Our Team and Approach
Our passion lies at the intersection of research, evaluation, planning, design, and development. We have chosen this line of work because we want to help improve our communities. We believe we can do this through adaptive, useful, and actionable research and evaluation that catalyzes change and promotes greater long-term impact.
Our work draws upon equitable frameworks that center the voices and perspectives of those most impacted by evaluation in the design, implementation, and utilization of evaluation results/products. We do this using equity-focused, participatory, and developmental evaluation. This family of evaluation approaches target familiar problems with traditional evaluation and are often central to our work with clients because they
We do not believe that there is one approach that fits all – every organization and every project we work on is different. We actively listen and co-design a unique plan that works for each organization and project
Our team is experienced in qualitative and quantitative evaluation and research design/methods and brings content knowledge in a wide variety of areas including education, cultural competency, psychology, mental health and wellness, human/social services, assessment, statistics, and IT. We are simultaneously idealistic, theoretical, and pragmatic. We are agile evaluators and situational practitioners who leverage research and evaluation to meet client’s unique needs.
Our work draws upon equitable frameworks that center the voices and perspectives of those most impacted by evaluation in the design, implementation, and utilization of evaluation results/products. We do this using equity-focused, participatory, and developmental evaluation. This family of evaluation approaches target familiar problems with traditional evaluation and are often central to our work with clients because they
- challenge traditional evaluation models and how they may be reinforcing inequities,
- include and lift up voices and perspectives that are often marginalized in evaluation and research processes,
- promote shared ownership of the evaluation process and results, and
- move from accountability to promoting a culture of learning and improvement.
We do not believe that there is one approach that fits all – every organization and every project we work on is different. We actively listen and co-design a unique plan that works for each organization and project
Our team is experienced in qualitative and quantitative evaluation and research design/methods and brings content knowledge in a wide variety of areas including education, cultural competency, psychology, mental health and wellness, human/social services, assessment, statistics, and IT. We are simultaneously idealistic, theoretical, and pragmatic. We are agile evaluators and situational practitioners who leverage research and evaluation to meet client’s unique needs.
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Ava Yang-Lewis, Ph.D. Founder/Principal Ava is the team lead, overseeing all aspects of operations. She brings over 10 years of experience in evaluation and in both qualitative and quantitative research and has advanced training in research methods with diverse and racial ethnic groups. Ava is certified as a human-centered design practitioner by LUMA Institute, utilizing aspects of this approach to help organizations move from insights and data to the design of actionable plans and programs. She has content knowledge and hands-on experience in education, career/work development, cultural competency, mental health and wellness, and psychology. In addition to Ava's work as a researcher and evaluator, she has previously held roles as a visiting assistant professor, instructor, curriculum designer, and as a mental health and career counselor. She has published research in education, psychology, cultural competence, and school interventions. |
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Mark Lewis, Ph.D.
Co-Founder Mark brings quantitative research design, data, and analytics expertise to the team. He has worked on research funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and the Institute of Education Sciences and has developed key performance metrics for large public institutions. He also brings experience in education, health care, psychology, assessment, learning technology, data management, and IT domains. Mark has published peer-reviewed research in psychology and educational neuroscience including recent work in the prestigious journal Psychological Science. |
Strategic Partnership Model
Depending on project needs, we bring on strategic partners to strengthen our work (e.g., community partners, subject matter experts, and communication specialists).