The DIR team proudly participated in the American Evaluation Association’s “Amplifying and Empowering Voices in Evaluation 24” Conference in Portland, Oregon. This event brought together evaluators to foster collaboration, mentorship, and the elevation of diverse perspectives in shaping the future of evaluation practices.

DIR had three abstracts accepted, contributing to engaging discussions through a Roundtable, a Birds of a Feather session, and a focused presentation. Our team shared insights on topics such as creating safe spaces in evaluation, strategies to build evaluation capacity, and promoting equitable practices in community-driven health equity initiatives. These sessions highlighted DIR’s expertise in culturally responsive and equitable evaluation (CREA), trauma-informed principles, and community-based participatory research (CBPR), underscoring our commitment to advancing equity and social justice through impactful research and evaluation.