Winter Newsletter

2026

Dear Seattle Evaluation Association community,

Again, we find ourselves and our communities facing continued hardships since the new administration took office a little over a year ago. Acknowledging that some communities are experiencing more fear and being disproportionately targeted compared to others, particularly our immigrant, refugee, and BIPOC neighbors, we want to express our continued commitment to standing with you in resisting such hatred. In spite of, and in some ways in response to, the continued turmoil, we are finding strength and hope as we turn toward our neighbors to offer a helping hand, share resources, and build meaningful relationships.

We had a great turn out at our in-person annual business meeting this past December and have continued to have conversations with members to build upon that momentum. Between that and other community events we planned last year, we've also been hearing from more first-time members, many of whom are new to the Seattle area. We are excited about this community growth, now more than ever.

As we continue to plan events, we encourage everyone to prioritize safety and mental wellness as we continue forward into many unknowns. Our organization will continue to plan opportunities and events that reflect our core principals of anti-racism and equity. We invite you to participate as you are safely able to do so.

We encourage you to continue using this network and platform to share resources and amplify efforts of resistance. The leadership team is always open to new ideas for ways we can support this community. If you are feeling inspired to become more involved in a hyperlocal network, this newsletter contains information on how to do so, including opening leadership opportunities for next year! This could be your time to lead the evaluation field forward in Seattle and Washington.

Finally, we wanted to highlight some events we are especially looking forward to this year. In spring, we are launching a collaborative Social Justice Book Club with the Washington Educational Research Association (WERA), where attendees can read and discuss a socially relevant topic each quarter. This summer we will be hosting an event featuring an evaluation game in the West Seattle area, where participants can sharpen creative problem-solving and collaboration skills through the exercise of play. This December, we will be hosting our first annual Seattle Evaluation Association conference at our annual business meeting. We're looking forward to seeing all the brilliant and creative work from our SEA evaluators. More detailed event information including opportunities to help plan will be listed below.

We truly thank you for being a part of this community.

In solidarity and support,

The Seattle Evaluation Association Leadership Team

In this issue:

2026 events at a glance
Social Justice Book Club
Leadership opportunities in 2027
Ways to get more involved in 2026
Member spotlight
Membership perks and rates
The Seattle Eval job board

2026 Events

This year, we're offering a balance of options for the community to engage online or in-person. We're continuing our virtual cafe series where we meet on (or around) the 15th of every month at noon to casually discuss an evaluation topic, meet others in the community, and share resources. This year, we won't be hosting the cafe on months we are facilitating in-person events. Our cafes will take place on the following dates:

Wednesday, April 15th - Mixed Methods Evaluation
Friday, May 15th - Show and Skills
Friday, August 14th - Topic TBD
Thursday, October 15h - Topic TBD

Our goal is to offer an in-person event opportunity once per quarter. Topics, exact dates, and locations will be announced at least one month in advance. We will also strive to host events in geographically diverse areas around Seattle. In person events are scheduled for March, June, September, November, and our annual business meeting in December.

We will be hosting our first in-person event of the year on March 24th at Green Lake Library from 1:30-3:00. Join us for a table conversation on evaluation careers where we will be sharing our evaluation journeys, past and present.

Our December in-person event will be our Annual Business Meeting. Go ahead and save the date for Friday, December 4th. This year, our aim is to provide a conference experience locally, especially for those who are unable to travel for the annual AEA conference. The ABM will feature poster sessions and programming of our fellow colleagues. We welcome you to join the SEA conference planning committee. Email Aaron (finance@evalseattle.org) to inquire about joining.

Social Justice Book Club

Together, the Seattle Evaluation Association and the Washington Educational Research Association (WERA) are building a space to step back from our day-to-day work and dive into the "why" behind the systems we serve. Join us to connect across the fields of education, evaluation, research, and the communities we reach, to go beyond the surface with deep reading and critical dialogue, and to unpack the social, cultural, and political forces shaping our professional and personal lives.

How this Book Club Works

Each book club registration lasts for one quarter and we will choose a new book each quarter (every three months).
Buy or borrow a copy in any format (print, e-book, or audio). We encourage supporting your local library or independently owned bookstore and to donate your books to public libraries, non-profit or educational institutions when you have completed it. If you need assistance acquiring the text, SEA and WERA may be able to help so please reach out via email.
During the quarter, sections of the book will be discussed based upon 3-5 set reflection questions with additional questions asked by the designated facilitator for the meeting. We will rotate facilitators among the group for each meeting.

Reading for Spring Quarter

Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America by Mae M. Ngai. How did “illegal” become the defining problem of U.S. immigration policy? We are launching our book club with this text to trace the legal origins of citizenship and race in America. In a climate marked by ongoing ICE raids and human rights concerns, this history is more than academic. It is a vital lens for understanding the systemic forces that impact our lives and our work today. This book was the immediate, unanimous choice for our first series, reflecting our collective urgency to better navigate the complexities of immigration in the United States.

More details, including time and the Zoom link, will be shared when you register. SEA and WERA Members can participate for free, non-members can join for $10 per quarterly series.

Registration will be available soon!

Leadership positions available for 2027

The two-year service terms for our leadership board are coming to a close at the end of 2026. For some of us, it's been more than two years. We've really enjoyed building up this community together. The current leadership team established a lot of momentum and now would be a great time for interested volunteers to step up!

For 2027, the President, Events Officer, Finance Officer, and Membership Officer positions will be available. Voting for new officers will take place at the Annual Business Meeting in December. More formal recruitment documents will start to go out later this year, but we encourage you to reach out now if you are interested or want to learn more.

President, Rachael Waldrop: president@evalseattle.org
Events Officer, Ciara Knight: info@evalseattle.org
Membership Officer, Carrie Liston: info@evalseattle.org
Finance Officer, Aaron Stewart Baker Cervantes: finance@evalseattle.org

Opportunities to get more involved in 2026

Whether or not you have decided you want to serve in a leadership position in 2027, there are ways to volunteer and get more involved now. We are recruiting a Communications Officer to support our outreach efforts, including developing flyers and event announcements in Canva.

Finance and Events committees are also a great way to be involved in shaping the Seattle Evaluation Association's events and financial decision-making.

To learn more about the Events Committee, email Ciara at info@evalseattle.org
To learn more about the Finance Committee, email Aaron at finance@evalseattle.org
To learn more about the Communications Officer commitment, email info@evalseattle.org.

Member spotlight (change photo to member photo if approved)

What is a member spotlight?

This year, SEA is excited to share more about who makes up our community through our member spotlights! Each quarterly newsletter will now feature a currently active member, with fun facts about their personal and professional journeys. The leadership team may reach out directly to inquire about being featured, but anyone can nominate themselves or someone else. The nomination form will be sent out to members in the future.

This quarter's member spotlight: Rachael Waldrop

Affiliation/Employer: King County Department of Community and Human Services
Role/Title: Evaluator!
Years in evaluation: Entering year 6 in the evaluation-ish field
Recent clients or projects: My last big accomplishment before leaving my prior role was using participatory PhotoVoice methods with students to develop a framework for identifying inclusive school spaces. It spanned a couple years and took a lot of dedicated work but uplifted student voice in that way was incredibly meaningful and a good way to wrap up my time at the Kent School District.
I’ve been involved with SEA for: 2 years
I got into evaluation because… I love everything about research - theory building, developing measures to answer new questions, analyzing data - but I didn't want to conduct it in an academic setting where I felt disconnected from seeing its impact, especially in how it could disrupt social disparities and inequities for real people in the community. I'm drawn to evaluation because I still get to engage in skills and tasks that I enjoy, while also teaching others about the importance of data in spearheading real world changes. And of course, I love building dashboards!
Most underrated evaluation skill: Perspective-taking. Being able to step outside of your own experience, both lived and learned, comes in really handy in relating to and building trust with all your evaluation partners. I also think it helps me confront biases and assumptions throughout the evaluation process.
Least favorite aspect of evaluation: Data cleaning. It's important but I just want to jump into the analysis!
If I were not an evaluator, I would be: A psychometrician. I love the technicality of thinking about new ways to measure different constructs.

Membership

If you are not already a Seattle Evaluation Association member, now is a great time to join! We have some exciting events on the horizon, which are always free for members. As a member, you also get discounted or free admission to other local affiliate events, access to member directory on the website, priority communication about jobs posted to our job board, free access to post on the job board, ability to vote on bylaws and board representatives, and the satisfaction of supporting your local evaluation community.

Individual rate - $50
Individual w/hardship discount rate - $25
Individual w/hardship donation rate - $75
Students rate - $20

Membership fees are due annually. To ensure access to the Seattle Evaluation Association is inclusive for all, we offer individual membership at a discounted rate for those who need it. This option is self-selected and there is no application process. We trust that this opportunity will be used by those who need it. We are also grateful to those who are able to provide an additional donation with their membership to cover this cost for someone else.

Engagement Survey

Whether you just joined, have been a member for a while, or are not yet a member, please complete this short survey to let us know a little bit more about who you are! We are curious about who we are reaching as an organization and any preferences you might have to inform our offerings.

This survey is anonymous and responses will only be seen by the Leadership Team to plan events. If you have any questions, you can reach out to info@evalseattle.org.

If you have questions about membership rates, want to become a member, or want to check to make sure your membership hasn't lapsed, visit our membership page! Member dues are the primary way we can plan events and give back to you all.

Did You Know?

The Seattle Evaluation Association has a Job Board

To make searching for the next part of your journey a little easier, the Seattle Evaluation Association has its very own job board that members can post to for free! Postings by non-members help generate more revenue for SEA, which goes directly back into events, community-building, and networking.

You can find the job board through our website, and you can even sign-up to receive alerts when jobs are posted. If your organization is hiring, or if you know of one that is, please encourage them to consider posting on our job board.

We still encourage folks to actively share job information on our LinkedIn group as well.

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