W. (2024, November 13). DEIA in public administration: Addressing challenges, opportunities, and strategies for fostering inclusive and equitable practices. Panel session at the Center for Excellence and Research in Public Service, School of Public Affairs and Administration, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo.

Gale, M., Lefler, M., Sturgis, E., & Vaughn, R. (2024, October). Collecting student data in ATE: Strategies for success. Panel session at the Advanced Technological Education Principal Investigators Conference, Washington, DC.

Hooks Singletary, B., Moteane, ‘M., Nesbitt, J., & Haynes, J. (2025, April). Exploring the history of psychometrics: Power, race, and the voices of marginalized scholars. Presentation at the Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment Conference, Chicago, IL.

Hooks Singletary, B. (2024, October). 3 tips to strengthen communication between evaluation and project teams. Presentation at the Advanced Technological Education Principal Investigators Conference, Washington, DC.

López, M. (2025, June 11). What works in ECB: Practical tools from the field. Presentation for the American Evaluation Association’s Organizational Learning and Evaluation Capacity Building Topical Interest Group.

López, M. (2024, October). Advancing evaluation capacity building: Key insights from researchers and practitioners. Presentation for the Evaluation Café series, Western Michigan University.

López, M. (2024, October 16). Evaluating evaluation capacity building: Lessons from researchers and practitioners. Presentation for the Evaluation Capacity Building Topical Interest Group, American Evaluation Association.

López, M., Becho, L. W., Goodyear, L., Urban, J. B., Fitzgerald, M., & Williams, B. (2024, September 24). Evaluating evaluation capacity building: Key insights and takeaways. Panel session at the bi-annual meeting of the European Evaluation Society, Rimini, Italy. 

Marshall, V. (2025, February). Community issues in context: Making sense of community health assessments to inform your work. Presentation at the Michigan Association of Treatment Court Professionals, Grand Rapids, MI. 

Marshall, V., & Fields, J. (2024, November). Practice profiles: A powerful implementation science tool for evaluation practice. Poster at the annual meeting of the American Evaluation Association, Portland, OR.

Montrosse-Moorhead, B., Schröter, D., & Becho, L. W. (2024, October). The expanded garden of evaluation approaches visualization. Paper presentation at the annual meeting of the American Evaluation Association, Portland, OR.

Montrosse-Moorhead, B., Schröter, D., & Becho, L. W. (2024, September). The garden of evaluation approaches. Paper presentation the bi-annual meeting of the European Evaluation Society, Rimini, Italy.

Schröter, D., Becho, L. W., & Montrosse-Moorhead, B. (2024, September). The expanded garden of evaluation approaches: Theory in context. Paper presented at the bi-annual meeting of the European Evaluation Society, Rimini, Italy.

Montrosse-Moorhead, B., Schröter, D., & Becho, L. W. (2025, May 15). Blossoming perspectives from the garden of evaluation approaches. Invited seminar for the Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Evaluation of Public Policies, Methods and Approaches in Evaluation, Sciences Po.

Montrosse-Moorhead, B., Schröter, D., & Becho, L. W. (2025, February 27). Introduction to the garden of evaluation approaches. Invited presentation for Women in Research, Monitoring, Evaluation, & Learning.

Montrosse-Moorhead, B., Schröter, D., & Becho, L. W. (2025, February). Navigating the garden of evaluation approaches. Presentation for the Evaluation Café series, Western Michigan University.

Montrosse-Moorhead, B., Schröter, D., & Becho, L. W. (2024, August 12). The garden of evaluation approaches visualization: How do approaches compare on dimensions that facilitate use and application? Invited presentation for the Western Michigan Evaluators Network. 

Morrison, J. Q., Watts, B. R., & Hernandez, A. E. (2025, May 1). Collaborative revisions to the Program Evaluation Standards to refine core constructs and navigate pain points. Presentation at the annual meeting of the Eastern Evaluation Research Society. 

Nesbitt, J., Moteane, ‘M., Haynes, J., & Hooks Singletary, B. (2025, April). Expanding pathways: Examining the lived experiences of Black psychometricians in educational measurement. Presentation at the annual meeting of the National Council on Measurement in Education, Denver, CO.

Prieur, A., Sutter, A., Liboon, C., Ross Nelson, K., Kenney, R., & Marshall, V. (2025, May). Doctoral student experiences with research on evaluation (RoE): Transforming evaluation practice through learning RoE. Presentation at the annual meeting of the Canadian Evaluation Society. 

Robertson, K., & Wingate, L. (2024, October). Leveraging online self-paced learning to strengthen the capacity of emerging evaluators. Roundtable session at the annual meeting of the American Evaluation Association, Portland, OR.

Schroeter, D., Becho, L. W., & Montrosse-Moorhead, B. (2025, February 12). Navigating the garden of evaluation approaches. Presentation for the Evaluation Café series, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo. 

Sturgis, E. (2024, October). Getting started for new grantees. Preconference workshop at the Advanced Technological Education Principal Investigators Conference, Washington, DC.

Sutter, A., Ross Nelson, K., Prieur, A., Kenney, R., Marshall, V., & Liboon, C. (2024, November). Doctoral student experiences with research on evaluation (RoE): Insights and opportunities from a collaborative autoethnography. Poster at the annual meeting of the American Evaluation Association, Portland, OR.

Watts, B. R., & Morrison, J. Q. (2024, October 24). How do we know what we don’t know about the Program Evaluation Standards? Presentation at the annual meeting of the American Evaluation Association, Portland, OR.

Watts, B. R. (2025, March). Revising the Program Evaluation Standards. Presentation for the Evaluation Cafe series, Western Michigan University.

Youker, B. W. (2025, June 27). Supervision. Panel session at the Statewide Student Employment Summit, Western Michigan University.

Youker, B. W., Hernández, V., & Varda, J. (2025, May 1). Learning through the lab: An intro to ECB. Presentation for the Organizational Learning and Evaluation Capacity Building Topical Interest Group of the American Evaluation Association.

Youker, B. W., Al Mahi, S., Eck, J., & Williams, D. (2025, January). Learning through the lab. Presentation for the Evaluation Cafe series, Western Michigan University.

The Evaluation Center is home to the Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation. In 2024-25, the fully open-access journal published three issues featuring 36 articles by established and emerging evaluation scholars.

Evaluation Center staff regularly publish on evaluation theory, practice, and methods. In 2024-25, center staff published10 articles, two books, and an edited volume of New Directions for Evaluation.

Becho, L. W., & López, M. (2024). Editors’ notes. New Directions for Evaluation. 

Lee-Easton, A. F., Maranda, M. J., & Magura, S. (2025). Characteristics of mandates for evidence-based behavioral health interventions in 8 selected US states. Evaluation and Program Planning.

Lee-Easton, M. J., & Maranda, M. J. (2024). Evidence-based: A term in search of a definition. In M. J. Maranda & M. J. Lee-Easton (Eds.), Perspectives on evidence-based policy in human services (pp. 12–22). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

López, M., & Becho, L. W. (2024). Epilogue: Looking forward. New Directions for Evaluation. 

Maranda, M. J., & Lee-Easton, M. J. (2024). Introduction to the evidence-based movement. In M. J. Maranda & M. J. Lee-Easton (Eds.), Perspectives on evidence-based policy in human services (pp. 1–11). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Maranda. M. J., & Lee-Easton, M. J. (Eds.). (2024). Perspectives on Evidence-based policy in human services. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Montrosse-Moorhead, B., Schröter, D., & Becho, L. W. (2024). The garden of evaluation approaches visualization. Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation, 20(48), 49–58. 

Rucks, L., Wingate, L. A., López, M., & Becho L. W., FitzGerald, M., & Dean, K. (2024). Leveraging the Kirkpatrick four-level model to evaluate evaluation capacity building work. New Directions for Evaluation, (183).

Wingate, L. A., Boyce, A., Becho, L. W., & Robertson, K. N. (2025). Core concepts in evaluation: Contemporary commentary on classic writings. Sage.

Wingate, L. A., & Robertson, K. N. (2025). Using competency-informed tasks to guide evaluation capacity strengthening. Journal of MultiDisicplinary Evaluation.

Evaluation Center staff members published seven blogposts in three different blogs in 2024-25.

Hooker, S. (2025, March 11). Practical project management tips for evaluators. EvaluATE blog.

Marshall, V. (2025, June 26). From submission to publication: Insight from a survey of New Directions for Evaluation contributors and readers. AEA365 blog. 

Roberson, K. & Wingate, L. (2024, July 10). Writing grant proposals: Three reasons why many evaluation plans flop. Valeo blog.

Sutter, A., Prieur, A., Marshall, V., Kenney, R., Ross Nelson, K., & Liboon, C. (2025, June 12). Research on evaluation: Lessons from practitioner-scholar doctoral students. AEA365 blog. 

Watts, B. R. (2024, July 7). Thinking about standards past and present, at home and abroad. AEA365 blog. 

Wingate, L., & Roberson, K. (2024, September 4). Why evaluators should learn about theoretical approaches to program evaluation. Valeo blog.

Wingate, L., & Roberson, K. (2024, August 12). A fresh approach to learning the basics of evaluation. Valeo blog.

EvaluATE, a National Science Foundation-supported resource hub located at the center, hosts open-access webinars to support evaluators and project staff with practical tools and actionable insights. Each session is recorded and made available to the evaluation community, ensuring continued access to critical learning materials at any time.

In 2024-25, EvaluATE held six webinars.

Hooks Singletary, B., Anyaibe, O., & Hooker, S. (2025, May). Crafting compelling case studies for evaluation. [Webinar]. EvaluATE.

Becho, L.W., Hooker, S., & Hooks Singletary, B. (2025, March). Strategies and insights into evaluation plans for NSF ATE proposals. [Webinar]. EvaluATE.

Becho, L.W., Hooker, S., & Hooks Singletary, B. (2025, February). NSF ATE evaluation essentials for non-evaluators: Understanding the basics and benefits of evaluation. [Webinar]. EvaluATE.

Becho, L.W., & Hooks Singletary, B. (2024, November). Using rapid qualitative analysis for efficient and effective project evaluation. [Webinar]. EvaluATE.

Becho, L.W., Montrosse-Moorhead, & B., Schroeter, D. (2024, August). Expanding Your Repertoire: A Crash Course in Evaluation Approaches. [Webinar]. EvaluATE.

Becho, L.W., & Hooker, S. (2024, July). Strategies and insights into evaluation plans for NSF ATE proposals. [Webinar]. EvaluATE.

The Evaluation Center staff leads workshops at various conferences to promote sound evaluation practice. In 2024-25, we presented five workshops at four conferences.

Bielefeldt, T., Gordon, J., Hooks-Singletary, B., Kuyumjian, T., Lopez, M., Madden, K., Mann, C., McClain, L., Snyder, G., & Tucker Blackmon, A. (2025, July). ATE Evaluators: Connect, share, learn. Workshop at the High Impact Technology Exchange Conference, Minneapolis, MN.

Becho, L. W., & Hooks Singletary, B. (2024, October). Stories of impact – Meaningful and efficient qualitative evaluation. Workshop at the Advanced Technological Education Principal Investigators Conference, Washington, DC.

Becho, L. W., Banse, H., Bielefeldt, T., Brown, E., Campbell, B., Lore, S., Madden, K., Mullins, M., & Shen, Z. (2024, July). ATE Evaluators: Connect, share, learn. Workshop at the High Impact Technology Exchange Conference, Kansas City, MO.

Becho, L. W., Montrosse-Moorhead, B., & Schröter, D. (2024, September). Blooming perspectives: Practical insights from the garden of evaluation approaches. Workshop at the bi-annual European Evaluation Society conference, Rimini, Italy.

Montrosse Moorehead, B., Becho, L.W., & Schröter, D. (April 22, 2025). Approaches to evaluating educational programs. Workshop at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Denver, CO. 

EvaluATE hosts a series of Community Conversations, which are facilitated virtual meetings to support peer-to-peer learning about evaluation. EvaluATE, located within The Evaluation Center, is the evaluation hub for the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education program.

In 2024-25, EvaluATE hosted 11 Community Conversations on the following topics:

• Using Case Studies in ATE Project Evaluations
• Accessible Language in Evaluation Reporting and Project Communication
• Managing ATE Projects
• Why Evaluation Matters for your ATE Project
• Understanding the ATE Context
• Preparing for the 2025 ATE Survey
• Completing the 2025 ATE Survey
• Increasing Survey Response Rates
• Creating Data Dashboards
• Asking Critical Questions in Evaluation
• Why Does My Proposal Need an Evaluation Plan?

Evaluation of Can-Do Camp

Sponsor: Can-Do Kalamazoo

The lab designed, administered, analyzed, and reported on evaluations of Can-Do Camp, a 12-week entrepreneurial training program. Specifically, the lab administered weekly and post-camp surveys with several cohorts of camp participants and facilitated 6-month and 1-year follow-up interviews.

Data Management and Analysis for Imagine Kalamazoo 2035

Sponsor: City of Kalamazoo

The City of Kalamazoo facilitated a year-long process for gathering data from city residents to inform the City’s 10-year strategic plan. The lab provided data management, analysis, and visualization to IK 2035.

Campus-Wide Undergraduate Survey Data Collection and Analysis

Sponsor: Empowering Futures Gift, Western Michigan University

The lab designed, conducted, facilitated, analyzed, and reported on focus groups with Broncos Lead internship participants and focus groups, interviews, and surveys with Bronco Connect living learning community residents. In 2024, the lab surveyed more than 400 undergrads in person about their WMU experience. In 2025, the lab surveyed over 600. 

Evaluation Consulting

Sponsor: Kalamazoo Black Male Alliance

KBMA is a social-educational organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for Black men and boys. The lab provides ongoing evaluation, capacity-building support, and consultation.

Logic Model and Evaluation Strategy Development for Camp Good Grief

Sponsor: Centrica Care Navigators

Journeys and Camp Good Grief are initiatives to provide bereavement groups for children and families experiencing a loss. The lab consulted on the creation of an evaluation strategy, developing project logic models, and revising Centrica’s existing data collection instruments.

Logic Model Development 

Sponsor: Local Journalism Foundation

LJF is a Kalamazoo-area media organization that focuses on participatory journalism, public education, and civic engagement. The lab assisted in drafting logic models for LJF overall and several LJF initiatives. The lab conducted an evidence scan by systematically gathering research on local news media impacting civic engagement.

Evaluation Consulting for Justice Lifted Project

Sponsor: Walker Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnic Relations

Justice Lifted program is a juvenile diversion program and collaboration between the Walker Institute and Gryphon Place. The lab provided consultation regarding evaluation strategy design and instrument development.

Logic Model and Evaluation Strategy Development for Higher Education for the Justice-Involved (HEJI)

Sponsor: WMU Center for Humanities

HEJI delivers philosophy courses to individuals incarcerated at Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, Michigan. The lab consulted with HEJI regarding evaluation strategy, logic models, and outcome measures.

Kalamazoo Entrepreneurial Landscape Survey

Sponsor: Kalamazoo Community Foundation

The lab designed, administered, analyzed, and reported on a survey of 71 Kalamazoo County entrepreneurs. With the English and Spanish-language survey, KZEN acquired insights about the entrepreneurs’ business status, and their perspectives on the entrepreneurial environment and business needs.

Focus Group Analysis for Hub ONE

Sponsor: Empowering Futures, Western Michigan University 

Hub ONE is a collaboration of Big Brothers Big Sisters, Prevention Works, and Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Kalamazoo that seeks solutions to problems faced by local nonprofits. Hub ONE facilitated three listening sessions with organizations’ leaders, and the lab transcribed, analyzed, and reported on each listening session. Additionally, the lab interviewed the listening session facilitator.

Dr. Brandon Youker is the Evaluation Lab's director. He oversees a team of exceptional student employees:

In addition to working on real-world projects, the Evaluation Lab's staff benefits from professional development experiences and opportunities to engage with evaluation experts.

• In January 2025, Samin, Jill, and Deborah co-presented “Learning Through the Lab” for an Evaluation Café at WMU.
• In May 2025, Víctor and Justin co-presented “Learning Through the Lab: An Intro to Evaluation Capacity Building” to the American Evaluation Association’s Organizational Learning and Evaluation Capacity Building Topical Interest Group.
• On March 5, 2025, the lab met with the American Evaluation Association president, Karen Jackson. Among other things, they discussed the value of engaging undergraduate students in evaluation.
• In May 2025, six Evaluation Lab staff members attended the Michigan Association for Evaluation conference. 

We are grateful for support from the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, which provided two grants totaling $50,000. The grants support professional development, technology, and team-building for the Evaluation Lab staff and allow the lab to provide discounted services to low-resourced community organizations.