Ask Nicole Archives - Page 16 of 16 - Nicole Clark Consulting

13 Aug, 2014

Ask Nicole: How Can I Build My Evaluation Skills?

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T18:36:13-04:00August 13th, 2014|Categories: Research & Evaluation|Tags: Ask Nicole, program evaluation|0 Comments

Do you have a question that other Raise Your Voice community members can benefit from? Contact me and I’ll answer it!

Several weeks ago, I received the following email from a fellow program evaluator:

Hi Nicole,

I read your blog post, “Program Evaluation for Women and Girls of Color: How I Developed My Passion for Evaluation Practice,” and I was immediately drawn to it. I am an up and coming program evaluator who is fairly new to the field and still on a learning curve. I am struggling to figure out my place in the field, whether I belong here, and whether there are growth opportunities for me as an evaluator of color with a social equity, direct service, and light research background. A previous boss once told me that she didn’t believe I loved research, and didn’t see me as being an evaluator. While I agree that research isn’t my forte, there continues to be something that draws me to evaluation. I consider myself to be pragmatic and can get lost in big picture thinking, something researchers are good at. But, I believe in program accountability, neutrality in the presentation of information, and integrity. These are all elements that I believe evaluation brings to the table. I do wish to grow in my career, but at times I feel like giving up because I don’t yet know a lot about many things related to evaluation. Anyway, I’m happy to have come across your blog post because it provided some comfort in knowing that I am not the only one who has questioned her place in program evaluation. Your words are empowering!It would be great to speak with you further about your career trajectory in evaluation.What professional development opportunities would you recommend? How may I build up my evaluation skills? Looking forward to your response.

This was a really thoughtful question, and it’s great to hear from a fellow program evaluator of color!

Program evaluation is a rapidly changing field, and as you see, it’s exciting and daunting at the same time. Like you, I consider myself an up and coming evaluator, and I totally understand the feeling of not know all that one needs to know in order to get ahead in this field. I’ve come to find that, in my experience, you’ll always be on a learning curve because of emerging best practices, the latest research, and current trends. That’s what makes evaluation so exciting.

When I decided to develop a career in program evaluation, I began reading up on anything and everything related to program evaluation. And then I started to get overwhelmed. There’s so much to evaluation that it’s almost impossible to know everything. So, a recommendation I have for is to figure out what you want to develop your niche in, and build your skills in that, if possible. For example, I’m into participatory evaluation, empowerment evaluation, and evaluation theories that can be applied within racial, feminist, gender, and youth lenses. Elements such as logic models, quantitative and qualitative data collection, and the like are the basis for all evaluation theories, and I when I need to figure out how to run an analysis, or if I need additional help in looking for key themes in a qualitative data set, I’ll ask my colleagues. In other words, everything is (in the words of entrepreneur Marie Forleo, “figure-outable”).

While I think developing a niche is ideal, I understand that choosing an area of focus may tricky and dependent on your actual job duties. Are you good at running data sets, spotting the similarities, and comparing different kinds of variables? Do you like to help others run different data software, like SPSS, DataViz, and Excel? Do you like helping others present their data in a way that’s easy to understand and catered to the audience receiving the information? When I need to figure out a better or more interesting way to present my data, I like to turn to Stephanie Evergreen of Evergreen Data. In the blog portion of her website, she gives practice advice for how best to tailor your data presentation to your audience. Stephanie also runs Potent Presentations, which helps evaluators improve their presentation skills. When I need to figure out a better way to show my data in a bar chart or a graph or even participate in a DataViz challenge, I look to Ann Emery of Emery Evaluation. If I want to learn better ways on how to de-clutter my data, I like to read (and be entertained by) Chris Lysy of freshspectrum. Also, if I want to gain more insights on building an independent evaluation consultant business, I refer to Gail Barrington of Barrington Research Group.

When it comes to professional development and skills building, here are some places to get started:

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4 Jun, 2014

Ask Nicole: Should Child Protective Services Get Involved When a Young Woman Seeks an Abortion?

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T18:19:52-04:00June 4th, 2014|Categories: Public Health & Social Work|Tags: Ask Nicole, Social Work|0 Comments

Do you have a question that other Raise Your Voice community members can benefit from? Contact me and I’ll answer it!

I recently received the following question from a social work graduate student, who recently completed her first-year graduate internship (known as a field placement in social work) at an urban reproductive healthcare clinic:

Hi Nicole!

I recently finished my first year in graduate school for social work. Coming into social work school, I had a big interest in being in clinical study and I’ve envisioned myself working one on one with adults. I was placed in a local clinic that deals with most healthcare needs, and I was placed in the reproductive health access department as an intern. After being in my placement, I’m starting to gain an awareness of how important access to reproductive healthcare needs are for young people and communities of color, and I’m starting to become more interested in doing community practice instead of working one on one in a clinical setting.

A few weeks ago, a few classmates and I were reflecting on our field placement experiences. When I mentioned the great experience I had at my placement, one of my classmates told me that it is unethical for social workers to assist in helping people obtain abortions and that we have a duty to report it to Child Protective Services, especially when the person wanting an abortion is a young girl who is being sexually abused. This is based on the NASW Code of Ethic, she says. My classmate said that social workers, above all things, should protect life, and that includes the life an unborn child.

While I enjoyed my field experience (and, by the way, I also assisted other healthcare needs besides abortion), I’m starting to wonder if my classmate is right. Being that you’re a social worker that has a lot of experience in reproductive rights, can you share your insights?

Thank you!

I was excited when this student allowed for me to share her question. There are several parts to her questions, but before I share my answers, here’s a little background on social workers and our roles in reproductive healthcare:

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10 Apr, 2014

Ask Nicole: “Why Do You Only Care About Women and Girls of Color?”

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T18:22:37-04:00April 10th, 2014|Categories: Equity & Justice|Tags: Ask Nicole|0 Comments

Do you have a question that other Raise Your Voice community members can benefit from? Contact me and I’ll answer it!

I recently received the following question from a woman who is interested in starting her own nonprofit:

Hello, Nicole. I am very impressed with your blog and I enjoy reading it for more ways to get inspiration.

I’m interested in creating a nonprofit organization for teen girls, focusing on empowerment, education, and sports. I am Latina, and while I enjoy working with young Latinas, I’m wondering if I should focus my business around working with all teen girls, regardless of race or ethnicity. I see that your business focuses exclusively on women and young women of color. Do you ever get asked, “Why do you only care about women and girls of color?” Do you ever feel that you may be limiting yourself? I feel that if I create a business that focuses on all teen girls I will look more attractive to potential clients and will be able to grow my business more quickly, but if I focus on Latina teens, I would feel that I have more of an investment beyond getting paid for my services. I believe deep down that I know what I should do, but I don’t want to limit myself. And I’m afraid of overextending myself.

Thank you again for your inspiration! I look forward to your reply.

This is a really great question, and I’m happy to answer it!

I’ve been asked “Why do you only care about women and girls of color?” in a variety of ways for a long time. I think the first time I was asked was years ago, long before I could even envision what my business would look like today. But instead of being asked by a woman, I was being asked by men, who wanted to know what makes women and girls of color more important than working with entire communities of color. I was given advice on how I can include more men and young boys of color into what I wanted to do, how young men and boys of color “have it worse” compared to young women and girls of color, and how communities of color needed someone like me to provide inspiration to all young people, not just young girls of color. I’ve also be questioned on why I, as a Black woman, focus on all women and girls of color and not just Black women and girls.

(It’s always interesting how people who have the most ideas on what you need to do, never seem to have the time or interest in making these improvements themselves. But that’s another matter!)

I’ll answer this question in three parts: 1) Why I’m invested in all women and girls of color, 2) the benefits of creating a niche and 3) the fear of limiting yourself:

Like our reader, I’m invested in women and girls of color because I am one. While I don’t doubt that men and boys of color need services that cater to their needs, and while I believe that want I do as a program evaluator and speaker can lent themselves into working with men and boys of color, I tend to point interested people to organizations and people I know who are doing the work of providing services for men and boys of color (and to the organizations that serve them). I don’t believe that women and girls are superior than men and boys. My life experience as a girl of color and now as a woman of color just lends itself more to wanting to devote my time to improving the quality of life for women and girls of color in any way I can. Also, I feel that what I do with program evaluation and speaking works great for all organizations that provide services for women and girls of color. It helps me to be more culturally competent and helps me to recognize the strengths of all women and girls of color, not just Black women and girls. Communities of color are resourceful and there are many people (regardless of gender) who are on the ground offering their perspectives, talents, and insights that we are the better for. (more…)

20 Mar, 2013

Ask Nicole: “Is a Career as a Reproductive Justice Social Worker Possible?”

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T18:06:04-04:00March 20th, 2013|Categories: Public Health & Social Work|Tags: Ask Nicole, reproductive justice, Social Work|0 Comments

Do you have a question that other Raise Your Voice community members can benefit from? Contact me and I’ll answer it!

I recently received the following question from a young woman who is currently studying social work at an undergraduate university:

Hello! I just found your website, and I am blown away; you’re living my dream life! I’m currently one year away from graduating with my [Bachelors degree in Social Work], and am looking at different options for where to go next. Thinking about the future is scary!

Before flipping through your site, I had never heard the term “reproductive justice field”, but that’s what I want to work in, in a nutshell. But, “reproductive justice” isn’t on the list of social problems that we generally acknowledge in class, and sometimes I feel like I can’t pursue this topic that excites me so much with my social work degree.

So my question is, where do I go from here? I’ve been looking at different grad school programs, and there are so many different options! Do you think that a concentration in public policy would be more helpful than a general practice degree? Do you have any tips for actually finding employment in the “reproductive justice field”? I’ve interned with [pro choice organizations] and am looking into starting a pro choice group on my campus next year; but I’m looking for a sign that any of this can work beyond college.

Any suggestions would be appreciated! Oh, and thanks for being awesome!

Since March is National Social Work Month, I was really excited to receive this question. A degree in social work is one of the most diverse degrees one can obtain. There are many people in various social justice movements and in many career fields that are social workers. As a social worker, you use your skills of engagement to analyze, discover, and develop strategies to work with individuals, agencies, and communities in ways that are holistic and empowering.

Generally, most people are surprised to find out that I’m a social worker. When I’m asked, “What do you do?”, it’s the first thing that I mention. They’re even more surprised at the career I’ve developed and the experiences I’ve had throughout the years. Though I’ve been in the reproductive justice (RJ) field much longer compared to social work, the skills and theories I learned as a social worker student serve to enhance my work in RJ.

I’ve broken down the question above into four separate questions to tackle: (more…)

29 Aug, 2012

Ask Nicole: How Can We Create More Affirming Spaces for Women & Girls of Color?

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T18:06:29-04:00August 29th, 2012|Categories: Equity & Justice|Tags: Ask Nicole, Youth|0 Comments

Do you have a question that other Raise Your Voice community members can benefit from? Contact me and I’ll answer it!

I recently received an email from a young woman of color and a recent college graduate. She contacted me to ask if I could point her in the direction of women of color organizations in her area that are open to having volunteers, as the organizations she’s already contacted currently do not have any volunteer opportunities. She shared with me that, being a recent college graduate, Latina, and the first of her family to attend college, she has a passion to give back to her community and to empower others.

What heightened my interest in her email was that she mentioned that she was an active member of a women of color group on her college campus. She described the campus group as a multi-generational safe space for women of color on campus, which meets monthly. The monthly gathering, complete with food and fellowship, invites current students and staff to share experiences and advice over a chosen topic of the month (spiritual wellness, intellectual wellness, environmental wellness, among others.) Her group has also hosted a woman of color retreat on campus as well as a gala to recognize the many contributions of the women of color on campus.

I responded back to her, letting her know that I will look into women of color organizations in her area, but I also gave her the suggestion of creating a similar supportive group based on her campus group. Here in New York City, I am part of the New York City Reproductive Justice Coalition. We meet once a month to discuss what’s happening locally and nationally around reproductive justice and women and girls of color. What we’re currently doing every month sounds very similar to what her campus does: We connect, inform, enlighten, strategize, and fellowship.

The need for more spaces for women and girls of color to grow, connect, and be affirmed in a world that tells us that we’re in the minority is crucial. Instead of it being a matter of chance, women and girls of color spaces need to be a given, a space where women and girls of color are mentored and supported by peers who have their best interest in mind. In a perfect world, there would be no need for spaces like these. Until then, the more spaces we have that tell women and girls like us that we matter, the more likely we will be able to step up and pay it forward.

Are you interested in starting a space for women and girls of color in your community or on campus? Here are a few ideas to get you started: (more…)

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Ask Nicole: How Can I Build My Evaluation Skills?

Ask Nicole: Should Child Protective Services Get Involved When a Young Woman Seeks an Abortion?

Ask Nicole: “Why Do You Only Care About Women and Girls of Color?”

Ask Nicole: “Is a Career as a Reproductive Justice Social Worker Possible?”

Ask Nicole: How Can We Create More Affirming Spaces for Women & Girls of Color?

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