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APPENDIX C: Evaluation Team Biographical Notes
Gail V. Barrington, PhD, CMC
Project Director
Dr. Gail Barrington established Barrington Research Group, Inc. in 1985 and since then, has shepherded it from a sole proprietorship to an incorporated company with over 20 employees and associates. She has personally conducted or managed over 100 evaluation studies, many of a complex nature.
Key studies include the evaluation of the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (Health Canada 1995-2004), the evaluation of the HIV/AIDS Initiative for Young Adults (Alberta Health & Wellness 1993-1998), the Evaluation of the Peer Counselling Program at Alberta Safe House (The Muttart Foundation 1993-1996), and the Integrated Services Review, Yellowhead School Division No. 12 (The Premier's Council on the Status of Persons with Disabilities/Alberta Learning 1991). This latter study won the 1992 Annual Evaluation Report Awards Competition, Division H, American Educational Research Association. Since 1995, she has been the National Evaluator for the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program, a holistic, community-based program for high-risk pregnant women funded by the Population and Public Health Branch of Health Canada. This study has been described in The Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation as an exemplary evaluation that clearly demonstrates that an empowerment approach can be equally successful in the evaluation of important large-scale innovative programs intended to lead system-wide change. There are approximately 200 local projects currently participating in this evaluation.
Gail is the author of a chapter in the book entitled Independent Consulting for Evaluators published by Sage and has written a number of articles on program evaluation. Her most recent articles include Empowerment Goes Large Scale: The Canada Prenatal Nutrition Experience in The Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation (Special Issue. 1999. pp. 179-192) and When Management Changes: Advice for a Young Evaluator, an Ethical Challenges Commentary in the American Journal of Evaluation (20(2), 1999). She is currently preparing several entries on consulting for the Evaluation Encyclopedia, edited by Sandra Matheson, to be published by Sage Publications in 2004. A brief biography of Gail's career will also appear in the Encyclopedia. Gail is a member of the AEA Ethics Committee and is currently reviewing the AEA Guiding Principles. A long-standing member of the Canadian Evaluation Society, she co-chaired the annual CES conference in Banff, Alberta in May 2001.
She has a Doctorate in Educational Administration from the University of Alberta, 1981, a MA in English Literature from Carleton University (1971) and a BA in English Literature from McGill University (1967). She is a certified teacher and is also an adult educator. She taught for many years at Grant MacEwan Community College in Edmonton as well as in the Faculty of Education at the University of Calgary. Gail has been a Certified Management Consultant since 1988. In 1994 she was nominated for the Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Laura N. L'Heureux, MA
Project Manager
Laura has provided program evaluation and applied research services since 1996 to various organizations, working with employees, students and university faculty, as well as diverse Aboriginal, immigrant and refugee groups. Prior to joining Barrington Research Group, her work as an independent researcher included a province-wide service needs assessment of recent immigrants and refugees for Saskatchewan Government Relations and Aboriginal Affairs; a needs assessment of faculty, staff and students at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) to identify issues related to computing and networking on Campus; work with the U of S Senior Employment Equity Working Committee to develop an inventory of equity and diversity initiatives; and a needs assessment/satisfaction survey of graduates from the College of Arts and Science at the U of S.
Laura joined Barrington Research Group in April of 2002 to serve as principal researcher, senior writer and project manager for the midterm evaluation of Health Canada's national Hepatitis C Prevention, Support and Research Program. This large study involved a synthesis of qualitative and quantitative data that was collected through interviews, surveys, program documents, and seven case studies across Canada.
Laura holds a BA (Honours) in Psychology (1996) and a MA in Applied Social Psychology (2002), both from the University of Saskatchewan. Her graduate training focused on skills in theory-based program evaluation and applied research, including survey design, interviewing techniques, multivariate statistics, measurement theory, and social and organizational psychology. In addition to her evaluation and research work, Laura has developed facilitation and training skills in the areas of leadership, conflict management, organizational development, and diversity management. Laura is currently Vice President of the Alberta Chapter of the Canadian Evaluation Society (member since 1998) and volunteers for the professional development team of the Canadian Association of Management Consultants (member since 2002), and is working towards her designation as a Certified Management Consultant.
Jennifer L. Chandler, BA (Honours)
Research Assistant
Since 1999, Jenniferhas worked as a research assistant on a number of projects, affording her opportunities to interact and collaborate with government organizations, university faculty, and various industry representatives. This experience includes developing a transportation planning survey for the City of Calgary, and providing direction to development professionals around defining and measuring "capacity building" for a multidisciplinary capacity building project in Tibet. Jennifer worked as Research Assistant with Barrington Research Group on the mid-term evaluation of Health Canada's national Hepatitis C Prevention, Support and Research Program. In that project she conducted extensive document reviews, organized and conducted stakeholder interviews, and analyzed data. She is currently working toward her Masters of Environmental Science in the Faculty of Environmental Design at the University of Calgary, a program that focuses on interdisciplinary applied research for solving environmental problems. Her current research is focussing on public participation in endangered species planning recovery, and finding ways to minimize conflict during the planning process.