Meet an Evaluator: Q&A with Katie Winters

In your view, what makes a successful evaluation?

I have been a consultant for most of my career, so I’m very client-focused. To me, a successful evaluation is one that delivers the information that’s needed to make strategic decisions and demonstrate value. A lot of the utility of evaluation depends on good timing. I’m observant, responsive, practical, and very intentional about pacing the work to align with decision-making.

How would you describe your working style?

There’s a concept I really lean into: “Go slow to go fast.” I take the time to get to know the folks I’m working with in a meaningful way that goes beyond professional identity. I show up as a whole person and invite others to be their whole selves, too. Building this depth of relationship does wonders for a group’s ability to get work done in a good way.

I’m highly networked with other researchers, evaluators, and strategists. For most of my engagements, I build a small team of consultants who are experts in their methodological and substantive areas. By partnering with experienced, knowledgeable people, we’re able to detect small issues before they become big problems and adapt quickly as we go along. That adaptability has always been helpful, but is especially important now, given how turbulent our social, economic, and environmental systems have become.

Tell us about a particularly fulfilling evaluation project you’ve been involved in. What makes it stand out to you?

My first job after completing my master’s degree in 2004 was with a small firm in Los Angeles. I was involved in quite a few evaluations for the LA Unified School District, and after a while, I started to feel really lousy about the work I was doing. Projects that should have been informed by one another weren’t. I didn’t get the sense that anyone was using the information in our reports, and oftentimes, the educators and administrators I worked with were frustrated that they needed to participate in yet another evaluation that didn’t offer them any value or utility.

Not too long after that, I had the privilege of working on a local evaluation that was part of a national, cross-site evaluation led by Beverly Parsons. Her team was using systems-oriented methods, and observing their approach clicked a mental puzzle piece into place. That experience catalyzed a significant professional shift for me. I’ve been building my systems-oriented methods toolkit ever since.

Why did you become an evaluator?

When I was completing my bachelor’s degree, I thought I wanted to become a mental health counselor. I worked for a couple of years in children’s residential clinics, and the kids I worked with-even the ones who were working really hard to complete their treatment plans and return home-commonly ended up back in residential care or, worse, the criminal justice system. From my perspective, the services they were getting weren’t adequate to counterbalance the threats and challenges in their homes and communities. That experience made me realize I wanted to work at the organizational level to improve systems and services, and nudged me onto the path to becoming an evaluator.

What’s something quirky or unique about you that people may not know?

My mom is a retired community college librarian. She modeled voracious reading and filled our house with books. When I visited her at work, I saw firsthand the power of access to information. Being her daughter has shaped me in really significant ways. Just like her, I read every day, I know a little about a lot, and I believe that everybody should have access to the things they need to get where they want to go in life.

On a lighter note, I’m also terribly clumsy. It’s a joke in my family that my hands don’t work! I drop things all the time, especially when I’m in a hurry.