Date: Friday, May 22, 2026
Congratulations to our members celebrating anniversaries with AEA in the months of April and May 2026.
Brendan Heath Diana Jensen Trevor Teason Keren Meital Kinner Fiseha Yinesu Jaime Vazquez Joseph Aubele Darshi Balasuriya Alexandra Jackson LaiQuannah Hason Megan Vitale Yoonjung Lee Jacqueline Ortiz Robyn Pennella Leah Mwangi Megan Harwell Juliana Keeney Cecily Mejia Grant Van Robays Angeline Spain Akane Sugimoto Storey Melissa Villegas Ann Rossmiller Austin Kupke Kim Gilhuly Jenn Meier Sweatha Iyengar Katrina Pineda Patience Komba Sabrina Ouellet Canela Torres Mandana Malyani Zhina Shen Denise Callahan Tracey Mulveny Danielle Lemi Toni Watt Julianna Johnson Emma Kelley Leah Youngren Brielle White Taylor Amberg Teressa Collier Lauren Vollinger Grace Sheehy Sadie Paschke Kirsten Shelton Saran Mallinson Hyosun Bae Raven Johnson Laura Vollmer Joanne Perodin Geetika Malhotra Christine Harrington Emily Arnold Frederick Nelson Zhaopeng Ding Deianna Madlambayan Kate Proud Ashley Mebert Lucia Montes Kristen Whittington De’Ana Williams Elena O'Quinn Amy Ashcraft Dora Elias McAllister Eleanor Sawyer Kate Flores Ebunoluwa Odeyemi Maria Posey GEORGIOS NIKOLOPOULOS Claudia Scholz Shaun Bhatia Rachel Davis Elizabeth Winder Keitaro Aoyagi Cristina Nieves Gina Johnson Erika Foster Palmira Santos Ashley Grantham Marisabel Perez Alexandria Brasili Paul Ntim Patrick Boise Amandeep Singh Diane Bosilevac Kimberly Braxton Anne Holland King Khangamwa Corbin Walls Savannah Stamates Namino Kunito Melissa Mendes Campos Alfred Vitale Lauren Hiskey MaryBeth Talbot Lacie Emmerich Brieanne Beaujolais Michael Kocinski Caitlin Looney Melissa Shays Brooke DiPetrillo Karla Felix Jemima Pomaa Oduro Gin Nugent Lisa Pitch
Sanskriti Thapa Laila Natiq Maia Elkana Monica Faulkner Carolyn Oldham Maria McClam Wendy Dickinson Nicholas Davis Deborah Blanks Lydia Oberholtzer Camren Money Drew Rivers Jacquelyn Christensen Victoria Perera Rojas Adrienne Gauthier Sera Kinoglu Rebecca McCloskey Kyle McGrath Logan Drake Amber Beane Jennifer Thompson Liz Vestal Maria Montenegro Gillian Marshall, MSW, MPH, PhD Sharon Duncan Jones-Eversley Adrian Brown Kristen Gardner-Volle Ramona Tenorio Elisabeth Johnson Alyssa Sloane Rebecca Dawar Elisebeth VanderWeil Morgan Franklin Cynthia Wilson Mikayla Arciaga Wilnise Horsey Ichiro Toda Kelley Madden Kineka Hull Carlos Javier Rodríguez Cuéllar
Theresa LeGros Bob Bailey Jeffrey Klein Lisa Kaczmarczyk Amy Lippincott Meredith Weinstein Jane Schaefer Judy Taylor Andrea Nelson Trice David Moore Kevin Keane Gregory Mason Courtney Zmach Susannah Laramee Kidd
Mechele Small Haggard Liudmila Mikhailova Leslie Fierro Melissa Demetrikopoulos Lisa St Clair Oliver W Cummings Nestor Mogollon Janice Fournillier
Julia Coffman
Arnold J Love Burt Perrin Edward Vine Gregory L Robinson Melanie Hwalek
Due Saturday, May 30
Help shape AEA’s voice for the future. Submit your idea for the AEA Tagline Contest—a short, powerful phrase that captures the impact, values, and purpose of evaluation. The winning submission will be featured across AEA and receive complimentary registration to Evaluation 2026.
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Featuring 11 engaging virtual professional development workshops, our new virtual series delivers timely insights and development for evaluators looking to develop their skills this spring. View upcoming sessions below:
June 8 | 9:30 am - 4:30 pm ET Communities of Practice (CoP) to Transform Evaluation, Engage Communities, and Advance Collective Learning
June 15 | 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm ET Evaluability Assessment for Transformative Evaluation Practice
View All Workshops
June 4 | 2:00 PM ET Advancing the Role of Evaluation in Defending Democracy and Human Rights
In collaboration with the African Evaluation Association and members of the International Task Force and the Democracy, Rights, Governance Topical Interest Group, this global roundtable explores how evaluation can respond to democratic erosion and the growing “polycrisis.” Join us to examine innovative approaches, tools, and strategies for strengthening democracy, rights, and governance across contexts.
Register Now
June 24 | 9:30 AM - 4:00 PM ET Cutting Through the Hype: A Practical Guide to Choosing Value-Aligned and High-Performance AI Tools
Artificial intelligence is no longer a future consideration—it’s already shaping how policies are designed, programs are evaluated, and public value is delivered. AEA's Summer Workshop will focus on practical frameworks for assessing AI tools based on performance, alignment with organizational values, risk, and real-world impact.
Registration is now open for Evaluation 2026 in Charlotte, North Carolina! Join evaluators from across sectors, disciplines, and borders for AEA’s premier event focused on this year’s theme, Evaluation Across Boundaries. Explore innovative ideas, connect with global colleagues, and engage in conversations shaping the future of evaluation. Secure your spot early and start planning your conference experience today.
By Nate Varnell, Consultant for the Evaluation Policy Task Force
Welcome back to Policy Watch! In this issue, we preview the updated Roadmap for a More Effective Government, and highlight several newsworthy policy developments for evaluators.
A new Roadmap for a More Effective Government
Since 2024, the Evaluation Policy Task Force (EPTF) has been working hard to update AEA’s Roadmap for a More Effective Government, a foundational document describing the Association’s vision for what sound, trustworthy evaluation looks like in government. First created in 2009 and last updated in 2019, the EPTF felt it was a natural time to refresh this document to ensure its relevance in context.
Since its creation, the Roadmap has played a key role in helping the field articulate the role evaluation should have in government, and how government can support uplifting evaluation practice throughout society. The Roadmap continues to offer guidance for how evaluators and non-evaluators can implement evaluations, build capacity in their organizations, and uphold sound principles for managing data and using it in decision-making. Fortunately, this update comes at a time when the nature of government evaluation has rapidly changed, and can provide evaluators and non-evaluators with insights on the potential future directions for the field.
When the EPTF began working on this update, we invited AEA members to provide their input on what the Roadmap should be across Town Halls and conference sessions, and you delivered! Thanks to member contributions, the 2026 update substantially expands the Roadmap’s scope, depth, and practical utility. Changes include:
On June 16 at 2 PM ET, the EPTF will host a virtual AEA Town Hall to debut the updated Roadmap, which was approved by the AEA Board of Directors on May 11. Mark your calendars and join us to learn how the new Roadmap provides a shared vocabulary for anyone to communicate the value of evaluation in government. Register for the Zoom here.
Inside the Beltway: Updates on evaluation at ACF; New executive order on “DEI” in federal contracts
ACF: It has been three months since the Dept. of Health and Human Services announced the reorganization of the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). With the help of many members, AEA joined 140 organizations and 650 individuals in a letter to ACF leadership urging HHS to reverse their decision and preserve the independence of evaluators at ACF. This response produced measurable results. On March 13, HHS issued its first public communication on the matter, including explicit commitments that no research funding would be cut, that staff reassignments are temporary, and that ACF will assess the alignment before making permanent decisions. Since then, the FY 2027 President's Budget appears to maintain OPRE research funding, and congressional staff on both sides of the aisle are actively monitoring implementation. That said, significant questions remain open about the independence of evaluators in ACF, and the coalition is continuing to engage these questions with HHS and Congress.
DEI: The federal government has begun to implement Executive Order 14398, released March 26, 2026 through the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council. On April 20, the FAR Council released new guidance requiring federal contractors to certify they are not engaging in "racially discriminatory DEI activities," at risk of contract termination, debarment, and liabilities under the False Claims Act. The guidance builds on prior orders limiting federal contractors from engaging in activities around diversity and minority populations.
IES: A coalition of 97 organizations including the American Educational Research Association, American Statistical Association, Association of Public Data Users, and others sent a letter urging the administration to release congressionally approved funding to the Institute of Education Sciences before it lapses on September 30. Read the coalition’s full letter here.
ICYMI: Town Hall on Engaging with Government
On April 14, AEA and the Evaluation Policy Task Force hosted a Town Hall bringing together practitioners and policy experts to share strategies for engaging in the policy process on behalf of evaluation and data. From responding to requests for information (RFIs) to writing public comments and communicating with Congress, evaluators have more tools available than they may realize—and a community ready to support them. Watch the recording on AEA’s Town Halls page.
Looking Ahead
The Evaluation Policy Task Force continues to monitor the impacts of federal, state, local, and Tribal government policy decisions for the evaluation community. If you are aware of changes in government and the evaluation community that are impacting your work or the work of other evaluators, consider providing information to the Evaluation Policy Task Force via evaluationpolicy@eval.org.
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