FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kevin Hurley, khurley@eval.org, 202-367-1166

AEA Announces 2014 Graduate Education Diversity Education Initiative (GEDI) Graduates

Washington, D.C. – The American Evaluation Association (AEA) recognized four GEDI interns for successful completion of program responsibilities and rigorous study. The Graduate Education Diversity Internship program works to engage and support graduate students of color and students from groups traditionally under-represented in the field of evaluation. The program aims to deepen the evaluation profession's capacity to work in racially, ethnically and culturally diverse settings.

The 2014 GEDI class includes:

 

Crystal Coker

Host-site: Center for Elementary Mathematics and Science Education, Chicago

"As a GEDI, I've learned that evaluation entails creativity," said Crystal Coker. "Culturally responsive evaluation engages stakeholders throughout the evaluation process, and this may require flexibility and thinking outside traditional research and evaluation methods.Through workshops I've learned how evaluators working around the world have tweaked old methods and developed new ways of engaging diverse stakeholders and added to my 'evaluation toolbox.'"

Shipi Kankane

Host-site: University of Minnesota, Extension Center for Youth Development, St. Paul

"As a part of the GEDI program, I work with the University of Minnesota's Extension Center for Youth Development," explains Shipi. "Working with the center's evaluation team gave me a flavor of being an internal evaluator and maintaining the fine balance between being objective and working with staff in co-creating a culture of evaluation in the organization," she adds. "It's been rewarding to see how my new skills were assimilated into the center's work. The GEDI program has been a truly rich learning experience and has given me various opportunities to connect with experts in the field. Through conferences, workshops and webinars, I've learned the different settings, contexts and ways in which evaluation is carried out and feel well equipped to dive into the professional world of evaluation!"

Bailey Murph

Host-site: IMPACT Planning Council, Milwaukee

"I work with IMPACT's evaluation team on several projects, and the experience has been outstanding," notes Baily Murph. "I have been humbled to meet some of the field's renowned evaluators, had the opportunity to attend several top professional development workshops and share my growing knowledge of culturally responsive evaluation with the IMPACT staff." She continues, "Most gratifying is how my work partners continue to incorporate my skills, teach me new skills and provide me with opportunities to work with as many diverse populations as possible. The GEDI experience has been nothing but rewarding. I encourage all students to take advantage of this unique opportunity."

Anael Ngando

Host-site: Education Development Center, Washington, D.C.

Anael Ngando explains, "The GEDI program gave me real-life, hands-on experience on the process, challenges and rewards of conducting evaluation. What I like about the GEDI program is that it forces you to think about issues of culture in evaluation. All the aspects of the program (assignments, workshops, meetings, webinars, etc.) contribute to improving interns' understanding of the relevance of culture in evaluation."

Interns come from a variety of disciplines including public health, education, political science, anthropology, psychology, sociology, social work, and the natural sciences. Their commonality is a strong background in research skills, an interest in extending their capacities to the field of evaluation, and a commitment to thinking deeply about culturally responsive evaluation practice.

# # #

About AEA

The American Evaluation Association (AEA) is an international professional association, and with 7,300 members, it is the largest in its field. Evaluation involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses of programs, policies, personnel, products and organizations to improve their effectiveness. AEA's mission is to improve evaluation practices and methods worldwide, to increase evaluation use, promote evaluation as a profession and support the contribution of evaluation to the generation of theory and knowledge about effective human action. For more information about AEA, visit www.eval.org.