Featured Projects
Evaluation of Vulnerable Schools Pilot Expansion (2024)
I worked with BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation and Food Banks BC to build an evaluation of the new pilot expansion program that reached more students with more food servings during the 2023-2024 school year. We gathered perspectives from school district food coordinators, principals, families and program partners like Save-On-Foods, growers, suppliers and food bank representatives. Respondents noted that the pilot expansion helped families feed hungry children and provided foods that were hard for families to afford. The evaluation supplied important information for planning and decision-making for the 2024-2025 school year.
Evaluation Lead, Provincial Physical Activity Initiatives (2024-2026)
I’m currently working with the BC Alliance for Healthy Living to guide the evaluation of three provincial initiatives: After School Active Play, Everybody Moves (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility in Recreation), and Active Communities Grants Program. My work involves assisting initiative leads with implementation and evaluation plans, coaching to increase evaluation capacity, and overseeing evaluation activities to bring together a comprehensive assessment of the implementation processes, outcomes and impacts.
Evaluation Lead, Healthy Eating for Seniors Handbook (2023)
For this needs assessment project, I worked with an advisory team of dietitians from around the province, and representatives from healthy eating/seniors portfolios from the BCCDC and BC Ministry of Health. We collected perspectives on the Healthy Eating Handbook from older adults, caregivers of older adults, and representatives of organizations serving older adults in communities. The online surveys reached nearly 1,000 people in BC who had an interest in, and need for healthy eating information for older adults. Interviews with representatives from organizations serving Punjabi and Chinese older adults helped elucidate the cultural appropriateness of translated versions of the Handbook. The final report yielded actionable recommendations for improving the Handbook to reach older adults in BC with accessible, tailored, healthy eating information that they need most.
Knowledge Translation, A Good Start Matters (2022)
I worked with researchers at University of Victoria, University of British Columbia, and University of Ottawa to create infographics and a webinar that would communicate widely to audiences interested in getting more children moving in child care settings. A Good Start Matters is a multi-year research program that investigated physical activity practices, policies and environments in early years settings in British Columbia.
Evaluation Lead, School Physical Activity & Physical Literacy (2021-2022)
Over two school years, I led an evaluation team housed at Childhood Healthy Living Foundation in evaluating the BC Ministry of Health’s prototype project. With Sport for Life in the lead, the project aimed to build capacity in BC elementary school educators, so that they could be more confident and competent in teaching the BC curriculum in Physical and Health Education. We designed qualitative and quantitative methods to reach a range of audiences and stakeholders, to assess the how the prototype was implemented and immediate outcomes, and make recommendations to improve the model.
Research Lead, Active Transportation in Small Towns (2020-2021)
I worked with the BC Alliance for Healthy Living to find out how small towns in British Columbia are increasing active transportation. Through research, including a municipal staff survey, literature review, and interviews with small town leaders in active transportation, we built knowledge about what works to increase active transportation in smaller communities. We uncovered diverse policies to practices that small towns are using to increase walking, cycling and self-powered commuting! Within webinars and workshops, we shared our lessons with local governments and community organizations across the province. Learn about the project here.
Evaluation Lead, Active People & Active Places (2016-2019)
Between 2016 and 2019, I worked with the BC Alliance for Healthy Living Society and community organizations to plan and implement a high level evaluation of the BC Physical Activity Strategy Action Plan. Working across the four focus areas of Children and Youth, First Nations and Aboriginal Peoples, Older Adults, and Active Communities, I integrated evaluation planning with implementation planning for initiatives. I worked with each project team to develop their own evaluations within the context of the larger action plan evaluation. By working collaboratively, I brought consistency and quality to the evaluation of the complex strategy.
Food, Fitness and Families (2017-2018)
I assisted the Provincial Health Services Authority and the First Nations Health Authority in redesigning Food, Fitness, and Families to reach school-age, First Nations children and their families. We first engaged with First Nations families in Vancouver and Kamloops to discover what was most important to them in a family-based healthy living program. We then designed and tested pilot programs, led by trained, Indigenous healthy living leaders in Vancouver and Kamloops. Based on our learnings from the pilots we delivered the Food, Fitness and Families Leader Guide and Family Activity Book. This flexible program is intended to be easily integrated with ongoing healthy living activities and programs within First Nations organizations across BC.
Healthy Communities Evaluation Reporting (2017)
I helped the Provincial Health Services Authority communicate the findings of their three-year evaluation of Healthy Families BC - Communities. Working from a few hundred-page technical evaluation report, I helped identify the key findings to share, and then wrote and designed a report that would reach their stakeholders with the important messages from this collaborative, healthy communities initiative.
