Our Team and Approach
We work at the intersection of research, evaluation, strategy, and program design to help improve our communities. We partner with mission-driven organizations and educational institutions to co-design adaptive, useful, and actionable research and evaluation that catalyzes change and promotes greater long-term impact through learning and continuous improvement.
Our work draws upon developmental, utilization-focused, and participatory evaluation approaches, the Equitable Evaluation Framework (EEF), and human-centered design methods that challenge traditional evaluation practices and how they may be reinforcing inequities in order to include and lift up voices and perspectives that are often marginalized in evaluation and research processes and the design of strategies and programs that impact them.
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/methodology and brings content knowledge in a wide range 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 developmental, utilization-focused, and participatory evaluation approaches, the Equitable Evaluation Framework (EEF), and human-centered design methods that challenge traditional evaluation practices and how they may be reinforcing inequities in order to include and lift up voices and perspectives that are often marginalized in evaluation and research processes and the design of strategies and programs that impact them.
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/methodology and brings content knowledge in a wide range 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.
|
Ava Yang-Lewis, Ph.D.
Founder/Principal Consultant 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 and facilitator 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. |
|
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).