Goele Scheers

Independent Consultant

Goele Scheers Consultancy

A special presentation, hosted by The Centre for Research on Educational and Community Services (CRECS, uOttawa), and the Claremont Evaluation Center (CEG, CGU).

Making the Invisible Visible: How Outcome Harvesting Deepens Our Understanding of Change

This presentation will focus on Outcome Harvesting, a monitoring, evaluation, and learning approach that has been around for quite some time and has witnessed the growth of a vibrant community over the years. Outcome Harvesting serves the needs of managers, donors, and evaluators attempting to solve intractable problems and unexpected challenges in development and social change.

Kurt Wilson

President

Effect X, LLC

Human Centered Evaluation: Introduction to an Emerging Evaluation Lens Providing Practical Guidance to Address the Messy Complexity of Humanity

The strengths associated with prioritizing objectivity (and associated definitions of rigor) in established evaluation approaches carry a serious weakness: they ignore or directly undermine core dimensions of human life. Dimensions of rich inner-lives (e.g., love, trust, hope, motivation) that inform and inspire life are generally ignored, along with the subjective experiences and judgments that shape relevance and fuel engagement. This Eval Café will provide an overview of the newly developing lens of “Human Centered Evaluation” (HCE) and practical guidance and methodology to help evaluators engage the dynamic and living complexity of program participants. Bring your experiences, frustrations and questions to contribute to a lively discussion!  

Aaron W. Kates, PhD, LCSW

Lead Evaluation Consultant

Effect X, LLC

Trauma-Informed Evaluation: Evidence, Theory and Practice

As co-author of the forthcoming Trauma-Informed Evaluation and Research: A Practical Guide, Dr. Kates will introduce the trauma-informed evaluation lens and its relevance for contemporary evaluation practice. Rather than calling for a complete overhaul of the field, Dr. Kates and co-author Dr. Martha Brown advocate for integrating trauma-informed principles within existing evaluation frameworks. This presentation will explore how trauma has been addressed in the evaluation literature, summarize the empirical foundations of trauma-informed inquiry, and outline key theoretical perspectives and practical guidelines for applying trauma-informed approaches in evaluation practice.  

Guili Zhang

Professor and Department Chair

East Carolina University

American Evaluation Association President

Lunch will be provided. This event is in-person and will not be livestreamed.

Presentation: Evaluation Across Boundaries

This presentation explores how evaluation can move beyond traditional limits—across national borders, generations, disciplines, and methodological divides. It emphasizes openness to new ideas, diverse perspectives, and collaboration across fields and sectors. By blending evaluation models and techniques—qualitative and quantitative, academic and applied, traditional and emerging—evaluators can respond more effectively to today’s complex challenges. The approach values contributions from both experienced and early-career evaluators, fostering mutual learning and innovation. Crossing boundaries enables evaluators to address global issues, adapt to changing contexts, and expand the reach and relevance of evaluation, maximizing its impact wherever it is needed.

There is an additional opportunity to engage:

Panel Session: Navigating Professional Pathways and Boundaries in Evaluation

Following Dr. Zhang’s presentation, stay for dessert, coffee, and an engaging conversation with Dr. Zhang and a panel of local evaluation professionals. This facilitated dialogue will explore how evaluation educators, practitioners, researchers, and entrepreneurs navigate the terrain of evaluation as a discipline, profession, and business. Panelists will share personal stories and practical insights about building a career in a field with fuzzy boundaries where professional demands vary widely from one context to another. Join us to explore the opportunities and challenges of building a career in evaluation and to connect with others charting their own professional journeys.

Panelists

• Nathan Browning, Principal Consultant at Kiaer Research; Chair of the American Evaluation Association’s Independent Consulting Topical Interest Group
• Jan Fields, Program Evaluator, Michigan Public Health Institute and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
• Megan Lopez, Senior Research Associate at The Evaluation Center at WMU; Executive Director of Move Conmigo; Adjunct Professor at Grand Valley State University
• Lenore Yaeger, Director of Assessment, Marketing, and Communications for Student Affairs at WMU
• Guili Zhang, Professor of Evaluation and Research at East Carolina University, President of the American Evaluation Association

Malitsitso Moteane 

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Winston Salem State University

Jaylin Nesbitt 

Research Associate

WestEd

Brianna Hooks Singletary

Senior Research Associate

Western Michigan University

Who Counts? Rethinking Validity, Voice, and Power in Educational Measurement and Evaluation

Program evaluation relies on sound and solid measurement. Yet the constructs we define, the measures we choose, the data we prioritize, and the ways we interpret results all shape the conclusions we draw and the decisions that follow. Validity is often treated as a technical concern, but it is also fundamentally shaped by whose voices are included, whose knowledge is recognized, and whose experiences are reflected in the data. In 2026, as debates about what counts as rigorous evidence intensify and the scholars and communities most affected by evaluation decisions remain too often absent from the conversations that produce them, this question is anything but settled.

This session draws on an ongoing program of research inspired by Hood's (2001) "Nobody Knows My Name" project, which works to surface and honor the contributions of Black evaluation scholars. Building on that foundation, we set out to identify Black measurement scholars and their contributions to the field, while also examining the experiences of Black students and professionals in measurement contexts. 

These findings open up broader questions for evaluators: how do we determine what counts as credible evidence, and whose perspectives are centered or marginalized in our evaluation processes? Participants will leave this session thinking more critically about the tools they choose, the measures they trust, and who those choices ultimately serve.