With 118+ Evaluators and growing in the Network, we are highlighting an ACE Evaluation Network Member each month to share their experiences and current projects with the ETB® community.

Advancing Culturally-responsive and Equitable (ACE) Evaluation Network Member Nicole Clark, LMSW is a licensed social worker and owner of Nicole Clark Consulting, where she partners with mission aligned BIPOC-centered, women-led, and allied organizations whose work supports the lived experiences and advancement of women, girls, and gender expansive youth of color. Nicole consults on a variety of topics including the Reproductive Justice framework, participatory research, program design, strategic planning, and culturally responsive and equitable evaluation. Nicole is based in Washington, DC.

What first attracted you to the ACE Evaluation Network?

I’m a social worker by education and training and have studied evaluation through this lens. However, coming across other social work evaluators has been rare for me. At the time I discovered the ACE Evaluation Network, I was at a point in my career where I yearned for more connection with other evaluators of color, as most of the evaluation spaces I’ve been in have been predominantly white. When a colleague shared the application with me, I immediately applied. I joined the ACE Evaluation Network when it was originally housed under the Annie E. Casey Foundation and have enjoyed watching the Network grow under the leadership of Change Matrix (CM).

What do you value most about the ACE Evaluation Network?

I value the connections I’ve made not only with other evaluators of color, but also with the CM staff. I thought I would prioritize transactional relationship building, but the majority of my engagement with ACE Evaluation Network members and with the CM team has been in building community and envisioning how evaluation could look if everyone committed to incorporating culturally-responsive and equitable evaluation (CREE). From the Coffee Breaks and Professional Development Series to the Expanding the Bench® (ETB) Advisory Team, I feel like I’ve gotten more than I anticipated over the years.

What’s a current project you are working on?

I’m partnering with ACE Evaluation Network members Dr. Deepika Andavarapu and Dr. Afi Wiggins on a 3-year evaluation for Strong Start to Finish, assessing the initiative’s efficacy, effectiveness and impact in the developmental education field. Our process will also support SStF’s understanding in how they implement their processes across academic institutions at various levels of supporting developmental education efforts, including how SStF coaches these institutions, what decisions and actions are taken within institutions and across systems, and what changes in structures, conditions, and students’ experiences resulted from these efforts.

To learn more about Nicole, view her Evaluator Database profile.