Michèle Banner

President

Michèle is the associate director of Crimson Research, a program evaluation and research group at New Mexico State University, and a senior research scientist in the Department of Public Health Sciences at NMSU. She has 26 years of experience as a researcher and evaluator in both the private sector and academia across a variety of disciplines. Most recently she has led several grants and contracts in the areas of economic justice, mental health awareness, and prevention and health promotion, as well as varied research and evaluation efforts for the Doña Ana County Health and Human Services Department. She has conducted evaluations in the southern NM border region, western NM, Juárez, El Paso, and nationally, maintaining a focus on health and social disparities within marginalized populations and using equitable, culturally-responsive research methods. Her doctorate and master’s degrees are in social psychology.

(Vacant)

President-elect

Emily Guerra

Co-VP of Communications

Emily is a long-time resident of the Southwest, having grown up in El Paso, Texas. She has a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), and Master's degrees in Anthropology and Public Health from the University of New Mexico (UNM). Emily has worked as an evaluator since 2019, specializing in qualitative methodologies and community-engaged research.  In addition to evaluation work, Emily currently works as the Chapter Coordinator for the New Mexico and Arizona Chapters of the National Association of Social Workers, supporting research, storytelling, and communication with NASW members.  Outside of work, she is often reading from (and adding to) the pile of books next to her desk, or daydreaming about the next trip she’s going to take.

Audacity Nadler

Co-VP of Communications

Audacity Nadler (M.A., Ed.D) is a transgender anarchist with three children, two dogs, and over 20 years of experience in education, program development and evaluation, and supporting resilient human development from a systems perspective. They have an unwavering devotion to taking photos of sunsets. Someone really cool once said Audie's superhero name would be The Best Practice. Audie Nadler is the founder and lead evaluator of Authentic Evaluation. They specialize in creative, culturally responsive approaches that honor community voice and generate actionable insights. With experience across nonprofits, public health agencies, community-based organizations, and philanthropic foundations, Audie brings a grounded, relational style to evaluation, one that prioritizes people, lived experience, and trust.

Germain Degardin

Saumitra SenGupta

Co-VP of Membership

Saumitra is a former Executive Director of the California's External Quality Review Organization for behavioral health. He has worked in mental health services research in California and nationally for over 25 years. Previously, he had served in a number of capacities including on the faculty of the University of Arizona Medical School and as a research psychologist in San Francisco Mental Health. Saumitra has used both quantitative and qualitative research methods in mental health services research and quality improvement. He has served as the Principal Investigator of several federally funded mental health initiatives as well as on NIMH and SAMHSA review panels. Saumitra also served as a board member of the American Evaluation Association (AEA) and was the founding chair of the San Francisco Bay Area Evaluators (SFBAE). He served on the editorial board of the American Journal of Evaluation for 25 years. His publications include two co-edited volumes on cultural competence and feminist issues in evaluation research.

Ryan Tolman

Co-VP of Membership

Ryan Tolman is a Data Scientist and Program Evaluator with the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee, specializing in applied social science research and public policy analysis. In his current position, Ryan applies his training in research design, database management, and quantitative analysis to advance evidence-based public policy decision-making in areas including early childhood and K-12 education, public health access, and public safety. He holds a PhD in Social Psychology and has led evaluations in both the public and private sector with a wide variety of clients across numerous field areas including non-profit agencies, state agencies, international corporations, branches of the U.S. military, and educational institutions.

Sierra Fernandez

Co-VP of Programs

Sierra V. Fernandez is the Founder and Principal Evaluator of V. Rose Strategy, a firm dedicated to amplifying community voice, organizational learning, and impact through equity-driven evaluation and strategic planning. With ten years of teaching psychology and five years of experience consulting nationally, she has applied a social sciences lens to build an equitable and inclusive evaluation practice. Sierra also serves as Director of Assessment at a community college in rural New Mexico. Her work spans higher education, philanthropy, and social justice, including reproductive and environmental justice and Department of Education–funded initiatives that support Hispanic students in postbaccalaureate endeavors. As Vice President of Programs for NMEval, she seeks to advance connection and justice-centered evaluation across New Mexico.

Scarlett Kingsley

Co-VP of Programs

Scarlett is the State Specialist for Cooperative Extension Evaluation and Research at Oklahoma State University and has a passion for applying creative evaluation methodologies to her work to make the evaluation process more equitable and participatory. She is pursuing her PhD in Social Foundations and Qualitative Inquiry at OK State, and is a former American Evaluation Association Graduate Education Diversity Internship (GEDI) Scholar. When not busy with evaluation or her PhD, Scarlett can be found making art, curating her collection of antique typewriters, and spending time with her animal companions.