Leadership

Chair

Samantha “Sammy” Holquist, PhD (she/her/hers)
Director of Research Engagement at Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
sholquist@@carnegiefoundation.org

Samantha "Sammy" Holquist, PhD, is the Director of Research Engagement at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, where she leads the national R&D Agenda for High School Transformation. Her work centers on designing participatory and applied research that elevates youth voice, builds research-practice partnerships, and generates actionable evidence for education systems change. Samantha specializes in collaborative and youth-centered research methodologies that partner with young people, communities, practitioners, and policymakers to transform systems in service of youth development and well-being, particularly for those most impacted by injustice. Her career spans applied research, evaluation, coalition building, and youth advocacy, including roles as a youth activist, school district administrator, and nonprofit leader.

Program Co-Chair

Natalie De Sole (she/her/hers)
Program Evaluator / Founder of Rooted-Growth
natalie@rooted-growth.org

Natalie (she/her) has over 15 years of experience in program evaluation spanning youth-consulted and youth-led efforts, nonprofit, community-based, and policy and systems change contexts. Her work has centered on children, youth, and young adults from K through college. Natalie holds a bachelor's in history from Grinnell College and an MSW with a focus on program evaluation from the University of Michigan, and is currently completing a PhD in education at Colorado State University. A certified adult educator, she teaches research methods and the macro-capstone MSW class at Metropolitan State University in Denver and enjoys (co) presenting in urban, rural, evaluation, online, and international settings.

Program Co-Chair

Olivia Melvin (she/her/hers)

Evaluation Associate at the Center for Research Evaluation
onmelvin@olemiss.edu

Olivia Melvin is an Evaluation Associate at the Center for Research Evaluation (CERE). She leads multi-year, systems-level evaluations and capacity-building initiatives across substantive portfolios. She is a young and emerging evaluator with experience conducting place-based evaluation in rural, southern, and environmentally vulnerable communities. Her academic background includes a B.A. in International Studies and Chinese and an M.A. in Political Science-International Relations from the University of Mississippi. Bridging her work and studies has fostered interest in contextual nuance, systems thinking, and utilizing evaluative efforts to further develop academic and practitioner approaches to peace studies and community development.

AEA 365 Blogs Coordinator

Noemi Avalos (she/her/ella)
Senior Evaluation Officer at Sierra Health Foundation/The Center 
navalos@sierrahealth.org

Noemi is a Senior Evaluation Officer at Sierra Health Foundation/ The Center. She manages external evaluations and supports internal monitoring of diverse programs, including those focused on health equity and healthy youth development. Previously, she served four years as an Evaluation Fellow with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She is also an alumni of the Expanding the Bench’s Leaders in Equitable Evaluation and Diversity Program. She has a Bachelor of Science in Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior from UC Davis, and a Master of Public Health from Loma Linda University.

Communications Co-Chair

Breanna Mattis (she/her/hers)
Evaluation Officer at Sierra Health Foundation & The Center
bmattis@sierrahealth.org

Breanna Mattis has over six years of experience in program monitoring, evaluation and currently serves as an Evaluation Officer on the Evaluation and Learning team at Sierra Health Foundation & The Center. She received her Master of Public Health in Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences from Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and is interested in culturally responsive and equitable evaluation, youth participatory methods, and the social determinants of health.

Communications Co-Chair

Hannah Howard (she/her/hers)
Data Manager at Alliance for a Healthier Generation
hannah.howard@healthiergeneration.org

Hannah Howard is an evaluator, data manager, and applied researcher whose work spans national organizations serving youth in school and out-of-school time contexts. Her work centers on translating data into actionable strategies that improve how young people experience and access learning opportunities. Hannah has led multi-million dollar grant evaluations expanding access to enriching outdoor experiences for youth and increasing family and community involvement in schools. As a graduate student studying Educational Psychology, her research focuses on designing school environments that support students with ADHD in connecting with peers and maintaining motivation to learn. She is driven by the belief that what we know from research should directly shape what we do in classrooms and communities.

Julie Poncelet, PhD.

Independent Evaluation Consultant
Action Evaluation Collaborative & Lecturer
School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
julie.poncelet@gmail.com

Julie designs and implements evaluations both within the U.S. and internationally with an emphasis on participatory action learning approaches and focuses on the areas of social justice, youth activism, and gender equity. 

Monica Ruiz Casares, PhD.

Assistant Professor
Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry
McGill University & Scientific Advisor/Investigator at SHERPA
monica.ruizcasares@mcgill.ca

Monica conducts policy-relevant research and evaluation related to child wellbeing and protection, child participation, and ethics and methods in doing so with young people in Canada and in the Majority World.

Bijan Kimiagar, PhD.

Founder & Principal at AEQUA Strategies
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Population and Family Health at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
bijan@aequastrategies.com

Bijan is a human rights advocate and mixed methods researcher who helps mission-driven organizations design and implement community-based and family-centered research, assessment, and evaluation strategies to build a more equitable world. Through partnerships with organizations large and small, he has led and supported initiatives in the United States, as well as in countries throughout Europe, Latin America, West and North Africa, and South Asia.