About the Evaluator
Caroline is a scholar, educator, and consultant dedicated to creating and sustaining human-first collaborations that empower teams to bring their unique expertise and perspectives together to pursue research and evaluation for positive change.
Caroline has led evaluation of grant funded projects including NSF-Simons Center for Quantitative Biology at Northwestern University. She has also led evaluation of NSF, NIH, and AHA funded programs including boot camps, undergraduate research (REUs), and T32 training programs. She has led teams co-writing the evaluation for research and education proposals. Recent proposals awarded include the NSF and Simons Foundation funded National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology and the NSF funded HAND ERC.
Caroline has a B.S. in physiology and a Ph.D. in neuroscience. She is the founder and principal consultant of Spark Innovations, LLC. Spark Innovations currently collaborates with Sound Research Center, lead evaluator of InnovATEBIO.
Evaluation Background
I specialize in...
- Qualitative methods
- Quantitative methods
- Mixed methods
- Developmental evaluation
- Participatory evaluation approaches
- Utilization-focused evaluation
I have worked with projects in the areas of:
- ATE Centers
- NSF projects other than ATE (e.g., IUSE, S-STEM, AISL, HSI, ADVANCE)
- STEM education projects supported by funder other than NSF
Training and Certifications
Professional development workshops, webinars, or online courses on evaluation
Outside of Work, I enjoy...
… training in martial arts (aikido), hiking, sitting stream-side for a brew up, making rock friends, painting, writing, sewing, enthusing over beach volleyball (which I don’t play but adore), and seeking out the best coffee wherever I travel.
A Successful Evaluation...
… Includes, Aligns, Supports, Excites, Clarifies, Empowers, and Improves. I emphasize ways of working (human-centered, participatory, equity-focused) that seek to make the invisible, visible, to honor all voices, and to define project success collaboratively and inclusively.
My Working Style...
… centers authenticity, building connection, and deep listening. I lean into my ability to move swiftly and smoothly between project details and a high-level view, to clearly articulate the logic of a project as it connects to evaluation, and to synthesize and summarize ideas with fidelity.
EvaluATE is supported by the National Science Foundation under grant number 2332143. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed on this site are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.