Culturally responsive approaches position culture at the center of evaluation, ideally leading to studies that are responsive to a program's context, values, and beliefs. Doing so can enhance the credibility and usefulness of findings to those who the program seeks to serve.

Drawing on interviews with evaluators and program staff from the Office of Indian Health Services, Emi will share what she has learned about integrating culturally responsive approaches into your own evaluation practice.

About the Presenter

Emi Fujita-Conrads, M.A. is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Social Research Methodology division at the University of California, Los Angeles specializing in Evaluation. Her dissertation explores why and how the Office of Indian Health Services developed an evaluation policy and how the policy has impacted evaluation practice. 

Before graduate school, Emi supported research and evaluation work at a national youth mentoring non-profit. Her research interests include using evaluation for program improvement, evaluation policy, and methods for conducting social justice-focused and culturally responsive evaluations.