2023-24 Staff Highlights

In addition to contributing their leadership and talent to center projects and contributing to evaluation scholarship, center staff have built upon their records of awards and service in 2023-24.

Photo of Lori Wingate with a gold border
Lori Wingate
Executive Director

"I’m thrilled about what we created together this year – the Evaluation Lab, Valeo, and collective pride in 50 years of advancing evaluation theory, practice, and at Western Michigan University.  I was also extremely honored – and surprised – to receive the Michigan Association for Evaluation’s Friend of Evaluation Award."

 

Awards

Service

  • Expert Panelist, RAND's evaluation of Army Community Service family programs
  • Member, Empowering Futures Gift Steering Committee 
  • Member, Ad Hoc committee on University Centers and Institutes 
  • Lead, Empowering Futures Gift Evaluation Workgroup 
  • Member, Gardner Institute Equity in Retention Academy Work Group 
  • Participant, Point of Distinction Workshops
  • Member, Evaluation Working Group, Empowering Futures Gift

 

Photo of Brad Watts with gold outline
Brad Watts
Assistant Director

"Two accomplishments I’m especially proud of this year are successfully launching the new NIH-ComPASS project and completing the much-anticipated 'RFP Checklist'—which has now been submitted for review!"

 

 

Award

  • 2023-24 Research Excellence Award, Western Michigan University

Service

  • Chair, Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation 
  • Executive Committee Treasurer, Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation 
  • Site Visit Panelist, National Science Foundation AGEP UC HIRE Alliance
  • Secretary and board member, Meadows Homeowners Association

 

 

Photo of Brandon Youker with gold frame
Brandon Youker
Evaluation Lab Director

"I’m most proud of the incredible learning happening within the lab and the amazing progress our team of student evaluators is making!"

 

 

 

Award

Service

  • Pro-bono evaluation consulting with Van Buren Intermediate School District

     

Photo of Lyssa Becho with gold frame
Lyssa Wilson Becho
Principal Research Associate

"This year, I’m particularly grateful for the reception of my article on the garden of evaluation approaches, developed with my colleagues Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead and Daniela Schröter. The article was published in the American Journal of Evaluation online first and received over 3,000 downloads in the first month! "

 

Awards

Service

  • Webmaster, STEM TIG, American Evaluation Association
  • Panel Reviewer, National Science Foundation

 

Photo of Megan Lopez with gold frame
Megan Lopez
Senior Research Associate

"I’m especially proud of the ongoing work Lyssa Wilson Becho and I are doing as guest editors for an upcoming New Directions for Evaluation issue on evaluating evaluation capacity building. In 2023-2024, we led a call for authors, bringing together contributors from diverse backgrounds, settings, and disciplines. "

 

Service

  • Judge, American Evaluation Association Student Evaluation Case Competition
  • Invited Panel Speaker, "Careers in Evaluation," hosted by the Greater Boston Evaluation Network and Northeastern University Public Evaluation Lab

     

Professional headshot of Stephen Magura in front of a white background with a gold outline
Stephen Magura
Researcher Emeritus

"This year, I completed a major national research project, Advancing Oral Fluid."

 

 

 

Award

  • 2024 Excellence in Research Award, Western Michigan University

Service

  • Chief editor, Substance Use and Misuse
  • Consulting editor, Health and Social Work
  • Elected member, College on Problems of Drug Dependence 
  • Elected member, Research Society on Alcoholism

 

Photo of Mary Ramlow receiving an award
Mary Ramlow
Administrative Assistant II

"I retired on January 5, 2024 with 51 years of service to Western Michigan University. I'm proud of the time I invested."

 

 

 

Service

  • Co-Building Coordinator, Ellsworth Hall, WMU
  • Co-Chair, Ellsworth Hall Emergency Team, WMU
  • Member, Professional Support Staff Organization, WMU
  • Member, Administrative Professional Association, WMU
  • Member, American Evaluation Association (AEA)
  • Member, American Society of Public Administration (ASPA)
  • Member, Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM)

 

Outdoor photo of Valerie Marshall
Valerie Marshall
Senior Research Associate

"An accomplishment that I'm proud of for the fiscal year 2023-2024 is playing a major role in the successful acquisition of two grants that began in September 2023. The ComPASS and MPCA grants."

 

 

Service

  • Junior Editor, New Directions for Evaluation
  • Research Article Section Editor, Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation
  • Proposal Reviewer, American Evaluation Association
  • Activities Coordinator, American Evaluation Association RoE TIG

 

Photo of Erika Sturgis outlined in gold
Erika Sturgis
Project Manager

"An accomplishment I am proud of from 23-24 is focusing the year on professional development growth within The EC and my career. Both trainings that I participated in allowed me to be a better colleague, leader, and evaluator. I am so thankful for the opportunity to attend both utilizing PD funds. Things learned from each event have already started to impact the work I do daily."

 

Headshot of Maureen Green outlined in gold

 

Maureen Green
Project Assistant Senior

"This year I've been learning about accessibility and data visualization, and I have been enjoying exploring those aspects of my work.

 

 

headshot of Arlen Gullickson with gold outline
Arlen Gullickson
Emeritus Researcher

"My proudest accomplishment this year is my publication, which highlights the importance of formative assessment in ATE evaluations—a topic often overlooked in favor of summative approaches. The paper synthesizes the historical and practical connection between formative and summative efforts more clearly than previous work, emphasizing the need for balanced evaluation strategies."

 

Headshot of Lee McClure outlined in gold
Lee McClure
Project Manager

"As a new team member, I’m proud of the progress I've made learning the ins and outs of EvaluATE's ATE Survey. Completing the Research Universities Alliance Evaluation was another highlight this year—a rewarding experience that has deepened my skills and knowledge."

 

Professional photo of Samantha Hooker in front of a white backdrop
Samantha Hooker
Marketing Specialist Senior

"I'm proud to have played a role in organizing The Evaluation Center's 50th anniversary celebrations, which included a reception, video, blog series, and social media campaign. Additionally, redesigning the center's website and working to amplify awareness of the EC's great work was rewarding."

 

Headshot of Miranda Jade Lee Easton in front of a grey background
Miranda Jade Lee-Easton
Research Associate

"I'm proud of publishing my book with Michael Maranda, and contributing two book chapters to Perspectives on Evidence-Based Policy in Human Services."

 

 

Professional headshot of Becca Ruiz in front of a white backdrop
Rebecca Ruiz
Administrative Assistant II

"An accomplishment I'm proud of from the 23-24 fiscal year is joining the EC team! I have enjoyed assisting staff and our other community partners. I have been updating our procedures and expanding our Office Procedures Handbook to reflect current methods of operation."

 

Professional photo of Tina in front of a white background
Tina Smith-Balanda
Budget Analyst

"I'm proud of assisting other units on campus with calculating salary recovery from grant funding."

 

 

 

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Cecilia Chapleau
Research Assistant

"I received the Presidential Scholar Award for Political Science. I have also enjoyed volunteering at the SPCA because I can hang out with kittens and cats! Lastly, I am proud of my Lee Honors College Thesis, in which I analyzed the impact of food stamps on food insecurity in Michigan and Indiana. I learned the statistical software R to complete my analysis."

 
Professional headshot of Kelly Robertson outdoors with a gold frame around it
Kelly Robertson
Principal Research Associate

"I'm really proud of the work I've done with the ATE Evaluation Fellowship."

Service: 

  • Reviewer, Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation
 
Melissa Dancy
Principal Research Associate

 

Ruqayyah Abu-Obaid
Research Associate

 

Ernest Au
Senior Data Analyst

 

Student Employees

John Akwetey

Samin Al Mahi

Ernest Amoateng

Molly Dayton

Charles DeGraves

Jillian Eck

Tanairis Garcia-Lopez

Michael Hart

Victor Hernandez Lago

Cheyanne Liner

Maritza Miranda

Jazmin Moron

Mouhamadou Tall

Deborah Williams