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GRC strengthens community‑centered evaluation at the American Evaluation Association Annual Conference

In late 2025, GRC staff members Laura Milazzo, MA, Senior Project Manager and Emelie Bailey, MA, Project Director attended the American Evaluation Association Annual Conference in Kansas City Missouri. The conference theme, Engaging Community, Sharing Leadership, emphasized how evaluators can strengthen fairness, collaboration, and shared responsibility in their work.

Story by James Sims II, MS

Nov 25, 2025

A collage of Laura Milazzo and Emelie Bailey at the conference, a nametag, and the front of the conference center
The GRC's Laura Milazzo and Emelie Bailey (left to right) stand in front of the Kansas City, Missouri Convention Center as they attend the American Evaluation Association's Evaluation 2025 conference in November.

Sessions highlighted emerging uses of artificial intelligence in evaluation, practical strategies to improve training and technical assistance, approaches for organizing evaluation methods, and ways to design data systems that meet the needs of end users. Throughout the week, Laura and Emelie engaged with community-centered practices and built upon foundational evaluation frameworks through workshops and discussions.

Insights from the conference will inform GRC’s ongoing evaluation practices, partner engagement, and technical assistance efforts.

Evaluation Experts