Evaluating Impact

Experience the Event

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As service providers around the country take on poverty in all its complexity, too little is known about what is working and why. Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) helps service providers apply scientific evaluation methods to better understand and share effective poverty interventions. Join LEO’s Senior Associate Director of Policy and Impact Rachel Fulcher Dawson as she uncovers LEO’s unique approach to improving the lives of the most vulnerable members of our communities, as well as hear from a panel of poverty researchers and providers.

Hosted by King County (Seattle, WA) & The Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities at Notre Dame, Evidence Matters is a series of virtual events designed to engage and inspire community partners, researchers, and policymakers as they work together tackling the biggest issues those in poverty face. This partnership pairs top researchers with passionate leaders in the social service sector to conduct impact evaluations that identify the innovative, effective, and scalable programs and policies that help people move permanently out of poverty.

Featured Speakers:

• Carrie Cihak, King County Evidence & Impact Officer
• Rachel Fulcher Dawson, Senior Associate Director of Policy and Impact at the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities
• Maria Jimenez Zepeda, ORCA Reduced Fare Project Program Manager at King County Metro Transit
• Lori Mimms, Research Lead at King County Metro Transit
• Rohit Nalmpally, Senior Research and Policy Manager, J-PAL North America
• Judis Santos, Lifeline Transportation Program Manager at Metropolitan Commission/Association of Bay Area Governments

Partner with LEO

The Evidence Matters series is sponsored on ThinkND by the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO). Poverty is stubborn and requires the utmost collaboration of thought and action to drive change. People of goodwill must bring their unique strengths and positions together to solve this problem. At LEO, we believe knowledge has to be combined with action. But poverty can’t be solved by just one person, or even one sector. That’s why we bring together innovative social service provider partners, top-tier academics, philanthropists, policymakers, and others to tackle poverty.

Change is possible. And with your action, we can get one step closer to reducing poverty in our country, together. 

Your job is to act. What will you do?

For more information, please visit LEO’s website.

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Meet the Speaker: Rachel Fulcher Dawson

Rachel Fulcher Dawson oversees the dissemination team at the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) at the University of Notre Dame, which focuses on sharing our research results and information to everyone who can benefit from it—providers in the field, researchers, policymakers, and funders. Rachel received her BA in Political Science from Marquette University, her MA in Public Policy and Management from the University of Maryland, and her PhD in Education Policy from Michigan State University. Before joining the LEO team, Rachel consulted with nonprofits, schools, and state governments and worked for the federal government at the Department of Education and on Capitol Hill. At Notre Dame, she’s a Concurrent Adjunct Professor in the Education, Schooling, and Society program and is an Affiliate of the Institution for Educational Initiatives (IEI). Rachel is also an Affiliate of Notre Dame’s Program for Interdisciplinary Education Research (PIER).

Meet the Speaker: Carrie Cihak

Carrie S. Cihak is the King County Evidence & Impact Officer. In this role, Carrie develops external partnerships that expand research and evaluation capacity to help county agencies advance equity and augment the positive impact of King County’s work. Carrie also develops partnerships to highlight successful practices and lessons that may be of value to other departments and jurisdictions.

Carrie has worked at King County for more than 20 years. Before joining DES, Carrie built research partnerships and evidence-building practices at King County Metro. Other positions included serving as Executive Constantine’s Policy Director and working on the County Council’s central staff. 

Before joining King County, Carrie worked for The White House Council of Economic Advisers, taught economics at The College of William & Mary, and worked in the public education system in Japan. Carrie has a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in economics from Boston University.

Outside of work, Carrie is happiest when making pie, knits, new friends, and good trouble. Carrie and partner, George, live in central Seattle with three cats adopted from Regional Animal Services of King County.