In the 1980s, evaluation was in its infancy: the people in the field were few and not necessarily well trained, and evaluation was still struggling to distance itself from research. The CES (and American Evaluation Association) provided me with a group of like-minded people and resources.
I decided to join CES in 2008 because I was trying to break into the field and needed to build my network and participate in professional development opportunities.
I am a graduate student at the University of Ottawa completing an MA degree in Geography. My research project evaluates the Nutrition North Canada cooking circle program in Paulatuk, Northwest Territories. I decided to join the CES in 2021 to learn more about evaluation, as I didn’t have any specific education in the field.
In 1989, I won the CES Student Essay Competition and a free trip to that year’s conference in Toronto. So I joined CES under a student membership. I realized there and then that everything my then professor and mentor, CES Fellow Dr. Anita Myers, had said about evaluation was true – it is a great career opportunity.
I joined CES in 2007 to meet other evaluators and continue my learning about program evaluation.
I joined CES in 2004 as a graduate student in the Ontario Chapter for professional development and networking opportunities. I then joined the Alberta and Northwest Territories Chapter when I moved to Edmonton to begin a faculty position in 2008.
I joined CES in 2009 to be part of a community of evaluation professionals and engage in professional development
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