I'm an applied researcher, evaluator, youth worker and educator dedicated to advancing equity with and for young people, their families, schools and communities.I have always loved learning about others through their stories. When I began my career in youth work over two decades ago, one of my favorite pastimes was just to sit and listen to young people when they’d flop down on my office couch after school to tell me about their day. Running youth programs for years led me to want to deepen my practice and I landed at the University of Minnesota where I joined the Youth Development Leadership Master’s of Education program and then continued my studies to receive a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis on Family, Youth, and Community.I found that my love of listening to and making sense of stories could be grounded in an applied research and evaluation practice. I spent years in communities listening to young people tell their stories about speaking back to injustice through creative mediums and began to ground my practice in equity with young people’s voices at the center. During this time at the University of Minnesota I also began teaching in the Youth Studies program and still teach the introduction to the major today, giving me weekly opportunities to hear the stories of students considering youth work as their vocation. After I completed my Ph.D., I started my full-time research life as a Qualitative Associate and then a Qualitative Research Scientist at Search Institute, an applied youth development research organization. I had the honor of listening to not only young people’s stories, but also teachers, parents, youth workers, and others across the country who care about the wellbeing of young people. I often had the pleasure of sharing those stories back in the form of briefs, reports, blogs, webinars, and presentations with organizations and creating action plans to promote change and growth. Informed Change is the next chapter in my story. It’s an opportunity to bring together my background in youth development, education, research, and evaluation in a unique way to partner with others who want to create informed change within their organizations. We hope to be part of the next chapter in your story!