Written by: EnCompass Staff

We are excited to announce EnCompass’ selection as a host site for the AEA Graduate Education Diversity Internship (GEDI) Program. We welcome GEDI Alexandra Mack to our team for this 10-month, hands-on internship, which will emphasize utilization-focused, culturally responsive evaluation. These approaches are an essential part of EnCompass’ evaluation work, supporting learning for better development practice.

“The GEDI Program is one of the American Evaluation Association’s premiere programs,” Evaluation Director Jonathan Jones said. “We’ve always been impressed by the quality of the scholars, over our years of hosting AEA networking events, and we’re glad to be a host site this year.”

EnCompass is one of just 12 host sites for this cohort of GEDIs (pronounced “Jedis”), selected from 25 applicant organizations. Ms. Mack was selected from a pool of more than 50 applicants.

“I am thrilled to join the EnCompass team,” Ms. Mack said. “I believe the hallmarks of EnCompass—appreciative approaches, whole systems perspectives, sustainable learning, participant-centered engagement, equity-focused methods, and creative thinking—will enhance my evaluation skillset and increase my capacity for culturally responsive evaluation. I am looking forward to investing in and growing with EnCompass over the next 10 months.”

We equally glad to have Ms. Mack’s skills and energy on our team. She joins EnCompass as a full member of our evaluation team, who are all working remotely to help slow the spread of COVID-19. However, only about a third of EnCompass staff are based in the main office at any given time; the rest already work remotely from locations across the globe—a mix of home offices and project offices.

The 2020–2021 GEDI cohort join their host sites during a time of change and a wider re-examination of the evaluation profession’s role in inclusive justice. The program’s objectives are to expand the pool of graduate students of color and from other underrepresented groups, stimulate evaluation thinking concerning underrepresented communities and culturally responsive evaluation, and deepen the evaluation profession’s capacity to work in racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse settings. EnCompass shares those aims and is working, through this program and other initiatives, to support the next generation of evaluators.

Given the complexities of the current moment, we are especially proud to be a GEDI host site this year. We believe strongly in the value of the GEDI Program and we look forward to working with Ms. Mack—and learning together with her—as we continue strengthening our evaluation practice around the world.