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Oregon Program Evaluators Network (OPEN) logo

Local Affiliate of the American Evaluation Association

Upcoming events

    • Tuesday, October 14, 2025
    • 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
    • Rose City Coffee, 3370 SE Milwaukie Ave, Portland, OR 97202
    Register

    OPEN is organizing an in-person networking and social event for Tuesday, October 14th from 5:30–7:30pm at Rose City Coffee Co

    This is a great opportunity to connect with peers, share best practices, and learn from each other's experiences. Whether you are a seasoned evaluator, a newcomer to the field, or just curious about program evaluation, you are welcome to attend this informal and friendly event. We’ll have a fun icebreaker activity to get conversations flowing.

    This event is free for OPEN members and no-host (i.e., pay for your own food and drinks). Evening menu includes mocktails, as well as Gluten Free, Vegetarian, and Vegan food options. 

    • Tuesday, October 28, 2025
    • 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
    • Portland State University’s Native American Student & Community Center, 710 SW Jackson St, Portland, OR 97201

    We are pleased to welcome PSU students & faculty, program evaluators and researchers, and community members to spend an afternoon in person with Dr. Gladys Rowe, celebrating and reflecting on her new short film, based on the original poem published in the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation in 2023. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in a rich discussion to reflect on evaluation practice, create calls to action or commitments based on the themes, as well as collaborate on an arts project in response to the short film. 

    Due to limited availability, pre-registration is required, but participation is free thanks to sponsors including Kris Gowen, Kim Leonard/Leonard Research & Evaluation, Madeline Brandt/The Camassia Group, Jason Normand & Nathan Maranan/Collective Insights NW, Katie Winters/Artichoke Evaluation, Kimberlee Salmond, and the Oregon Program Evaluators Network

    Register at: https://leonardrande.com/DQSQcourse/gladys-rowe/

    About the Speaker

    Dr. Gladys Rowe is a Muskego Inniniw Iskwew (Swampy Cree woman) from Fox Lake Cree Nation, currently living on the lands of the Duwamish and Suquamish peoples in Washington State. Dr. Rowe’s work weaves together Indigenous wisdom and experiences, storytelling, and academic knowledge, focusing on decolonization and resurgence. She received a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Manitoba, where her research focused on Indigenous birthworkers and resurgence. She advocates for wholistic approaches to well-being across the lifespan and decolonial futures. Dr. Rowe hosts a podcast called Indigenous Insights, in which she explores Indigenous evaluation practices, fostering spaces for reflection and learning. She believes in the power of stories to build relationships and foster healing, which is why contributing to projects like this film and the Stories of Decolonization film series is important to her.

    Other Details

    • This in person event will not be recorded or broadcast online.
    • Masks are welcome/encouraged/will be provided.
    • If you would like to join our sponsors by contributing to making this event happen, please contact Kim at kim@leonardrande.com.
    • Monday, November 10, 2025
    • 9:00 PM
    • Saturday, November 15, 2025
    • 5:00 PM
    • Kansas City Convention Center November 10 – 15, 2025 in Kansas City, MO!

    AEA Evaluation Conference 2025

    The AEA Evaluation Conference brings together 2,000+ evaluation professionals from multiple disciplines and backgrounds. Evaluators come to this event to learn best practices, discover new techniques, and implement lessons learned from others in the field. 

    Evaluation 2025 is taking place at the Kansas City Convention Center. We hope you join us November 10 – 15, 2025 in Kansas City, MO!

    Who You Will Meet

    • Students studying evaluation or a related field
    • Independent consultants
    • Data visualization experts
    • Evaluation educators
    • Evaluation managers and supervisors
    • Professionals with a focus on non-profits and foundations
    • Funders of evaluation
    • Professionals with a focus on personnel, program, technology, government evaluation, healthcare, social justice, education, and more represented in our 55 Topical Interest Groups

    Theme

    Engaging Community, Sharing Leadership

    Shared leadership approaches create an environment where communities can grow, learn, and innovate to improve outcomes. This approach can be challenging to introduce to stable environments versus volatile or complex environments, but if done successfully, evaluators can empower communities with the tools to thrive as they walk into the future.

    Leaders who engage in shared leadership approaches will listen, share, and discuss shared formal and informal ethical agreements and explore how these agreements interact with the complexities of society and factor into how progress is achieved. Through this guidance, evaluators can distribute knowledge, data, and stories that can make a lasting impact on a community.

    Proposals

    Evaluation 2025 proposals will open in early 2025. We want to hear from you! Keep these questions in mind when you submit a proposal for Evaluation 2025.

     • Can evaluators ask new questions and integrate contemporary evaluation approaches to advance the field, all while being mindful of diverse perspectives of a community or organization?

    • How can we gain the attention of society by sharing communications and information, and re-examining our understanding of knowledge, data, and stories through an integrated lens? Can we promote our common interests while still acknowledging and respecting and even integrating our differences?

    • How does reflection (self and group), and forming questions together in community build connections, promote unlearning and learning, and reveal novel ways of doing evaluation?

    • How does integration of perspectives in evaluation practice and research create opportunities to explore technological advances like quantum computing and artificial intelligence while simultaneously upholding equity?

    • How does evaluation speak into our understanding of how change occurs, and the perceptions of a change process shared by the individuals and groups involved?

    • How can evaluation embed curiosity so that we can explore the ‘identities’ and ‘values’ guiding our evaluation ethics and influencing our collective moral imagination?

    • From our evaluation practice, what is needed to occupy individual and group attention in a way that focuses on hearing and seeing humanity in the midst of the stated reasons/purposes for the evaluation?

    Registration

    Registration for Evaluation 2025 will open in July 2025. If you would like to be notified of event updates and when registration will open, please go to link below 

    https://www.eval.org/evaluation2025#REGISTRATION

    Look at the AEA website for buying tickets


    • Monday, November 17, 2025
    • 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
    • Virtual, Zoom
    Register

    Like a book club, but for empirical literature! Instead of a conversation about a journal article, the session will focus on sharing and discussing highlights from the AEA conference in K.C.. Please consider bringing any lessons, resources, and tools you want to share with the group. Even if you did not attend AEA this year, we’d still love to have you!  

    • Thursday, January 15, 2026
    • 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
    • Migration Brewing, Glisan Brewpub | 2828 NE Glisan Street, Portland, OR 97232
    Register

    OPEN's 2026 Annual Meeting is Thursday, January 15th from 6-9pm at Migration Brewing, Glisan Brewpub | 2828 NE Glisan Street, Portland, OR 97232 . 

    Don't miss our annual meeting with program evaluators from different fields and institutions and to meet the OPEN Council 2026.

    This is a wonderful chance to network with colleagues, exchange ideas, and learn from each other's insights. Whether you have years of experience, are new to the profession, or just interested in program evaluation, you are invited to join this casual and welcoming event. We will have a fun icebreaker activity to get conversations flowing. The OPEN Council will also share plans for the year and opportunities for members to get involved. We look forward to seeing you there!

    To help us plan the event, please register by Sunday, January 11.

    Food and a drink will be offered. Please note that we are paying per person for the catering, so if you have confirmed your attendance and something changes, please let us know as soon as possible. We don't want to lose money or waste food because of no-shows. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Past events

Thursday, September 25, 2025 Professional Peer Networking (PPN): Evaluator Teams of One
Wednesday, September 24, 2025 Evaluation in Progress (EIP) 3
Monday, August 25, 2025 Journal Club 2
Wednesday, July 09, 2025 Evaluation in Progress (EIP) 2
Wednesday, June 11, 2025 Spring Networking Event
Friday, May 16, 2025 UN AI in Evaluation Case Studies
Monday, April 28, 2025 Journal Club
Wednesday, April 09, 2025 Peer Evaluator Networking event
Wednesday, March 12, 2025 Evaluation in Progress (EIP):
Tuesday, January 14, 2025 OPEN Annual Meeting
Wednesday, November 06, 2024 AEA 2024 Conference Reflection and Discussion
Thursday, September 12, 2024 Fall Networking Event!
Wednesday, March 13, 2024 Evaluation in Progress (EIP):
Wednesday, February 21, 2024 AEA Conference Planning Kickoff Meeting
Wednesday, January 24, 2024 OPEN Annual Meeting
Tuesday, January 23, 2024 AEA 2024: Prepare, Set, Submit!
Thursday, November 16, 2023 "System Evaluation Theory: A blueprint for evaluating complex interventions operating and functioning as systems,"
Thursday, October 19, 2023 Fall Networking Event!
Thursday, July 13, 2023 OPEN: Summer Networking Event
Monday, June 12, 2023 Centering Racial Equity in Evaluation: The DEIJ Learning Series "Deepen Community Engagement"
Monday, February 27, 2023 Centering Racial Equity in Evaluation: Diagnose Biases and Systems
Thursday, February 09, 2023 2023 OPEN Annual Meeting
Monday, December 12, 2022 Centering Racial Equity in Evaluation: Debunking Myths to Advance Racial Equity in Evaluation
Monday, November 07, 2022 (re)Shaping Evaluation Together: AEA Conference 2022
Wednesday, October 19, 2022 DEIJ in Evaluation series: Walking the Talk: Putting Ontology into Practice
Friday, September 23, 2022 Evaluation Journal Club: Photo-Based Evaluation: A Method for Participatory Evaluation with Adolescents
Tuesday, August 23, 2022 OPEN’s Summer Social Networking Event
Thursday, April 28, 2022 OPEN is...Open!! Let's get back to networking!
Thursday, February 24, 2022 A Nonprofit Evaluation Story with Portland Homeless Family Solutions
Thursday, January 20, 2022 Skill Building for a Career in Program Evaluation: A Q+A Panel with Professionals in the Field
Thursday, January 13, 2022 OPEN Annual Meeting 2022
Friday, December 17, 2021 Submit your 2022 Council & Committee Interest Form today!
Thursday, December 02, 2021 Introduction to the OPEN Council with the 2021 OPEN leadership team
Friday, November 19, 2021 Evaluation Journal Club: Bridging Theory & Practice
Monday, October 04, 2021 OPEN Visioning Session 2
Friday, September 17, 2021 Culturally Responsive Evaluation: Lessons from the Indian Health Services
Wednesday, September 08, 2021 OPEN Visioning Session 1
Wednesday, August 18, 2021 Measuring Student Success: Lessons for evaluators in the wake of COVID-19
Friday, July 23, 2021 Evaluation Journal Club: Inciting Social Change Through Evaluation
Tuesday, May 18, 2021 Facilitation Essentials for Evaluators
Wednesday, May 12, 2021 SOLD OUT! Introduction to Evaluation Policies: What are they? What is the intention?
Thursday, May 06, 2021 Student Discussion: Building a Resume for Program Evaluation
Friday, April 09, 2021 A Conversation on Evaluative Thinking: A discussion with Chari Smith, Evaluation into Action, and Hayat Askar, EvalJordan
Friday, March 26, 2021 Evaluation Journal Club: Bridging Theory & Practice


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