Date: Sunday, April 20, 2025
Hello! We are Evan Kuras and Veronica Worthington, co-chairs of the Environmental Program Evaluation (EPE) TIG. Evan is an Evaluation Consultant at Data+Soul Research, and Veronica is a Research Associate at Public Policy Associates.
It’s Earth Week y’all – just as we hope you’re taking time to get to know your local environment, we want to tell you about a project our TIG has been doing to get to know our local environmental evaluators. Since May 2024, the two of us have coordinated monthly “Spotlight Speaker” sessions for the EPE TIG, where one member steps into the spotlight to share their origin story, examples of their current work, and a juicy question they are chewing on. We close with an audience discussion or Q&A. We’ve had 8 speakers at time of writing, and below we’ll share reflections on what has surprised and inspired us about the Spotlight Speaker sessions.
Evaluators need space to dream about the future, together. Spotlight speakers usually start by focusing on immediate problems they face in their work and in the world; for example, exploring specific approaches to integrate social benefits into environmental outcomes. But we’ve been surprised at how often speakers shift toward sharing their visions of the future, either because they want their colleagues to dream alongside them, or the questions from fellow TIG members naturally point in that direction. For example, Miya Kitahara, a Program Manager at StopWaste, started her presentation by talking about urban greenhouse gas monitoring, but ultimately encouraged us to think about systemic change. She said, “it shouldn’t be ‘what does a carbon neutral city look like,’ but rather ‘what do cities look like in a carbon neutral world?’” (paraphrased). In another session, David Hanson, Director of Evaluation and Social Equity at Cause IMPACTS, talked about his interest in Afrofuturism and how he tries to build imagination and future-thinking into his work.
Building connections is essential given the siloed nature of environmental work. As we consider the long view, these sessions have highlighted diverse perspectives across disciplines and career stages, emphasizing the critical roles of dialogue and relationship building in driving meaningful change. Members have been interested in learning more about roles, expertise, and opportunities in environmental evaluation, and one of the most valuable features of these sessions are the discussion opportunities, with questions ranging from detail oriented to paradigm shifting. As many environmental and social factors intertwine, speakers have emphasized the importance of elevating various perspectives and worldviews, such as those from indigenous communities, to better understand our relationship with and impact on the planet. These sessions have also fostered valuable networking opportunities, connecting early-career individuals with leaders in the field, and allowing for the exchange of resources, ideas, and frameworks such as the use of learning partners at World Vision. Finally, Spotlight Speaker sessions are FUN! We see it in the smiles of TIG members, the enthusiasm for asking questions, and the eagerness to come back the following month.
Spotlight sessions have provided an exciting opportunity for cross-TIG pollination! Featured speakers from the STEM Education and Training TIG and the Disaster and Emergency Management Evaluation (DEME) TIG have led to insightful conversations in the moment and facilitated additional cross-TIG ventures.
If you’d like to experience these EPE Spotlight Sessions or be a speaker yourself, reach out to Evan (evan@dataplussoul.com) and Veronica (vworthington@publicpolicy.com) and/or join the TIG! Or, if you are a TIG leader and you’d like to start hosting your own Spotlight Sessions, or share tips about something you do that’s similar, we’d love to hear from you.
The American Evaluation Association is hosting Environmental Program Evaluation TIG Week with our colleagues in the Environmental Program Evaluation Topical Interest Group. The contributions all this week to AEA365 come from our EPE TIG members. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this AEA365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the AEA365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an AEA365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to AEA365@eval.org. AEA365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators. The views and opinions expressed on the AEA365 blog are solely those of the original authors and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the American Evaluation Association, and/or any/all contributors to this site.