Spring 2024 Newsletter

Upcoming Webinar

Using AI to Disrupt Business as Usual for Evaluation Practitioners & Firms

In their efforts to uphold their values and deliver exceptional services to clients, the Intention 2 Impact (I2I) team has been experimenting with AI technology to save time, increase accuracy, and enable them to focus on the “human side” of their work including relationship building, critical thinking, and centering equity.

Photo courtesy of I2I Consultants

Blake Beckmann, Nina Sabarre, Sahiti Bhaskara, and Kathleen Doll

Join this webinar to learn about I2I’s AI experience and hear perspectives about the potential, challenges, and opportunities of using AI for evaluation practice.

Thursday, March 14, 1-2 PM Eastern

Learn more from I2I's article Using AI to Disrupt Business as Usual in Small Evaluation Firms by Professor Nina Sabarre, Blake Beckmann, Sahiti Bhaskara, and Kathleen Doll.

Student Publications and Presentations

Master of Science Measurement and Evaluation (MSME) student Yasemin Simsek wrote about her experiences conducting research for her Quantitative Methods practicum in her AEA365 article Reflections from a Youth Evaluator.

Drawing on her research for the Neema Project in Kenya, Yasemin encourages others to ask culturally appropriate questions in their surveys; engage project collaborators throughout the research process; and participate in intentional reflexive exercises throughout their work.

Photo courtesy of Yasemin Simsek

Yasemin Simsek

Current MSME Student

Photo courtesy of Seth Tucker

Seth Tucker

PME Alum 2018

How much would you pay to protect a sea turtle?

Project Monitoring & Evaluation (PME) Certificate alum Seth Tucker used a hypothetical sea grass restoration project to analyze different types of value in his recent AEA365 article Let’s Stop Undervaluing Project Outputs and Outcomes. He urges evaluators to consider social, environmental, and economic values in their work.

MSME alumni David Anderson, Ashley Bishop, Catherine Denial, and Shelli Golson-Mickens made presentations at the American Evaluation Association Conference in Indiana in October. Faculty that presented included Natalie Donahue, Kirsten Zeiter, and Nina Sabarre.

Partnership with the Mongolian Evaluation Association

Students and alumni have engaged in a number of activities to support AU's partnership with the Mongolian Evaluation Association (MEA).

Current MSME student Douglas Grindle partnered with Development Solutions NGO for his Complexity and Systems in Evaluation practicum to develop a complexity aware MEL Framework. Alumni Jennifer Ottolino, Shelli Golson-Mickens, and Nada Mousa completed a pro bono midterm evaluation on EvalYouth Mongolia's internship program.

Projects such as these create opportunities for Measurement and Evaluation students and alumni to build skills, while forging linkages between American University and evaluators in Mongolia.

Alumni Webinars

MSME alumni spoke in several webinars, with hundreds of people from across the globe in attendance.

The MSME program co-sponsored a virtual panel discussion on the Evaluation Job Search with the American Evaluation Association's Graduate Student and New Evaluator Topical Interest Group (GSNE). MSME alumni Shelli Golson-Mickens, Dennis Hood, Jess Littman, Maddison Staszkiewicz, and Miguel Teixeira discussed finding vacancies, resume development, and interviewing. The webinar was moderated by current MSME student Maggie Emge and GSNE member Selena Lilly.

Photo courtesy of GSNE TIG

Photo courtesy of Tiffany Smith

Tiffany Smith

MSME Alum 2018

Reflecting on her work conducting focus groups in Africa and the United States, Tiffany Smith led a webinar on Focus Group Fundamentals. She discussed recruiting for focus groups, developing questioning routes, and encouraging participation. The webinar was moderated by current MSME students Gabby Huff and Yasemin Simsek.

Drawing from her work evaluating a girls' education project in Mali, Ashley Bishop led a webinar on Using Most Significant Change in Final Evaluations: A Mali Case Study. The webinar was moderated by current MSME students Heather Gentzel and Ashton Johnson.

Photo courtesy of Ashley Bishop

Ashley Bishop

MSME Alum 2019

Faculty Updates

Photo courtesy of Heather Sauyaq Jean Gordon

Professor Heather Sauyaq Jean Gordon

Professor Heather Sauyaq Jean Gordon was appointed to serve a two year term on the National Academy of Sciences Co-Production of Environmental Knowledge, Methods, and Approaches Committee. Her recent co-authored publications include Indigenous Community Projects: Addressing Colonization through Using Culture as a Protective Factor and Indigenous Youth Must Be at the Forefront of Climate Diplomacy.

Professor Natalie Donahue started her second year as the President of Washington Evaluators. She reflected on her evaluation career in her AEA365 article Learning and Re-learning the Ropes and spoke on How 5 Years of the Evidence Act Reshaped Government Evaluation in a webinar hosted by the Data Foundation.

Photo courtesy of Natalie Donahue

Professor Natalie Donahue

Photo courtesy of Esther Nolton

Professor Esther Nolton

Professor Esther Nolton started her three-year term as a Member-at-Large on the American Evaluation Association Board of Directors. Her recent AEA365 article shares more about how she went from Evidence-Based Medicine to Evidence-Based Policymaking.

Alumni Referral Program

As an alumni, you can inspire new students! Refer an applicant and they will receive a $500 scholarship. The scholarship is applicable to any Professional Studies graduate program. Applicants will need to include the alumni's name and graduation year as part of the process. Start by contacting us to learn more.

Professor & Program Director

Professor Beverly Peters has more than 25 years of experience teaching, conducting research, and managing democracy promotion and community development projects in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, among other countries.

She is a specialist in the use of qualitative methods for monitoring and evaluation and writes a blog on Qualitative Methods for M&E. Dr. Peters is a regular contributor to the American Evaluation Association's 365 Series.

For more information about the Measurement & Evaluation Program, click here.

Photo courtesy of Beverly Peters

Beverly Peters

bepeters@american.edu

Apply to AU's MSME Program

Need more information or assistance with your application? Please contact an Admissions Advisor at 855-725-7614, or at onlineadmissions@american.edu.

Start an Application Today!

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