Date: Tuesday, January 6, 2026
Hello, AEA365 community! Liz DiLuzio here, Lead Curator of the blog. This week is Individuals Week, which means we take a break from our themed weeks and spotlight the Hot Tips, Cool Tricks, Rad Resources and Lessons Learned from any evaluator interested in sharing. Would you like to contribute to future individuals weeks? Email me at AEA365@eval.org with an idea or a draft and we will make it happen.
I sat at the conference table with the full attention of 20 colleagues waiting for me to present an end-of-year evaluation report, a monumental task for this junior-level team member who had only been on the job eight weeks. I felt underprepared because nothing in my official title hinted at program evaluation as my specialty. After that presentation, I became my team’s go-to person for evaluation activities. I went on to help revise the evaluation plan and evaluate a training event facilitated by colleagues. I felt valued and needed; the designation of evaluation specialist made me feel like I’d finally left the kids’ table to sit with the adults. I was thrilled!
My name is Stephanie Johnson, I am a second year, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Fellow at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This post is last in the series: what is reflective practice (and why is it important to us as individuals and evaluators)?
Like other professionals with degrees in social sciences, I didn’t know that I’d be doing so much evaluation work. I was becoming an evaluator but developing dissonant feelings about this given identity. Although happy to do evaluation work, I started to feel like an imposter. Multiple seasoned evaluators in my office were available, so I didn’t. Six months later, I was tasked to develop an evaluation plan for a multilevel, 2-year program that would be discontinued. Imposter syndrome convinced me that my past experiences conducting applied research with a local consulting firm or for an international nongovernment organization wasn’t enough to qualify me as a specialist. I felt underprepared and dreaded that assignment.
What helped me cope with imposter syndrome? Reflective practice (RP) did! RP refers to actively thinking about and reflecting on your work and experience. Using RP, evaluators can gain insights and identify ways to improve the quality your evaluation practice. During meetings that focused on reflection to write this post, I listened to others talk about trainings they’d participated in, thinking, “Those trainings would be helpful for me too.” We laughed and shared our experiences as evaluators. I found myself often exclaiming quietly, “Yes! Finally, someone gets it!” Reflection in this group normalized not having all the answers, getting support from others, and taking trainings to fill in in gaps in knowledge. Engaging in RP in community felt like therapy! I had never felt so seen before. I was able to identify specific skills I could learn, such as data visualization and how to evolve my evaluation practice by working on complex or multisite projects. I felt like I found a place where I belong. RP enhanced my awareness of my skills, experience, and the value I bring to teams. It helped me take pride in my personal journey as an evaluator. I took on the evaluator identity that was given to me, and it came with many unexpected challenges. I didn’t know how to manage my feelings of inadequacy. I now proudly embrace my role as an evaluation specialist and know that I can continue to use RP as a tool throughout my career whenever I have gnawing feelings of self-doubt or want to celebrate meaningful growth as a person and professional.
TheUniversity of Cambridge Reflective Practice Toolkit defines and introduces RP, explores benefits and barriers to reflection, and methods to integrate reflection in professional activities and beyond.
Disclaimer: The findings and conclusions in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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