The Evaluation Couch

Maria Montenegro
  • 5.0(2개의 평가)
  • 비영리
  • 매주 업데이트

Welcome to The Evaluation Couch, where we discuss topics related to evaluation and navigating a career in evaluation. In this space, I will share about my evaluation journey, share tips from my career advising and management experience, and invite other evaluators to hear about their perspectives. My goal is to continue promoting the use of evaluation and help evaluators build the careers they deserve.

  1. 67. How Amy Built Career Clarity and Landed a Director-Level Evaluation Role

    5월 22일

    67. How Amy Built Career Clarity and Landed a Director-Level Evaluation Role

    In this episode, Maria sits down with Amy Gray, Director of Evaluation and Learning, to discuss her journey through career uncertainty, imposter syndrome, and finding alignment in the evaluation field. Amy shares how she moved from feeling stuck and questioning her abilities to discovering her strengths, building confidence, and landing an exciting new role aligned with her values and goals. Learn more about The Evaluator's Edge and join our June cohort here.  www.mariamontenegro.ca | www.linkedin.com/in/mariamontenegro

    30분
  2. 66. Too Junior for Senior Roles, Too Senior For Junior Ones? How Hairat Found Her Way

    5월 13일

    66. Too Junior for Senior Roles, Too Senior For Junior Ones? How Hairat Found Her Way

    What happens when a skilled evaluator realizes she knows more than she gives herself credit for? In this episode, we sit down with Hairat, a consultant and evaluator passionate about racial equity and justice, who completed The Evaluator's Edge coaching program. Hairat shares how she went from feeling stuck being too senior for junior roles, too junior for senior ones, to confidently articulating her unique value and making intentional career moves. She opens up about the mindset shifts that came from the program, how she learned to ask for what she needs (from organizations and volunteer opportunities), and why building community has become central to her career growth strategy. Learn more about The Evaluator's Edge here: https://mariamontenegro.ca/pages/join-the-evaluators-edge www.mariamontenegro.ca | www.linkedin.com/in/mariamontenegro

    19분
  3. 65. Women in Evaluation | How Doaa Abou Hussein Built a Pro-Palestine, Impact-Driven Consulting Firm

    4월 8일

    65. Women in Evaluation | How Doaa Abou Hussein Built a Pro-Palestine, Impact-Driven Consulting Firm

    In this episode, Maria sits down with Doaa Abou Hussein, co-founder of Kindred Purpose Consultants, to explore what it truly means to build a business around your values. Doaa shares her journey from evaluation professional to entrepreneur, including the pivotal moment in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon that solidified her mission, why she made the bold decision to brand her company as openly pro-Palestine, and how emotional intelligence and compassion are not soft skills but essential tools for ethical, human-centered evaluation. From working with marginalized communities and newcomer women experiencing gender-based violence, to nurturing a growing team through collective trauma, this conversation is a masterclass in courageous leadership, decolonial practice, and the power of betting on yourself. www.mariamontenegro.ca | www.linkedin.com/in/mariamontenegro

    51분
  4. 64. Women in Evaluation | Feminist Evaluation, Caregiving, and Identity with Claudia Olavarría

    4월 2일

    64. Women in Evaluation | Feminist Evaluation, Caregiving, and Identity with Claudia Olavarría

    This episode is the first one of a series celebrating International Women's Month. Maria sits with Claudia Olavarría, an evaluator from Chile with 15 years of experience in international development. Claudia shares her journey navigating a career as a mother of four, building a consultancy while balancing caregiving responsibilities, and the support networks that made it possible. Together they explore feminist evaluation — what it means, why it matters, and how Claudia defines it as simply good evaluation — covering key competencies like cultural responsiveness, participatory methods, and transformative practice. The conversation also touches on the emotional realities of fieldwork, protecting communities and evaluators from vicarious trauma, and Claudia's call to action for a more inclusive, gender-responsive field. www.mariamontenegro.ca | www.linkedin.com/in/mariamontenegro

    59분
  5. 63. One Year On: Rebuilding After Career Disruption and Launching a Business with Beeta Tahmassebi

    3월 11일

    63. One Year On: Rebuilding After Career Disruption and Launching a Business with Beeta Tahmassebi

    In the third episode of the "One Year On" series, Beeta Tahmassebi shares her journey from 25-year organizational leader to first-time entrepreneur. After leaving her role amid widespread sector upheaval and USAID's shutdown, Beeta founded Illuminate, a consulting firm and learning center built on urgency, resilience, and community. In this conversation with Maria, she reveals the realities of launching a business during crisis, the "100 calls" strategy that shaped her path, navigating consultant rates in a constrained market, balancing hope with countless rejections, and learning to find energy in uncertainty. Beeta offers practical advice for evaluators considering independent consulting, discusses AI adoption in evaluation work, and reflects on recreating professional community after institutional loss. Whether you're navigating career disruption, building an independent practice, or simply trying to find your footing in a transformed field, this episode delivers honest insights and actionable strategies for moving forward when the ground shifts beneath you.

    55분
  6. 62. One Year On: Resiliency, Advocacy, and CES Leadership with Matt Sanscartier

    3월 5일

    62. One Year On: Resiliency, Advocacy, and CES Leadership with Matt Sanscartier

    In the second episode of the One Year On series, the Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) President Matt Sanscartier reflects on the impacts to the field of evaluation over the last twelve months. Matt discusses the differences between ideological attacks on evidence in the US versus fiscal pressures in Canada, CES's strategic response through advocacy and expanded membership outreach, and the organization's commitment to equity-centered work and reconciliation. Despite mounting anxieties around job security and shrinking budgets, Matt delivers a rallying message: evaluation is not a luxury but a fundamental tool for democratic accountability, and the CES community of over 1,500 members stands ready to demonstrate that our work has never been more essential. Resources:  Learn more about the CES 2026 conference here. www.mariamontenegro.ca | www.linkedin.com/in/mariamontenegro

    39분
  7. 61. One Year On: Leading AEA Through The Inflection Point with Karen Jackson

    2월 27일

    61. One Year On: Leading AEA Through The Inflection Point with Karen Jackson

    In this episode of the "One Year On" series, Maria speaks with Karen Jackson, the 2025 President of the American Evaluation Association (AEA), about navigating one of the most disruptive years in the field of evaluation. Karen reflects on leading AEA through multiple crises while balancing roles as university faculty and consultant. She discusses the October 2025 "Morning After Coalition" call to action, emphasizing the need for evaluators to collectively respond rather than "adapt quietly" to threats against evidence-based practice. Karen highlights key lessons from her presidency, including the importance of curiosity, community-engaged leadership, relationship building, and recognizing evaluators' power to shape how the world values evidence. She also stresses that professional associations like AEA are member-led ecosystems requiring active participation from the entire evaluation community. Resources:  Read Karen's call to action here. www.mariamontenegro.ca | www.linkedin.com/in/mariamontenegro

    38분
  8. 60. Making Learning Real in MEL with Florence Randari

    2월 6일

    60. Making Learning Real in MEL with Florence Randari

    Adding "learning" to a job title doesn't mean learning is actually happening. In this episode, Florence Randari breaks down what it really takes to operationalize the "L" in MEL. Florence explains why MEL systems often fail to support learning even when rebranded as "MEL," and what needs to change. Florence discusses the difference between evaluation questions and learning questions, the competencies needed to facilitate learning, and provides practical tools and processes for embedding learning in your work.  Resources:  Follow Florence Randari to learn more about integrating Learning in MEL. Susbcribe to the Learn Adapt Manage (LAN) Network here.  Read some of the articles discussed in this episode:  Designing for Decisions: How to Build Learning Systems That Actually Lead to Action | LinkedIn Small Shifts That Made My Learning Workshops Actually Work | LinkedIn What makes a Pause and Reflect Meeting Different?.....The Agenda | LinkedIn Check out the BetterEvaluation Career in Evaluation page.    www.mariamontenegro.ca | www.linkedin.com/in/mariamontenegro

    44분
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Welcome to The Evaluation Couch, where we discuss topics related to evaluation and navigating a career in evaluation. In this space, I will share about my evaluation journey, share tips from my career advising and management experience, and invite other evaluators to hear about their perspectives. My goal is to continue promoting the use of evaluation and help evaluators build the careers they deserve.

정보

  • 제작진
    Maria Montenegro
  • 방송 연도
    2024년 - 2026년
  • 에피소드
    68
  • 등급
    전체 연령 사용가
  • 저작권
    © 2024
  • 웹사이트 보기
    The Evaluation Couch