Jason Normand (he/his)

President

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.

Vacant

President Elect

Shelley Devens (they/them)

Financial Officer

Shelley (they/them) is part of the Quality and Population Health team at Cascadia Health. In their role at Cascadia, they track and identify trends in incident reports, client grievances, client survey results, and more. They regularly use program evaluation skills to create and reinforce systemic supports for Cascadia's direct care staff. Shelley is passionate about equitable, person-centered mental healthcare.

Shelley holds an M.A. In Community Psychology from Concordia University, where they conducted their first empowerment evaluation with Concordia's student PRIDE club. Prior to Concordia, Shelley worked as a post-baccalaureate research assistant in Oregon State University's Social Interaction lab. Their academic background is primarily psychological science. Shelley sees empowerment evaluation and participatory evaluation as opportunities to apply the scientific method in service of their communities. 

Beenish Mehboob (she/her)

Events Officer

Beenish (she/her) 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)

Communications Officer - Newsletter

Sonya (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).

Valerie Edwards (she/her)

Communications Officer - Website

Valerie (she/her) is part of the Program Design and Administration Office at the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care, focusing on program continuous quality improvement. She holds her MPH degree specializing in Health Promotion & Health Behavior from Oregon State University, along with a B.S. in Human Development & Family Studies and an Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Utah. She was an intern with Trauma Informed Oregon developing trauma informed care promotion materials, where her project was later awarded funding from the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice. As a self-professed "data nerd," Valerie loves to bridge program data and people through reporting, evaluation, and program planning. With a deep passion for advancing mental health and social justice to promote resilience, Valerie's work focuses on mitigating trauma and adverse childhood experiences.

Lindsay North (she/her)

Membership Officer

Lindsay (she/her) is an evaluation and learning expert with 15 years of experience working on social impact programs in some of the most challenging contexts around the globe. She has expertise in developing measurement and impact frameworks, operationalizing monitoring and evaluation systems, and leading evaluation and adaptive management practices to ensure that programs achieve positive impact. She's passionate about trauma-informed evaluation, conflict sensitivity and Do No Harm, and participatory evaluation. In her spare time she runs a small farm in the Columbia River Gorge.