Our experienced evaluation and research team puts young people at the center of youth program planning and evaluation. We bring a sophisticated understanding of the relationship between HYD and equitable health/academic outcomes to our diverse partnerships with schools, governments, and nonprofits.
Program evaluators
Our team has a range of analytic experience from descriptive to more complex multilevel, multivariable analyses. We work with data collected by our partners as well as secondary data analysis and have experience cleaning and combining large datasets for analysis. Through our team-based approach, we distill complex analyses into key insights and digestible narratives that can broaden understanding and spur new ideas.
How can we help your team?
Piloting a program? Trying to measure its impact? Reporting out to your funders and community? We can help you plan, implement, and evaluate your project, and make sure you tell a compelling story to external audiences.
Contact us
Our individual services typically start at $5,000. We work with you to fit your needs to your budget.
For more information and evaluation estimates, please fill out this form.
Evaluators
Kara Beckman (she/her), MA, is a Senior Evaluator and Researcher. She facilitates community-university research partnerships and provides a full range of evaluation consulting services to local organizations working with youth. Kara primarily partners with school- and community-based restorative practitioners to develop meaningful approaches to learn about RJ implementation, effectiveness, and the potential to transform systems. Kara is a mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, friend, a life-long learner, a listener, and an aspiring warrior and healer, as Angela Davis calls us to be. When able, she fills her soul by being near water or in forests, growing and cooking good food, sharing time with family and friends or attending Lynx games.
Amy Gower (she/her), PhD, is a Research Associate and the Lead Methodologist on the HYD - PRC’s Core Project. She is passionate about helping schools, organizations, and agencies leverage data to inform their policies and practices. Gower conducts a range of data analysis projects, from simple descriptive analyses to more complex multivariable, multilevel approaches. Trained as a developmental psychologist, she is particularly interested in how schools and communities can support the health and wellbeing of young people to improve health equity.
Barbara McMorris, PhD is a faculty member of the Evaluation Team at the HYD - PRC. A sociologist by training, she partners with Minnesota youth-serving organizations such as the Legal Rights Center, Youth Farm, School Nurse Organization of Minnesota, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities, as well as school districts such as Minneapolis Public Schools, Saint Paul Public Schools, Columbia Heights Public Schools, and Faribault Public Schools, to effect changes that contribute to the health and well-being of all young people. She worked closely with the Minnesota Department of Health’s Violence Programs Unit to showcase population-based prevalence estimates of high school students who report trading sex or sexual activity for something of value, using the 2019 and 2022 Minnesota Student Surveys.
Ingie Osman (she/her), MPH is a Research Project Specialist with the PRC and works on a variety of research and evaluation projects at the intersection of criminal legal system involvement and public health. Ingie is passionate about incorporating community-engaged approaches and centering equity and anti-oppressive lenses in her work. Ingie has partnered on research and evaluation projects with a variety of community partners and state agencies, including the Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota Department of Corrections.
Shari Plowman (she/her), MPH, is a Senior Evaluator and External Sales Manager for the HYD - PRC. She brings 20+ years of experience developing, implementing and evaluating evidence-based practice and practice-based evidence. She has provided evaluation and evaluation capacity building services to settings such as schools, community-based organizations, research studies and local & state government agencies as they implement adolescent health and positive youth development programs. She evaluates programs that directly serve youth, as well as programs that serve their parents and youth serving professionals. Shari contributed substantially to the Prime Time evaluation, a clinic-based randomized control trial to prevent teen pregnancy now on the list of Evidence-Based TPP Programs that are Implementation Ready and Eligible for Replication with OAH Funding.
Rebecca Shlafer, PhD, MPH is the Director of the Prevention Research Center and leads the Evaluation Team at the PRC. Shlafer leads a number of community engaged research and evaluation projects, many focused on the health of youth and families impacted by incarceration and other systems (e.g., juvenile justice, foster care). Shlafer has long-standing partnerships with community-based organizations (e.g., Minnesota Prison Doula Project) and state agencies (e.g., Minnesota Department of Health, Department of Corrections). She is particularly interested in how programs and policies can reduce health inequities among families impacted by the criminal legal system.
FAQs
FAQs
Can I hire the Evaluation Unit to do just one component of a project?
Absolutely. Contact us to chat about your needs and how we can help.
Do you work with non-metro organizations?
Yes. If you, too, focus on young people and healthy youth development, please contact us about potential ways to collaborate.
Can you help me get funding for my research?
Yes. While our team cannot supply funding for new projects, we may be able to help you find funding, apply for it, and/or collaborate in writing grant applications. Contact us to learn more about our focus areas.
How much do you charge for your services?
Our individual services typically start at $5,000. We work with you to fit your program/intervention deliverables to your budget. Contact us to discuss what is possible.
When can you get started on my project?
It depends on your focus area, as our team is small. Please contact us to get on our calendar.
How do I prepare for our first meeting with your team?
We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the evaluation focus areas and services listed on this site. It’s helpful for us to know what resonates with you, what doesn’t, and what further details you need.