La RED TIG was formally founded in December 2014. The TIG was conceptualized at AEA Evaluation 2012 when a group of emerging Latina/o evaluators gathered in recognition of the need for increasing Latina/o visibility in AEA and to create spaces for evaluation discourse that is culturally responsive to Latina/0-serving communities and programs. The group began to engage as a workgroup and developed proposals to promote Latina/o issues in evaluation. Members of the core Latina/o evaluators cadre included: Dr. Arthur E Hernandez, Dr. Lisa Aponte-Soto, Gabriela L. Garcia, Dr. Maria B. Jimenez, Saúl I. Maldonado, and Dr. Leah C. Neubauer. The group reconvened at AEA Evaluation 2013 and Evaluation 2014 to enlist broader participation from Latina/o evaluators who lived experiences position them to practice evaluation through a culturally responsive lens.
Vision: LA RED is committed to a state of the art Latina/o evaluation practices informed by culturally responsive theory and inquiry in all situations and circumstances.
Mission: The mission of LA RED is to increase representation, engagement and leadership of Latina/o and other evaluators in theory, research and practice of culturally responsive evaluation especially involving the Latina/o community through the development of sustainable avenues for the development and application of Latina/o responsive evaluation theory and practice.
Values:
- TRUST - the confidence that comes from demonstration of validity, appropriateness and meaningfulness.
- OPENNESS - sharing broadly and without reservation in easily accessible ways the information and ideas related to best practice Latina/o evaluation.
- INCLUSION - the determination a priority that all voices matter and the deliberate effort to hear and consider those voices in decision making related to individual and collective effort.
- SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY - the acknowledgment to the primary of concerns for real and long-term welfare of individual and collective others.
- INTEGRITY - the decision to be consistent to and with values and purpose in all things and communities.
- COMMUNITY - the prioritization of common wellbeing over individual interest, advantage or agenda.
- SUSTAINABILITY - endeavoring always to build, develop, organize and operate in a manner which is maintainable and responsible and consistent with organizational values.
Goals:
- Build collaborative cross cultural discourse to support Latina/o responsive evaluation.
- Identify and apply appropriate theory to the practice and study of evaluation of activities and services with and for Latina/o populations.
- Establish a network of likeminded scholars and practitioners who are appropriately skilled for the evaluation work with Latina/o populations.