MEMBER DIRECTORY

Get to know our evaluators …

Photo	Name & contact info	Bio
	Salvatore Alaimo Grand Valley State University alaimos@gvsu.edu	Salvatore Alaimo is an Associate Professor in the School of Public, Nonprofit and Health Administration at Grand Valley State University where he teaches a graduate course in program evaluation. He has published extensively and worked for nine years at nonprofit organizations including six as an internal evaluator.
	Andrea Allen AC Insights LLC ACInsights.net	Andrea Allen provides culturally responsive and equitable research, program evaluation, and writing services in close collaboration with social program stakeholders. As a learning partner, Andrea contributes mixed methods research and engaged communication, adding value to projects through customized and rigorous qualitative methods. Working with quantitative research professionals and throughout the organization’s program cycle, she brings experience in needs assessment, evaluation design, formative and summative evaluation and organizational learning.
	Lyssa Becho The Evaluation Center – Western Michigan University lyssa.becho@wmich.edu	Lyssa Wilson Becho is a senior research associate at Western Michigan University’s Evaluation Center. She is the Director and PI of EvaluATE, a resource and evaluation hub for the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education program. Dr. Becho has over 7 years of experience evaluating local, state, and nation-wide projects. She is dedicated to empowering programs to tell their story through strengthening evaluation capacity, data literacy, and increasing general excitement about the power of evaluation. She earned her Ph.D. in interdisciplinary evaluation from Western Michigan University.
	Wes Davenport Davenport Economics wdavenport98@gmail.com	Wes Davenport is an economist and adjunct professor at the College of DuPage. His work has been published by the National Review, the R Street Institute, and the Journal for Law, Economics, & Policy, among others. At COD he teaches courses in microeconomics and macroeconomics. He has experience working with non-profits and in government affairs. Wes Davenport also offers economic consulting in his free time.
	Liz Delaney Delaney Data Empowerment liz@delaneydataempowerment.com	With a flair for turning the mundane into the magnificent, Liz is on a mission to revitalize tired, outmoded evaluation practices wherever she finds them. Whether it’s strategizing with foundations, nonprofits, or government agencies, Liz brings her unique blend of knowledge, experience, innovation, and enthusiasm to the table. Liz fell into philanthropy after working as a Chemistry and Physics teacher in middle and high school, while getting her master’s in social work at Grand Valley State University. She was offered a graduate assistant position at the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University (the Johnson Center) as an evaluator. After completing her MSW, she continued to work at the Johnson Center. Throughout the years, she has worked with many foundation and nonprofit clients to support with strategy development, evaluation and learning development and implementation, and capacity building. She has worked as a Learning Officer and Senior Learning Officer at two foundations and has run her own consulting firm for a total of three years. In her spare time, she is getting ready to defend her dissertation proposal, which is focused on program officers’ use of evaluation and learning their work. She loves spending time with her five dogs and traveling (not with all the dogs).
	Jamie DeLeeuw Community Research+ jamie.deleeuw@communityresearchplus.llc	Jamie DeLeeuw completed a Ph.D. in community psychology from Wichita State University in 2010. She is the founder and principal consultant of Community Research Plus (CR+), which leverages evidence-based best practices in research, evaluation, and organizational improvement strategies to help clients better serve the people and animals they care about. Previously Jamie served as Director of Evaluation and Impact at Austin/American Pets Alive, Research Manager at GVSU’s Johnson Center for Philanthropy, led an office of institutional research at Monroe County Community College, and taught undergraduate courses in research methods and psychology. Her scope of work includes the evaluation of collective impact initiatives to reduce racial/ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic disparities, such as the GVSU/BCPS Partnership to Support Educational Transformation in Battle Creek, and the Michigan Nonprofits Count Campaign to increase 2020 census completion.
	Cheryl Endres Kaleidoscope Evaluation, LLC kaleidoscope.evaluation@gmail.com	Cheryl Endres has held management and evaluation roles in nonprofit and educational organizations and has been an independent consultant in evaluation for over 25 years. She has master’s degrees in Public Administration (nonprofit administration emphasis), and in Educational Leadership: Evaluation, and Measurement. She is completing a doctorate in Interdisciplinary Evaluation (WMU). She teaches evaluation courses for Western Michigan University’s School of Social Work and Notre Dame’s Executive Nonprofit Administration program of the Mendoza College of Business.
	Jan Fields Michigan Department of Health and Human Services fieldsj2@michigan.gov	Jan K. Fields holds a PhD in Evaluation and an EdD in Educational Leadership. He also holds a Master’s degree in Management with an emphasis in organizational development and a Bachelor’s degree in Respiratory Therapy. He has been a respiratory therapist for over 30 years and a massage therapist for over 20 years. He completed a two-year evaluation fellowship in 2016 with the National Asthma Control Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and is now the program evaluator for the Michigan Overdose Data to Action (MODA) program at Michigan DHHS.
	Danielle Gritters Spectrum Health Danielle.Gritters@spectrumhealth.org	Danielle Gritters earned a Master’s in Public Health with an Epidemiology emphasis from Grand Valley State University in 2015. She has 12 years of healthcare experience focused on quality, research, and community health. Her focus is on collaboration to build community capacity for health improvement via health assessments, evaluation, research, and grant procurement. Danielle is a member of the Michigan Association for Evaluation (MAE), and the Great Lakes Chapter of the American College of Health Executives (ACHE).
	Sara Gropp Transform Consulting Group s.gropp@transformconsulting group.com	Sara Gropp is a Data Project Analyst at Transform Consulting Group, where they support community impact organizations in education, government, and community. She is involved with education focused projects, like early childhood, 21st Century Community Learning Center observations and evaluations, and college and career readiness program evaluations. Her passion for working with educational organizations started during her time at Manchester University where she graduated with a degree in Educational Studies and Business. Sara is also a certified Tableau Desktop Specialist and builds custom dashboards for funder reports, program evaluation, project management, strategic planning, and more.
	Ouen Hunter Hunter Evaluation HunterEvaluation@gmail.com	Ouen Hunter has a Master of Science in Biostatistics and Master of Social Work. Currently, she is pursuing a Interdisciplinary Philosophy of Doctorate in Evaluation at Western Michigan University. She has completed multiple evaluations for non-profits in Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. She is passionate about youth education and has led several educationally driven programs. Ouen’s dissertation focuses on Culturally Responsive Evaluation, and her evaluation practice is led by the Culturally Responsive lens. Additionally, her reporting style is driven by the use of data visualizations which leads to more concise reports. This conciseness of shorter report facilitates easy access to evaluation results.
	Bethany Laursen Laursen Evaluation & Design, LLC Team Science Specialist at the University of Michigan bethany@bethanylaursen.com	Dr. Bethany Laursen is principal consultant at Laursen Evaluation & Design, LLC, and Team Science Specialist at the University of Michigan. She holds a PhD in Community Sustainability, MA in Philosophy, MS in Environment & Resources and Forestry, and BS in Biological Sciences. She specializes in integration and implementation efforts that cross disciplinary boundaries and has been a member of the American Evaluation Association (AEA) since 2013.
	Robert Ruhf Science and Mathematics Program Improvement, Western Michigan University qualityeval@x98ruhf.net	Robert Ruhf is a Senior Research Associate with Science and Mathematics Program Improvement (SAMPI) at Western Michigan University (WMU). Robert received a PhD in Science Education from WMU in 2006 and began working with SAMPI in 2007. He has managed the evaluation efforts of various K-12 and college/university-level math, science, engineering, and technology (STEM) education projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
	Matteah Spencer Reppart Proponents, LLC	Founder of PROPONENTS LLC, Matteah brings 15 years of experience in designing, facilitating, and leading evaluative work internationally and domestically. Current projects include external evaluation and evaluation capacity building support for programs and organizations related to civic engagement, advocacy and policy change, neighborhood revitalization, maternal health, collective impact initiatives, post-secondary success, New American services, and more. Matteah provides her clients with tools, practices, and information that offer more insight, awareness, clarity, alignment, purpose, and courage for systems, organizational, and individual change. In her practice, Matteah is committed to exploring current systemic and structural conditions that perpetuate existing inequalities, while also exploring new value orientations, structures, processes, systems, and relationships that shift dynamics. In relentless pursuit of growth, Matteah engages in critical reflection, maintaining a commitment to fully and authentically showing up in her work and encourages her clients to do the same.
	Shannon Virtue Ottawa County government svirtue@miottawa.org	Shannon Virtue leads the evaluation division at Ottawa County’s Planning and Performance Improvement Department (PPID). With over 15 years of experience, Shannon plans and manages multi-year evaluations for public health programs, criminal justice programs, and other Ottawa County departments and initiatives. She also works with local townships, cities, and nonprofits to evaluate their programs and initiatives. Great data visualization is at the heart of her work, ensuring complex data is easy-to-understand and key findings are clearly communicated to stakeholders.
	Lisa Wyatt Knowlton, Ed.D. Wyatt Advisors lwyattknowlton@gmail.com	Lisa earned a doctorate in Education Leadership with specialties in management and policy. She holds a Master of Public Administration and B.A. in International Relations. Her work history includes extensive assignments in a broad range of management and leadership issues in the private and public sectors, including twice as CEO. Past clients have included the Gates, W.K. Kellogg, Ball and National Science Foundations, Kellogg Company and Con Agra along with family-owned enterprise and charities such as Feeding America. Lisa is a Kellogg Leadership Fellow and principal in Wyatt Advisors (www.wyattadvisors.com), a resource for effective people and organizations.

Get Involved

Whether you have a specific question or need right now, or if you just want to make sure you receive important updates, you are in the right place! Send us a message using the form below and we will keep you connected to West Michigan Evaluators Network!

Go back

Your message has been sent

Subscribe to receive updates on new blog posts and resources.