Fletcher reunion at the AEA conference

Design, Monitoring, and Evaluation is a field that has grown dramatically at Fletcher in recent years.  Professor Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church kindly offered this run-down on a conference she attended recently that served as a Fletcher reunion.

A highlight of my professional calendar is the American Evaluation Association (AEA) annual conference.  As the preeminent professional event for the global evaluation community, this 4000+ attendee conference shows the innovation, diversity, and scale of the profession.  In addition to the professional development opportunities, the event is a highlight because of the opportunity to reconnect with the Fletcher Design, Monitoring, and Evaluation (DME) community through the annual Fletcher lunch.  Learning what former students are doing, along with their challenges and accomplishments, is always a rewarding experience.

This year, an extraordinary 29 Fletcher alumni and students attended the AEA conference in Chicago.  A few fun facts:

• Two alumni flew from Turkey where they work in humanitarian M&E.
• One alumna was from my very first year of teaching at Fletcher (nine years ago).
• Twenty-six attended the Fletcher lunch, of whom only one was male.  (He took the picture below!)
• One alumna is the head of an AEA Topical Interest Group.
• Approximately six alumni did presentations, and some did more than one.
• Approximately five alumni work for funders.
• Seven current students attended, of whom one was a first-year student.
• One recent graduate returned to Rwanda to continue her role in development M&E.
• At least nine nationalities were represented.