When I get my New Directions for Evaluation journal from the American Evaluation Association in the mail every few months, I like to skim through the articles during my metro ride to work.

I recently read about an evaluator’s experiences at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and I was intrigued. How is it possible that evaluators all seem to face the same challenges, no matter what the setting? My own internal evaluation work at a non-profit youth center is truly a microcosm of the larger evaluation world.

I’m a firm believer that the best way to get better at program evaluation is to talk to other evaluators and I thought, hey, I wonder whether I can have coffee with a GAO evaluator sometime and learn more??

Well, I emailed someone who I’d met through the Washington Evaluators, and one thing led to another…  and I have the lovely opportunity to interview not one but two evaluators from the GAO tomorrow over lunch! My Washington Evaluators friend and the article’s author! One of my favorite things about being an evaluator in DC is being close to so many skilled evaluators.

Stay tuned to hear some highlights from tomorrow’s conversation!

Ann Emery