Mel Michener, Evaluation Consultant

Bio
Mel Michener (they/them) is a non-binary white settler residing on the ancestral and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. They hold a Master of Health Evaluation and work as an evaluation and research consultant. Mel’s work is guided by intersectional feminism and aims to center lived experience, decrease harm, and prioritize relationships. Their experience includes formal research and manuscript writing, large national evaluations, and small scale community evaluations and work. As an evaluator, Mel is conscious of the ways that they can influence decision makers, ultimately contributing to societal systems, and they aim to contribute positively through the lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and their respective evolving best practices. As a human, Mel is passionate about clear and compassionate communication, relationship building, and leaving a positive impact on all their interactions. They are active in the greater evaluation community having sat on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Evaluation Society BC Chapter for 3 years as Conference Lead & Support, and as part of the DEI Committee.
Click here to download Mel's resume for a more complete overview of their current and past work experience.

Professional Story

My journey into reseach and evaluation started in the fourth year of my undergraduate degree in International Development. After spending 3 years learning about the aid industry, it became clear that you had to have more than good intentions to make an impact and positive difference in this world. I started looking for what tangible skills could benefit non-profits and organizations working to make a positive difference. During my 4th year capstone course, a woman from the Mastercard Foundation came to speak about the need for evaluators, and evaluative expertise in the non-profit industry, and that moment stuck with me. My interest and inspiration was sparked. The idea of evaluation followed me through the next few years of my life, always in the back of my mind as something that I could pursue. Finally, I put my thoughts into action, and studied a Master of Health Evaluation at the University of Waterloo and fell in love with the field of evaluation. It became clear very quickly to me that evaluation and research was what I wanted to do with my time, and how I could make a small difference in the world. I spent some time on a fantastic home healthcare research team in a formal research capacity, helping to turn studies into peer reviewed journal articles. I loved this work, but quickly knew that I wanted to transition to working as a consultant, and offering not only my skills as an evaluator and researcher, but who I am as a human to my clients and their work. So that’s what I set out to do. More then 3 years later, I am still working to create a comprehensive and adaptive set of services that address some of the biggest challenges non-profits and organizations alike face in their research and evaluative activities. Ultimately I aim to empower my clients by taking the guesswork out of decision making. My motto is everything is interesting when you have a curious mind. I can't wait to meet you and see what interesting projects and challenges we can work on together.

Let's find evaluative solutions together

A 30 minute conversation is the best way to determine how we can best work together to address your needs. Contact me to book a free video or phone call today.
Sea to Sky Program Evaluation operates on the unceded lands of the Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation).