Leead Scholars Week: Reimagining Systems Through Equitable Evaluation By Sharon A. Asonganyi

Hi, I’m Sharon Asonganyi, also known in the consulting space as Dr. Shar. I’m a systems strategist who sojourns with companies to redesign equitable systems and cultivate the talent within them. Systems fascinate me because at their core are people – people who design policies, implement processes, and reinforce practices.

As I celebrate completing Cohort 5 of Expanding the Bench’s Leaders in Equitable Evaluation and Diversity (LEEAD) fellowship and transitioning from a Culturally Responsive and Equitable Evaluation (CREE) Scholar to a Practitioner, I want to share reflections from my journey that have transformed my approach to evaluation.

Hot Tip: Recognize Systems as Living Entities 

Systems are interconnected parts that show repeated patterns of actions and results. Working within these systems fascinates me because people within them are both influencers and influenced by the system itself. As a CREE Scholar, I paused to reflect deeply on my evaluation training and the values guiding my work. Joining this community allowed me to question my beliefs, approaches, and assumptions about evaluation while providing language that aligned with my inner convictions and affirmed my practice. Through exploring formal and informal spaces, I clarified how they shaped my understanding of evaluation’s purpose and power. I now recognize that evaluation, evaluators, and what we evaluate are never apolitical. As evaluators, we hold the power to redesign systems in ways that shift outcomes. For CREE practitioners, this means intentionally tipping the scales toward equity and justice—a responsibility we must embrace with care and intentionality. By explicitly acknowledging our influence, we can create evaluations that reflect our values and contribute to building systems that serve everyone equitably.

Lesson Learned: Voice and Power Matter 

During my practicum with Baltimore City Public Schools’ (BCPS) Mentoring and Adult Relationships Office and MENTOR MD|DC, I experienced firsthand the transformative power of centering student voices in redesigning the evaluative framework for BCPS student mentoring. Our workgroup developed a logic model that explicitly positioned student input as the foundation for data generation, analysis, and programming decisions. We thoughtfully orbited qualitative data from school leaders and subject matter experts around student voice data. Engaging in deep conversations with students about their expectations for mentoring programs revealed recurring themes that became the foundation for program assessment standards. This alignment with students’ desired outcomes led to the creation of an innovative pre/post survey—the first of its kind—designed to capture student experiences across key dimensions such as power dynamics and equity in mentoring relationships.

Transformative System Design

I have learned that centering the voices of those most impacted by systemic decisions—especially those often unheard—unlocks something both beautiful and powerful. My work with BCPS showed how intentional, inclusive practices and meaningful stakeholder involvement can drive transformative system redesign. By disrupting traditional patterns and embracing inclusivity, we co-created solutions that were impactful and sustainable. This experience affirmed my belief that evaluation, when approached with intention, humility, and a focus on the people most impacted, is a powerful tool for driving systemic change.

The Power of Pause and Reflection

As you engage in your next evaluation, I invite you to pause and consider: Whose voices are prioritized in your evaluation design? How might your methods evolve if you intentionally centered these voices? What power dynamics within your evaluation context require deeper examination or disruption? These questions may challenge familiar practices, but they also open the door to creating evaluations that are more equitable, impactful, and truly responsive to those most affected by our work.

This week’s contributions come from members of AEA’s Leaders in Equitable Evaluation and Diversity (LEEAD) program. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org . aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators. The views and opinions expressed on the AEA365 blog are solely those of the original authors and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the American Evaluation Association, and/or any/all contributors to this site.