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We want to shine a light (hopefully, even a ray of sunshine) on the information needed to make Insightful observations to drive improvement.

Meet the PIE (Chart) Makers

Our staff has a blend of skills, backgrounds, and expertise that help us ensure that no matter what the project or content area is, we’re able to find a balanced approach to evaluating it.

Mindy Anderson-Knott, President

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What's your favorite thing about your career?
Working with people to help them collect and use data in ways that lead to positive impacts and ultimately improve lives. I realize that some are less comfortable with data, but I am in my “happy place” when I can help people understand the context within which they are operating so they can make data-driven decisions that lead to better outcomes.
What do you think are the best skills that you bring to your job?
I want programs to succeed, so I view my role as an evaluator to be a critical friend who has the best interests of the program at heart and will push the program to achieve its goals. I provide unique insight by reviewing data from a different lens and a critique as a friend who wants the program to succeed. Three words that best describe me are positive, flexible, and social.
What led you to this career?
As a first-generation college student coming from a small high school, I was naïve about the social sciences. My undergraduate advisor sparked my passion for wanting to study people, and my research assistantship in graduate school initiated my love for applied research. I then spent several years directing survey research and evaluation efforts at Pennsylvania State University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. It was during this time that I realized evaluation was the key to combining my experience in survey research with my love for using data in an applied setting, so to further my education in the area I earned a Certificate in Evaluation Practice from George Washington University.

Liz Gebhart-Morgan, Vice President

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What's your favorite thing about your career?
Bringing a full story together. I love putting together the final product, whether that’s a report or presentation, and helping people understand the big picture of whatever program or process we were evaluating. The collaboration and lightbulb moments that come throughout the whole process are incredibly bucket-filling for me.
What do you think are the best skills that you bring to your job?
Listening. I love being able to listen to all the different perspectives and the creativity that goes into making it one comprehensive story. And Excel. I proudly drink coffee out of my “I heart spreadsheets” mug! Probably because the three words that best describe me are INFJ, type A, and organized.
What led you to this career?
I’d originally gone to graduate school because I wanted to run a nonprofit one day (I graduated with a Masters in Public Affairs and Masters of Public Health). Within my first semester, I fell in love with research and how data could be used to improve processes and programs. Evaluation brought me the best of both worlds.

Zack Hicks, Evaluation Project Director

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What's your favorite thing about your career?
For me, it’s about solving challenging data problems that help improve public programs and knowing that my efforts have somehow helped to make people’s lives healthier and happier.
What do you think are the best skills that you bring to your job?
I love to learn and am always willing to always try new things, whether that’s about new data, tools, or programs. Three words that best describe me are curious, analytical, and friendly.
What led you to this career?
My path to evaluation began with an early curiosity about how government works – sparked in fourth grade when I was elected my school’s “mayor”. That interest led me to major in political science at Nebraska Wesleyan and pursue graduate studies at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, followed by a master’s degree in data science from the University of Missouri. These experiences brought me into government work as an epidemiologist, where I developed a strong focus on using data to evaluate the impact of funded programs. Program evaluation became the place where my interests in policy, data, and public impact intersected.
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