Ricardo Millett Award for Racial Equity in Evaluation

In partnership with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, AEA is launching the Ricardo Millett Award for Racial Equity in Evaluation. As Ricardo was a true pioneer in evaluation equity, diversity and inclusion, this award honors his legacy by recognizing an individual who is advancing racial equity in their own practices.

The Ricardo Millett Award for Racial Equity in Evaluation is established to honor the pioneering work and legacy of Ricardo Millett in evaluation equity and inclusion. This award recognizes individuals that have made significant contributions to advancing racial equity through innovative and impactful evaluation practices.

Through this Ricardo Millett Award, AEA is focused on supporting the inspiration of current and future generations of evaluators to pursue innovative, impactful, and community-centered evaluation practices that promote equity and social justice.

The recipient will be recognized at AEA's Annual Conference and awarded a cash prize of $5,000.

Eligibility:

• Current AEA Member at the time of application and award
• Individuals in the field of evaluation, including young professionals, new leaders, or leading practitioners in philanthropy, academia, nonprofits, public sector, or business sector.
• Nominees can be from any country or region, reflecting Ricardo Millett’s global impact on the field.
• Self-nominations are accepted

Award Criteria:

• Commitment to Racial Equity: Demonstrates a strong commitment to promoting racial equity and addressing systemic racism through evaluation practices.
• Impactful Evaluation Practices: Utilizes evaluation methodologies that have led to significant positive changes in policies, programs, or practices affecting racially marginalized communities.
• Community-Centered Approach: Engages with and includes the voices of racially marginalized communities in the evaluation process, ensuring their perspectives and experiences are central to the work.
• Leadership and Advocacy: Exhibits leadership in advocating for racial equity within the field of evaluation and beyond, inspiring others to take action.
• Innovative Contributions: Introduces and implements innovative evaluation methods or frameworks that advance racial equity.

To apply complete the following nominations packet including:

• A cover letter outlining the nominee's contributions to racial equity in evaluation and alignment to the above award criteria.
• CV
• Two letters of support from evaluators respected in the field 
• Examples of the nominee's work, including publications on peer-reviewed journals such as Foundation Review, New Directions for Evaluation, or American Journal of Evaluation.

Submit Here

About Ricardo Millett

Dr. Ricardo Millett focused his professional life on creating community in our field, and in so doing, shaped the careers of evaluators and practitioners of color who were often unseen or had not yet found their place in AEA or the broader field of evaluation. His life and work exemplify the goal of bringing newer and more experienced evaluators together, and we are humbled by the opportunity to share his legacy with a broad audience.

Frequently Asked Questions: 

How do I submit?

Award packets including the above list of required materials can be submitted here by May 29, 2025. 

Who will be reviewing the nominations? 

Nomination packets will be reviewed by a specially nominated awards working group. 

Do you have any advice for nominators? 

Tips for a strong nomination packet:

• Think carefully about the nomination justification statement and make sure that it presents clearly and specifically what the candidate is being nominated for and what he/she has accomplished that is outstanding.
• Choose supporting materials with care so that those materials are directly relevant to the contributions for which the candidate is being nominated.
• Emphasize the quality and aptness of the nomination materials and their implicit illustration of the award criteria.
• Solicit required letters of support from persons who are relatively senior and well known in the association and the profession.
• Provide individuals offering to write letters in support of your candidate with a copy of the nomination justification statement and the award description to help them frame their letters.
• Remember that the awards process is necessarily competitive, and your candidate however worthy, may not win. Please consider nominating that person the following year if you remain persuaded of the candidate’s worthiness and potential to win the award.

Who do I contact if I have questions? 

If you have additional questions, please reach out to AEA staff at info@eval.org for technical questions about the award and the application process. For substantive questions (such as about the fit of a topic or the questions above), please reach out to Dr. Lisa Aponte-Soto at lapontesoto@tanomaconsulting.com.