In addition to contributing their leadership and talent to center projects and contributing to evaluation scholarship, center staff built upon their records of awards and service in 2024-25.
Lori Wingate
Executive Director
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Award
- 2025 Distinguished Service Award, Western Michigan University
Service
- Member, Student Success Team for Empowering Futures Gift implementation
- Lead, Empowering Futures Gift Evaluation Workgroup
- Member, Empowering Futures Gift Steering Committee
Brad Watts
Assistant Director
"The accomplishment I am most proud of during 2024-25 was the progress my fellow co-authors and I made in developing an official first draft of the revised Program Evaluation Standards. Although this has been an intense workload, we remain on schedule to publish a new, fourth edition in 2026."
Service
- Executive Committee Treasurer, Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation
- Secretary and Board Member, Meadows Homeowners Association
Maureen Green
Project Assistant Senior
"This year, I enjoyed sharing my knowledge of accessibility with students and colleagues, helping to ensure our materials are usable by a broader audience. I am also proud to have contributed to the successful launch of the ATE Evaluation Fellowship, supporting evaluators in gaining the skills and insights needed to engage effectively with ATE projects."
Samantha Hooker
Marketing Specialist Senior
"One of the best parts of my job is spreading the word about all the amazing things happening at The Evaluation Center. It’s been exciting to tailor content for different audiences, highlighting the important work being done at the center."
Brianna Hooks Singletary
Senior Research Associate
"This year, I’m proud of how I created opportunities for evaluators to connect, share what they’ve learned, and build confidence in their own approaches, especially through conversations that felt real and supportive."
Megan Lopez
Senior Research Associate
Service
- Judge, American Evaluation Association Student Evaluation Case Competition
- Co-guest Editor, New Directions for Evaluation
- Member, American Evaluation Association, Professional Development Networking Group
Valerie Marshall
Senior Research Associate
"I am proud of the work we accomplished in designing the evaluation use study for EvaluATE, which will launch this fall."
Service
- Junior Editor, New Directions for Evaluation
- Research Article Section Editor, Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation
- Board Member, Michigan Association for Evaluation
- Activities Coordinator, American Evaluation Association Research on Evaluation TIG
- Reviewer, American Journal of Evaluation
- Reviewer, Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation
- Reviewer, Substance Use and Misuse
Lee McClure
Project Manager
"I am proud of this year’s ATE Survey, which provides a detailed look at the ATE community and can be used by 300 ATE projects, evaluators, researchers, and administrators to inspire project innovation."
Kelly Robertson
Principal Research Associate
"I’m proud of how the ATE Evaluation Fellowship has come together, in terms of the resulting bonds formed among evaluators and connects we helped fellows make with ATE projects looking for evaluators."
Rebecca Ruiz
Administrative Assistant II
"Over the past year, I’ve strengthened my confidence and proficiency with the WMU contract system. I have consistently supported staff and contributed to efficiently managing day-to-day office operations. I embraced new learning opportunities throughout the year and navigated challenges with adaptability and a solutions-focused mindset.”
Tina Smith-Balanda
Budget Analyst
"This fiscal year, I was very pleased with the accuracy of my budget forecast."
Erika Sturgis
Project Manager
"Something I am most proud of during the 2024-2025 Fiscal Year is my involvement and growth in the professional development opportunities I was able to participate in throughout the year, thanks to benefits offered by The Evaluation Center. This year was a year filled with conference attendance, presenting, or participating in some of the opportunities provided during my membership associations. I was able to network with so many new people and build on existing relationships that will further my career as an evaluator."
Lyssa Wilson Becho
Principal Research Associate
“Reflecting on the past year, I’m particularly grateful for my colleagues at The Evaluation Center and external to WMU for their dedication to the field of evaluation and persistence in advocating for meaningful and impactful evaluations despite challenges and barriers.”
Awards
- 2024 Excellence in Discovery Award, Western Michigan University
- 2024 American Evaluation Association Marcia Guttentag Promising New Evaluator Award
Service
- Webmaster, STEM TIG, American Evaluation Association
- Panel Reviewer, National Science Foundation
Brandon Youker
Evaluation Lab Director
"I’m most proud of the consistency of the Evaluation Lab, and the relationships I've developed with the lab staff.
Arlen Gullickson
Emeritus Researcher
J. Hyde
Graduate Assistant
Ernest Au
Senior Data Analyst
Student Employees
John Akwetey, Ph.D. student - Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Evaluation
Michael Hart, Ph.D. student - Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Evaluation
Cheyanne Liner, junior - Social Work