The online MS in Measurement and Evaluation is taught by professionals with over 20 years of experience who remain active in the field. To further ensure the curriculum is current and relevant, an advisory council comprised of leading practitioners in planning and evaluation has provided input on competencies, standards and industry trends.

The advisory council for the MS in Measurement & Evaluation includes:

Dr. Winston J. Allen
Senior Evaluation Specialist
US Agency for International Development (USAID)
Dr. Winston J. Allen is currently a Senior Evaluation Specialist at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Office of Learning, Evaluation, and Research. In this role, he manages a $450 million evaluation services contract and leads the efforts of USAID to strengthen evaluation practice and evaluation capacity within the agency and among its partners. Dr. Allen has over 30 years of experience in international development program evaluation, performance monitoring, project planning, design, research, and management in more than 40 countries worldwide. His skills, technical expertise, and experience cut across several sectors including economic growth, health, transportation, labor, education, agriculture, micro-enterprise development, and natural resource management. Dr. Allen served as an evaluation team leader for a broad range of evaluations supported by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), private foundations, the U.S. federal government, and Fortune 500 corporations. He holds a PhD in international development planning and appropriate technology from the University of Pennsylvania School of Design.

Dr. Debbie Benitez
Senior Research Associate
Comprehensive School Assistance Program
Dr. Debbie Benitez is a Senior Research Associate in the Comprehensive School Assistance Program. Her responsibilities include development of the Comprehensive School Assistance Program’s (CSAP) educational capacity-building initiatives. Dr. Benitez directs quantitative and qualitative research and evaluation projects that relate to the creation and/or application of an evidence-base in areas such as education system transformation, capacity building, equity, and resource alignment. She develops and provides research and evaluation training, technical assistance, and consultation to clients and colleagues. Dr. Benitez also develops and manages resources and materials for systems transformation, training, technical assistance, and professional development activities for professionals who instruct and support youth with diverse and unique needs.

Terrance Brown
Senior Advisor for Project Design
U.S. Office of Strategic Planning and Program, Bureau for Policy, Program, and Learning (PPL/SSP)
Terrence J. Brown is the Senior Advisor for Project Design in the U.S. Office of Strategic Planning and Program, Bureau for Policy, Program, and Learning (PPL/SPP). Mr. Brown has been in this position for approximately three years, during which time he has been a major contributor to the agency’s reinvigorated project design process (ADS 201). He has helped to develop USAID staff training for project design and has facilitated 10 mission-specific workshops on the project design process over the last two years. In addition, he is a subject matter expert in government-to-government assistance and is part of the Local Solutions core team. Mr. Brown has held a variety of positions in his USAID career including Mission Director in Guatemala (1990–1993), Assistant to the Administrator for PPC (1993–1994), Deputy Assistant Administrator, Asia/Near East (1995–1996), and Assistant Administrator for Management (1997– 2000). After retiring from the Foreign Service in 2000, he was the Operations Director for the Latin America Program for the World Wildlife Fund (2001–2004) and Chief Operating Officer, Pan America Development Foundation (2005–2010). A graduate of Kalamazoo College with a BA in political science, Mr. Brown also has an MA in law and diplomacy, majoring in development economics, from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Alana F. Hairston
Senior Program Advisor
Keep a Child Alive
Alana F. Hairston is a Senior Program Advisor with Keep a Child Alive (KCA) in New York City and provides technical, programmatic, and organizational support to community-based partners in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, and India. She has over 10 years of experience in adult, youth, and pediatric HIV and sexual and reproductive health program planning, implementation, monitoring and management in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Alana also has experience developing training curricula and facilitating participatory trainings for health care workers and young people living with HIV. Prior to working with KCA, Ms. Hairston worked as a Technical Officer with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation in Washington, DC. She has also worked as a Program Officer with Pathfinder International and a Program Coordinator in Lesotho with ICAP at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. She has also worked with a variety of organizations such as Advocates for Youth, The Futures Group International, and Family Health International. After finishing her bachelor of arts in international studies at American University, Ms. Hairston worked as a Teach for Africa fellow in Guinea and volunteered at a state-of-the-art HIV clinic in Mozambique. She holds a master of science degree in reproductive and sexual health research from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Jun Nakagawa, Ph.D., PMP
Program Management Officer
Division of Health Security and Emergencies, World Health Organization (WHO)
Jun Nakagawa, Ph.D., PMP is currently a Program Management Officer of the Division of Health Security and Emergencies at the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Regional Office. Dr. Nakagawa has accumulated over 17 years of experience in project and program management including monitoring and evaluation in Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), UNICEF, and WHO. Dr. Nakagawa’s areas of expertise include prevention and control of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), project and program management, capacity development, resource mobilization and partnership cooperation. Dr. Nakagawa has extensive long-term field experience in Asia, the Americas and Africa. In his current position in the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO), Dr. Nakagawa coordinates monitoring and implementation of program activities in the field of outbreak and emergency preparedness and response in both financial and technical aspects.

Kenneth Polsky
Resource Mobilization and Program Design Specialist
Kenneth Polsky is an international development professional with 20 years of experience. Mr. Polsky is a leader in new business development, program design, theories of change, and program quality improvement who has managed rapidly growing livelihoods, emergency, civil society strengthening, education, health, and nutrition programs. He has lived in Haiti, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, and Honduras, and has provided technical assistance in 15 other countries of Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia. Ken has a master’s degree in public and international affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He is fluent in English, French, and Spanish.

Dr. Sandra Scham
Specialist in evaluation, performance management, USAID and Department of State evaluation policies and practices
Dr. Sandra Scham has worked for several agencies of the U.S. government, including USAID, for many years. She is a specialist in evaluation, performance management, and, in particular, USAID and Department of State evaluation policies and practices. She is also an experienced social science researcher, writer, editor, and teacher/trainer. Dr. Scham worked for a number of years as the Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor to the Asia and Middle East Bureaus of USAID and, while at USAID, she was very involved with formulating new approaches to complex development evaluation problems. She is also a specialist on monitoring and evaluation in complex environments and has done evaluation fieldwork for USAID in Yemen, Jordan, Egypt, the Maldives, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, the Philippines, Mongolia, and Sri Lanka. She is the co-editor of an academic journal and has taught or performed research at the University of Maryland, Catholic University, Stanford University, and Pennsylvania State University. She has a PhD in anthropology from the Catholic University of America.

Mitch Teberg
Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist
Polaris Global Management
Mitch Teberg is the Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist for Polaris Global Management, a US registered, full service M&E firm based in Mogadishu, Somalia. Previously he was the M&E Specialist for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Afghanistan where his role included facilitating and supporting project formulation as well as strengthening monitoring and evaluation systems for improved accountability and aid effectiveness. For UNDP Afghanistan he led and/or facilitated the development of USD 350m in new programming in national and sub-national governance, livelihood development, disaster risk reduction, rural energy, women’s empowerment, reintegration of migrants and IDPs, and anti-corruption. Prior to joining UNDP (2012 – 2016) he was a consultant and trainer for international and local NGOs in South Asia and Southeast Asia from 2006. Mr. Teberg holds a master’s degree in sustainable development from the SIT Graduate Institute; a BA in Asian Studies and Psychology from the University of New Mexico; and in 2015 he completed American University’s graduate certificate in project monitoring and evaluation.

Noy Elizabeth Villalobos
Senior Director of Field Administration Division
Creative Associates International, Inc.
Noy Elizabeth Villalobos is an international development professional with 19 years’ experience implementing USAID programs. She is an expert in implementing small and large grant programs that focus on transition planning, community development, and civil society strengthening. She serves as Creative Associates’ Senior Director of Field Administration, overseeing field operations, grants and procurements.  Prior to this role, she was Chief of Party (COP) of the $56 million USAID/OTI-funded Honduras Convive! project focused on reducing crime and violence. Prior to her COP experience, she served as Senior Associate and Acting Director of the Political Transitions Practice Area, where she was responsible for the implementation of the company’s political transition programming in conflict and post-conflict environments, particularly for USAID/Office of Transition Initiative programs. Ms. Villalobos has developed manuals and conducted training for headquarters and field program staff on USAID procurement, grant-making, monitoring and evaluation, financial and contracts management, operational policies and procedures, internal controls, and reporting requirements. Ms. Villalobos is fluent in Spanish and English and holds an MPIA from the University of Pittsburgh and a BA in political science from West Virginia University.

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