Jerian Abel, Ph.D. (She/they)

President

Jerian Abel, Ph.D.(she/they) is Director of Research & Assessment at the Portland Metro STEM Partnership (PMSP), a program at PSU. She also provides training and consulting to staff, community programs, and partners related to program design & evaluation.  She loves writing grants and technical editing. For enjoyment, she practices Tai Chi, gardens, and playing with her 4-year-old black lab, Pepper.

Prior to joining PMSP, Dr. Abel worked for 16 years at Education Northwest conducting research and evaluation of school reform, working directly with schools. She has taught high school physics & math. She was also a practicing scientist/engineer on a variety of Federal R&D projects.

Jason Normand (he/his)

President Elect

Jason (he/him) has been conducting program evaluation for nearly a decade in a variety of contexts from a USAID project in Vietnam to nonprofit organizations in Portland. He is currently a Senior Research and Evaluation Analyst for Multnomah County, Aging, Disability, and Veteran Services. Jason earned his B.A. from Willamette University and M.P.P. from Portland State University. He developed a passion for applied inquiry and an interdisciplinary approach to solving problems to become an "accidental" evaluator. He credits OPEN's 2017 conference for finding his first "real" evaluation job. He is dedicated to collaborating with partners to determine the best context-specific approaches that meet their needs. This ensures the process is as respectful and meaningful as the insights. Jason feels his impact is greatest when helping organizations build long-term, community feedback driven, performance management practices. He believes that when used appropriately, research and evaluation are tools for promoting social justice and redressing power imbalances.

Jason identifies as bicultural/bilingual French/American. He loves to play the longest and most complicated games possible, eat the best pizza and croissants he can find, and travel.

Beenish Mehboob

Events Officer

She volunteers for OPEN as an events officer 

Beenish Mehboob is an Evaluation Specialist at NARA Northwest, where she works to improve public health evaluation efforts across diverse programs in the Pacific Northwest. She is a member of American Evaluation Association. She has a passion for humanitarian aid work!  she loves to work in field of public health, continuing her dedication to improving health outcomes and making a positive impact in the field.

Beenish holds an MPH from Harvard School of Public Health and an MSc in Health Policy and Management from Brandeis University, along with an MBBS from Dow University of Health Sciences. She recently completed a data analytics bootcamp at UC Berkeley, further strengthening her skills in public health and data analytics, including proficiency in Python, SQL, R, and tools like Excel, Tableau, and Power BI. Her career is marked by a commitment to transforming complex data into actionable insights and improving public health outcomes, particularly among underserved populations.

Sonya Demczuk (She/her)

Newsletter Publisher

Sonya Demczuk (she/her) is currently serving with AmeriCorps as a Digital Navigator at the Hillsboro Public Library, where she works to bridge the digital divide by providing technology assistance to the community. In this role, she helps individuals navigate digital tools and resources while fostering and maintaining relationships between organizations and partners. Additionally, she evaluates the library’s digital workshops, ensuring they meet community needs and continuously improve.

With a Bachelor's degree in Public Health and Promotion from PSU/OHSU, she developed a passion for research and evaluation during an internship at Multnomah County, where she realized the value of data-driven decision-making. She is furthering her expertise by pursuing a Program Evaluation Professional Certificate from PSU. 

In addition to her work in digital navigation and research, she has experience in event planning, having organized conferences, festivals, fundraisers, and summits. When she's not helping others navigate the digital world, you’ll likely find her sailing, playing table tennis, cooking or studying a new language—always up for an adventure (especially if it involves spontaneous trips or crafting something quirky)