Transformative Mixed Methods Design  in Evaluation: Increasing Justice

Donna M. Mertens, Ph.D.

Evaluators can consciously address inequities in the world by the way they design their evaluations. Transformative mixed methods designs are explicitly constructed to serve this purpose. This workshop is designed to teach the use mixed methods for transformative purposes to better address the needs of members of marginalized communities, such as women, people with disabilities, people living in poverty, racial/ethnic minorities, and members of the LGBTQ community. Participants will learn how to use a transformative lens to identify those aspects of culture and societal structures that support continued oppression and how to apply mixed methods designs to contribute to social transformation. Interactive learning strategies will be used including whole group discussion and working in small groups to apply the design of a transformative mixed methods evaluation to a case study.

Dr. Donna Mertens, Professor Emeritus at Gallaudet University, specializes in transformative evaluation methodologies that support social, economic, and environmental justice, seen in her publications: Mixed Methods Research, Program Evaluation Theory and Practice (3rd ed.); Mixed Methods Design in Evaluation; and Research and Evaluation in Education and Psychology (6th ed.). She consults with many international organizations such as U.N. International Fund for Agricultural Development and UN Women. Mertens served as the editor of the Journal of Mixed Methods Research, President of the American Evaluation Association (1998), and founding Board member: International Organization for Cooperation in Evaluation and Mixed Methods International Research Association.

WORKSHOP B

Nothing About Us Without Us: Centering End Users in Evaluation Through Storytelling

Presenter: Monique Liston, PhD

Evaluation often serves funders, policymakers, and program designers, but how often do end users see themselves in the findings, let alone shape the evaluation itself? This workshop reimagines storytelling as a participatory method for embedding user voices at every stage of the evaluation process with equity in mind.

Participants will explore:

• Narrative-driven methodologies that elevate end users' lived experiences as valid data sources.

• Techniques for co-creating evaluation questions and findings with program participants. 

• Participatory sensemaking strategies beyond traditional surveys and focus groups. 

• Mapping story into the evaluation life cycle as an evaluator or end user

What happens when Black identity is loved, protected, and defended as we collectively learn about process and change in organizations and programs? This is the question that dr. monique liston unapologetically built a community-engaged intellectual and regenerative life practice around. She is the founder, chief strategist, and joyful militant at UBUNTU Research and Evaluation, an undisciplined learning organization that was awarded Milwaukee Business Journal's Diversity in Business Award. She also serves as the Executive Director of The Leadership Undercommons, an organization that protects and fulfills a sense of dignity for Black people through learning and leadership. She is a sought-after facilitator, speaker, evaluator, collaborator, and good time have-r. Never forget that she went to school for many years but is most proud to be an alum of Howard University. Her awards include being a 2025 Milwaukee Business Journal 40 Under 40 Honoree, Public Allies 1st and ONLY honorary alumni, and HBCU Alumni United Milwaukee Alumni of the Year. While she is not a self-identified poet, she published a book of poetry titled FRACTALS in 2025. As the daughter of Ursula, granddaughter of Gracie J. and Bernice, pet-mom of Simone, a mini Goldendoodle, and Franklin, a Russian Box Tortoise, she asks that you send her recommendations of bookstores, restaurants, and beaches to help her find joy while surviving the end of a white supremacist heteropatriarchal queerphobic world.m work.

     Afternoon Workshops: 1 to 4 p.m.

WORKSHOP C

Evaluator as Servant Leader: Engaging Integral Inquiry Resources that Facilitate Agency in Advancing Inclusive Excellence Agendas  and The Greater Good 

Hazel L. Symonette, Ph.D.

Given the AEA ethical Guiding Principles and inclusive excellence Evaluator Competencies, this workshop aims to engage evaluators with the millennia-old, embodied practices of "servant leadership." In 1970, Robert Greenleaf "codified" such leaderly life/work practices as Servant Leadership and spotlighted its intrinsically evaluative commitments as "The Best Test” which dictates that involvement yields significant relevant benefits--especially for the "least privileged” and most under-resourced. 

My convoluted life/work journey has reflected a "servant leaderly" walk in the world. During the past 35 years, I "discovered" Greenleaf's Servant Leadership work. As a child of the Civil Rights movement and Black Liberation struggles, those characteristics and principles deeply resonated. As a sociologist, educator, organizational development facilitator and organizer, I moved explicitly into professional evaluation in 1991. Serving as the first Policy & Planning Analyst in the UW System Administration Office of Minority Affairs, I was responsible for facilitating and managing implementation of the first statewide public higher education diversity strategic plan (27 institutions). Since those life-changing years, I have become a mindful practitioner as well as collaborator via the Wisconsin Servant Leadership Community of Practice. This workshop explicitly weaves together some core "Servant Leaderly" evaluation resources evolved during my lifelong, multidisciplinary journey as a Social Justice Peace Warrior for The Greater Good. 

Dr. Hazel Symonette, Evaluation Researcher and Facilitator, Wisconsin Center for Education Research, is an active Fellow within the University of Wisconsin Teaching Academy. She advances transformative change agendas using dynamic assessment and evaluation processes that maximize agency and efficacy in promoting diversity-grounded social justice work and equity-enabling personal and organizational development. She Co-Chaired AEA's Building Diversity Initiative and the Multi-Ethnic Issues in Evaluation Topical Interest Group, served on the American Evaluation Association Board of Directors, the AEA Task Forces for the Guiding Principles  and the Evaluator Competencies.  Her yearlong, cross-campus/cross-role Institutes, 2002-2017, were rich crucibles for her innovative work.  Appointed as AEA’s Representative in 2008 and then elected as an At-Large member of the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation with service until 2023.

WORKSHOP D

Data Made Simple(r): Low-Code Tools for Smarter Program Evaluation

Presenter: Jodi Peterson, Ph.D.

In practice, even the best evaluation designs for community-based programs often struggle with barriers in data collection and management, which often then creates further analysis and conclusion-making challenges. In this interactive workshop, participants will explore how to simplify and streamline data collection, management, and even analysis and communication, using low- and no-code technology tools. Designed for intermediate and advanced evaluators who have a solid understanding of evaluation design, the session will focus on practical applications of tools like Google Workspace tools, Airtable, Parabola.io, and Zapier to develop databases and data systems that empower clients to take charge of their evaluation data without needing extensive infrastructure or web or statistics programming coding languages. Participants will leave with an understanding of how to: 

• Investigate barriers in current data systems/plans and best mitigate those 
• Map out data collection, management, and analysis plans 
• Use low and no-code software tools to create a variety of data collection instruments and data management systems, as well as using those same software tools for analysis, data visualization, and dissemination/communication 
• Weigh pros and cons of rigor, feasibility, data security, and accessibility when considering data tools

Dr. Jodi Petersen (she/her) leads Petersen Research Consultants (PRC), a data strategy and evaluation consulting firm based out of Michigan. Jodi holds a doctorate degree in Ecological-Community Psychology from Michigan State University and combines applied research and technology expertise to focus on helping organizations develop low-burden ways to define, gather, and use data to increase their impact. She is passionate about social justice and equity. She has expertise in systems change, facilitation, qualitative and quantitative data, and participatory research/evaluation methods.