I believe that lasting positive change happens when those most directly affected by it lead the way, supported by partners who respect their knowledge of the context, cultures, and communities involved.

Advocating for and supporting local ownership of change processes has been central to my career. In my early professional years, I worked for the Inter-American Foundation, an independent US-government agency that supports grassroots development in Latin America and the Caribbean by providing funding and technical assistance to local organizations. Through my doctoral dissertation, I examined the critical roles of local organizations and networks in peacebuilding. I later led workshops, spoke, and published on democratic evaluation and local ownership in evaluation.  

More recently, as the founder and leader of a boutique evaluation firm, BLE Solutions, LLC, I respond to funders’ evaluation needs by building teams—evaluation collaboratives—that bring their lived experience to our work. With all evaluation projects I undertake, I invite seasoned evaluators from the places or communities whom funders seek to support to partner with me as co-leaders. 

I am excited to co-lead our Strengthening Evaluation Contracting Partnerships Initiative (SECPI) with my long-time colleague Hippolyt Pul. Through it, I hope we will contribute, in the United States and globally, to advancing locally-led evaluation and, therefore, to promoting local ownership of change processes.