Make the path to impact clear.

What pulled you into this work in the first place?
One question pulled me in early: why were so many people becoming homeless, and what would it take to change that? Following that question led me to a profession I did not know existed — program evaluation — halfway through my master's degree. I began with the belief that better information could help public institutions spend money on what truly helped people. Thirty years later, I know the work is more complicated than that. Structures, systems, and power shape what is possible. I also know that evaluation tools and evaluative thinking can contribute to solutions in ways that go far beyond answering the question, “Did the program work?” My thinking about evaluation has evolved, but the throughline has remained the same: evaluation can help us make better decisions.

What is a core principle that you bring to your work?
A growth mindset. I believe hard problems get harder when people hold too tightly to their own point of view. A five-year-old at a pool once overheard me talking shop and asked, completely seriously, "Miss Andrea, do you have a fixed mentality or a growth mentality?" Out of the mouths of babes. I have tried to live by that question ever since, and I look for that same openness in the people and organizations I work with.

What would your colleagues say about working with you?
They would say that I ask good questions, notice patterns and connections other people miss, and help people find clarity in complex situations. I bring structure and analytical discipline to the work, but I do not treat strategy or evaluation as purely technical exercises. I spend real time building trust, listening carefully, and creating the conditions for people to say what they know, what they worry about, and what they are still trying to figure out.

What do you want people to feel after working with you?
I want people to leave feeling clearer, more aligned, and more prepared to make the choices in front of them. Often that means feeling energized; sometimes it means feeling productively unsettled because we have named assumptions, tensions, or questions that needed attention. Either way, I want people to feel that the conversation was honest, useful, and worthy of the time they gave it.

And when you're not working?
I'm usually surrounded by plants, art, and all the books I hope to read. I garden indoors and out, cook things that will help get me to 100, and recently took up powerlifting — a new challenge for this chapter of life. I am also slowly working my way through visiting more of the African continent, one country at a time. And anyone who works with me should know: I’m a diehard Baltimore Ravens fan.