Download the full MESI Conference Agenda and Session Descriptions here:
2012 MESI Spring Conference Agenda
MESI 2012 Spring Conference Sessions and Workshops (Descriptions)
Keynote Speakers:
Changing Organizations: The Vale of Evaluation: Jan Malcolm, Chief Executive Officer, Courage Center; Board Chair, Bush Foundation; former Minnesota Commissioner of Health
Evaluation in a Complex World: The View from Minnesota Philanthropic Foundations: Facilitator: Michael Quinn Patton, Utilization-Focused Evaluation; Claire Chang, St. Paul Foundation; Randi Roth, Bremer Foundation; and Jo-Anne Stately, Minneapolis Foundation.
Conference Sessions:
The MESI conference aims to offer a wide array of concurrent sessions, designed to meet the needs and interests of those new to evaluation and veterans in the field. Conference presenters are encouraged to design sessions that are skills-based, intensive, and participatory in nature. Sessions are held Wednesday and Thursday afternoons (2 sessions) and Friday morning (1 session); three sessions are offered during each time slot. This year our conference sessions follow three tracks: Evaluation Basics, Methods, and Special Topics.
Evaluation Basics
- Evaluation 101: Jean A. King, Professor, Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development and Director, Minnesota Evaluation Studies Institute, U of MN
- Connecting Evaluation Theory and Practice: Vanessa McKendall-Stephens, President, Face Valu Evaluation Consulting & Associates Minneapolis, MN and Laura Pejsa, Associate Director, Minnesota Evaluation Studies Institute, U of MN
- Culture and Evaluation: Vanessa McKendall-Stephens, President, Face Valu Evaluation Consulting & Associates, Minneapolis, MN
- Adapting Evaluation for Specific Cultures: A Hmong Case Study: Neighborhood House, St. Paul, MN
- 25 No-cost/Low-cost Tools for Evaluation: Susan Kistler, Executive Director, American Evaluation Association
Methods
- Using GIS in Evaluation: Expert Panel: Francis Harvey, Professor, Department of Geography, U of MN; Mark Herzfeld, Senior Program Evaluator, Ramsey County Research & Evaluation; and Luther Krueger, Crime Prevention, Minneapolis Police Department
- Internet Focus Groups: Richard Krueger, Professor Emeritus and Senior Fellow in Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development, U of MN and Graduate Students
- Impact Evaluation: Expert Panel: Scott Chazdon, Evaluation and Research Coordinator, U of MN Extension; Judy Temple, Associate Professor, Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Applied Economics, U of MN; Stuart Yeh, Associate Professor, Organizational Leadership Policy and Development, U of MN
- Using Stories in Evaluation: Richard Krueger, Professor Emeritus and Senior Fellow Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development, U of MN
- Meaningful and Accessible: Presenting Evaluation Results: Laura Bloomberg, Graduate Faculty Member and Director, Center for Integrative Leadership, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, U of MN
Special Topics
- International Development Evaluation: Expert Panel: Joan DeJaeghere, Assistant Professor, Organizational Leadership Policy and Development, U of MN; Elizabeth Hutchinson and Edna Ogwangi, Land O’ Lakes Foundation; and Shirley J. Miske, President and CEO, Miske Witt & Associates Inc., Shoreview, MN
- Evaluating Programs With Vulnerable Populations: Expert Panel: Jarrett Gupton, Assistant Professor, Organizational Leadership Policy and Development, U of MN; Vidhya Shanker, Organizational Leadership Policy and Development, U of MN; and Timothy B. Zuel, Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health; and
- Participatory Approaches to Community-based Public Health Evaluation: Cathy Jordan, Director, University of MN Extension Children, Youth and Family Consortium and Anne Belcher, Associate Professor, Environments for Health, Indiana University
- Evaluation Capacity Building: Michael Baizerman, Professor, School of Social Work and Director, Youth Studies, U of MN and Ross Velure Roholt, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, U of MN
- MESI Cafe: This innovative session will involve a number of presenters hosting small group discussions on a a variety of topics. Participants will move to four different presenters in a two hour session and will have the opportunity to discuss relevant topics and make meaningful connections around shared interests in a small group setting. Interested in being a MESI Cafe presenter? E-mail mesi.umn@gmail.com with a proposed topic and one paragraph description.