Are you wondering what to do with your research skills, analytical mind, and passion for making a real-world impact? Welcome to the hidden world of EVALUATION - where data tells stories, impact matters, and your skills can change the world! Join our expert panel of evaluation professionals for an eye-opening evening that will:
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Demystify what evaluators REALLY do
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Reveal unexpected career paths across industries
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Show how YOUR current skills translate into an exciting profession
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Connect you with professionals who started exactly where you are now
The free event is open to all students, recent grads, and early career professionals. You must register to receive the Zoom link.
Note: This session is currently full, and we're maintaining a wait list. If seats become available, individuals will be admitted from the wait list in chronological order. Everyone on the wait list will receive an email with a recording of the session.
Meet the Panelists!
Lily Acton (she/her) is an early-career evaluator with experience managing internal evaluation projects in hospital, public health, and public policy settings. Currently, she is the Measurement, Evaluation, and Learning Manager at Results for America, a non-profit dedicated to helping government leaders harness the power of evidence and data to fund economic mobility solutions that work. In her role, Lily leads evaluation design, impact evaluation, and continuous improvement projects for a national economic mobility program.In previous roles at Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts and Boston Medical Center, Lily utilized her assessment, data management, and research skills to evaluate the impacts of public health programs and policies. Lily earned her Bachelor’s degree in Public Health from Davidson College and her Master of Public Healthdegree with a concentration in Community Assessment, Program Design, Implementation, and Evaluation from the Boston University School of Public Health.
Sarah Faude has over a decade of research, writing, and teaching experience at the intersection of public urban contexts and racial inequality, particularly in education. She has worked in evaluation roles for several nonprofits including Breakthrough Greater Boston, the Youth Development Initiative Program (YDIP) at Northeastern, 826 National, and most recently YW Boston, where she served as Senior Director of Data and Impact leading multi-sited research on program impact. Sarah received her Ph.D. in sociology from Northeastern University in 2019, M.S.Ed from the University of Pennsylvania in 2011, and BA in Sociology from Skidmore College.
Emily McDowell is a Research & Evaluation Associate with the Utah Education Policy Center (UEPC) at the University of Utah, currently living in Boston. Over the past four years with the UEPC she has supported the evaluation and continuous improvement of educational policies, programs, and practices at the local, state, and national levels. Previously, she was a Project Coordinator at the Center for Social Development and Education at the University of Massachusetts - Boston, where she led various research and evaluation initiatives focused on the inclusion of youth with disabilities in educational and recreational settings. Emily holds a Bachelor of Arts in Child Study & Human Development from Tufts University and a Master of Science in Educational Research, Measurement, & Evaluation from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with programs funded by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation, as well as state and local education agencies, K-12 schools, community colleges, STEM centers, out-of-school networks, and recreation programs. She is committed to helping organizations use data to effectively and equitably serve youth and families with diverse backgrounds, goals, and needs.
Outlaw (they/them) comes from a background in clinical medicine, public health, and education. They hold a Masters in Public Health from Boston University's School of Public Health and dual Bachelor's in Biology and Theater from Macalester College. They are a mixed-methods evaluator who brings their experience in both the arts and community health to their data equity work. Their knowledge in equitable research practices is built from frameworks in Black feminism, decolonization, and critical race praxis. Outlaw’s work is additionally influenced by their identity as a queer, neurodivergent, and disabled person. They currently work as a Research Associate at Data+Soul Research.
Shanyin Yang is an Epidemiologist I at the Institute for Community Health, where she specializes in analyzing quantitative data to support program evaluations. Collaborating with diverse project teams, some areas that Shanyin works on are mental health, substance use prevention and treatment, and healthcare access for vulnerable populations. Before joining ICH, Shanyin contributed to research focused on psychiatric rehabilitation and smoking cessation for individuals living with HIV. Shanyin earned her BA in Psychology from Lafayette College and her Master of Public Health from Boston University School of Public Health, with a concentration in Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
