About Me
Hi! My name is Dana McCurdy and I am the owner and principal consultant at Evaluate Change Consulting.
I believe that data can be used to change the world.
I am particularly interested in using data to make the world a more equitable and humane place to live.
My Credentials
Before becoming a consultant, I worked for 15 years as a full time program evaluator at non-profit organizations in the health, education, and technology spaces. I have always been an internal evaluator. This means I was hired to work in-house at an organization to support their research, evaluation, and data needs. My “clients” were my colleagues.
Internal evaluators wear many hats, and are exposed to a wide variety of challenges. I’ve created theories of change, logic models, data collection tools, data systems, data reports, and data dashboards. I am also trained as a social scientist which means I can develop experimental and quasi-experimental studies, collect data, analyze data, and interpret the results.
My favorite part of evaluation has always been fostering a culture of learning with my colleagues. I loved to help them better understand the data we were collecting and figure out ways to put results into action.
I’ve also led teams, both formally and informally, and I have experience influencing and partnering with executive leadership. Prior to becoming an evaluator, I was a health educator, so I also have a background in group facilitation, individual coaching, and adult learning theory.
I have a Masters degree in Public Health, a graduate certificate in Feminist Research Methods, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Women’s Studies with a speciality in Race, Class, and Gender. For more details on my academic and professional training, please check out my CV.
My Background
I am a white, cisgender, straight woman who was born and raised in Hawai’i, on the land of the Kanaka Maoli. My experience growing up in Hawai’i has shaped my world view which shapes how I work and show up today. In childhood, I was always very aware of my whiteness. In the Hawaiian language, white people are called haole and this term is used colloquially across the islands to describe white folks whether you are born in Hawai’i or not. Every action I took was ascribed to being haole, something that made me very self-conscious as a child; and something I now know is standard for all folks who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Although I was not in the numeric racial majority in Hawai’i, I was very much a member of a privileged class. And, although I may have been teased and called out for my whiteness, I still had power.
Today, I feel privileged to have had this experience as a white person. I am comfortable naming whiteness. This skill helps me to see many of the systems and structures in our world that are a part of white culture, but are invisible because whiteness is the norm. And yet, despite my experience, I still miss things. I have to work at seeing and naming whiteness everyday. I learn everyday and I act everyday.
We can dismantle the dominant culture of white supremacy, but we have to see it first. Seeing whiteness and white supremacy is a skill that we can all learn and practice. One of the amazing super powers that many evaluators have is the ability to observe and name the systems underlying our daily lives. I believe we can use this super power to observe and take down the system of white supremacy.
I currently live in Sacramento, California, on the land of the Plains Miwok. I live with my husband and two hilarious cats. I enjoy growing my own food, cooking, baking delicious treats, and binge watching medical shows.
My Beliefs and Values
Above all, I value equity and kindness and these values infuse the ways I work and show up in the world.
When it comes to data and evaluation, I believe that:
What you measure is what you value
Measuring the system changes the system
If a metric doesn't change your behavior, its a bad metric
Any change can be measured
Everyone can be an evaluator
The right data can topple traditional power structures