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10.26 Coffee Break Conversation: Preparing Yourself for a Workshop on Trauma-Informed Evaluation at Eval22

Presenter:
Dr. Martha Brown, President, RJAE Consulting

Dr. Martha A. Brown resides in Faribault, MN and is president of RJAE Consulting andauthor of Creating Restorative Schools: Setting Schools Up to Succeed, available at Living Justice Press.

Dr. Brown received her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Florida Atlantic University. Her dissertation focused on restorative justice in two Oakland middle schools. For the past three years, Dr. Brown has taught a course in Circle Processes at Eastern Mennonite University’s Summer Peacebuilding Institute. This summer, she joined the Graduate Teacher Education program at EMU as an adjunct professor, teaching Circle Processes there as well. In 2021, she facilitated an eight-week online Circle training course for faculty and staff at James Madison University Libraries. Dr. Brown has been Lead Instructor for Simon Fraser University's Continuing Studies Restorative Justice Certificate Program and was an adjunct professor at Florida Atlantic University, where she taught a course in Educational Assessment.

Currently, she teaches and trains evaluators and organizations how to implement trauma-informed practices. In 2019, she taught an eStudy to evaluators through the American Evaluation Association and has continued this work with evaluation firms, community-based organizations, and affiliates of AEA ever since. A meaningful project Martha worked on with Hamai Consulting is TRISI – Trauma-Informed and Resilience Systems Initiative. This unique model used the Circle process and coaching to help organizations serving children and families in San Mateo County to become trauma informed organizations. She has found a way to blend restorative practices and evaluation/consulting methods by grounding all her work in trauma informed practices.

In addition to her book, Dr. Brown has published numerous peer-reviewed book chapters and articles on restorative justice and culturally responsive evaluation, and has presented internationally at conferences sponsored by the National Association for Community & Restorative Justice (NACRJ), Restorative Practices International (RPI), American Evaluation Association (AEA), the Canadian Evaluation Society (CES), Visitor Studies Association (VSA), and the International Conference on Conflict Resolution in Education (CRE).

At RJAE Consulting, Martha assists non-profit, cultural, community-based, educational, and correctional organizations with program design, readiness assessments, strategic planning, student assessments, monitoring implementation, and defining and measuring program outcomes. Some of her current projects include the Rice County Blueprint for Safety, the Kravis Center for Performing Arts Broadway Reach program and Mounts Botanical Garden’s Ambassadors of the Wetlands program.

Description: 
This Coffee Break will let interested and registered workshop participants know what to expect from a full-day workshop on trauma and trauma-informed evaluation practices. We will talk about why self-preparation and self-care during and after the workshop are important and explain various topics and activities in the workshop.

Learning Outcomes: 
Attendees will know what to expect and be more emotionally prepared to attend the full-day workshop: Reshaping Our Role as Evaluators with Trauma-Informed Practices

Date: Wednesday, October 26th, 3:00 - 3:25 PM EDT