Myia Welsh, MSW
Owner and Lead Evaluator
I’m from a small Rust Belt town in Northeastern Ohio. As industry left the area, the people around me depended more and more on community organizations to meet their family’s needs. When I earned a BA in Social Work from the University of Toledo, it was a natural fit. My career in the nonprofit sector began when I was a student. In addition to various internships, I worked the night shift at the local domestic violence shelter where I was learning not just the dynamics of direct social work practice, but also beginning to understand the ways in which people’s lives can be affected by the agencies they interact with.
As a young service provider, I couldn’t help but wonder why the organizations I worked for chose the interventions they did. Were the services working? How did we know? In 2004 these questions propelled me to earn a Masters Degree in Social Work from the University of Michigan, where I focused on Social Policy and Program Evaluation.
I am committed to helping organizations answer the questions that are important to improve programs, report to funders and understand the difference they are making. When I’m not collecting data to answer those questions, I spend time cooking, polishing my photography skills, and pursuing adventure in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Publications:
Sam J. Zizzi, Jana Lima Fogaca, Tammy Sheehy, Myia Welsh, and Christiaan Abildso, “Changes in Weight Loss, Health Behaviors, and Intentions among 400 Participants Who Dropped out from an Insurance-Sponsored, Community-Based Weight Management Program,” Journal of Obesity, vol. 2016, Article ID 7562890, 10 pages, 2016. doi:10.1155/2016/7562890
Welsh, M. and Morariu, J. (2011). Evaluation Capacity Building: Funder Initiatives to Strengthen Grantee Evaluation Capacity and Practice. [White paper].
Pankaj, V., Welsh, M., and Ostenso, L. (2012).Participatory Analysis: Expanding Stakeholder Involvement in Evaluation. NonprofitDigest.
Presentations:
International Human Trafficking and Social Justice Conference (2015)
Lessons Learned in the Evaluation of Services for Human Trafficking Survivors
Using What You've Got: Leveraging Information for Better Client Services
10th Annual International Conference on Human Trafficking, Prostitution, and Sex Work (2013)
Evaluating Your Advocacy Efforts
9th Annual International Conference on Human Trafficking, Prostitution, and Sex Work (2012)
Program Evaluation Basics for the Real World
Eastern Evaluation Research Society Conference (2010)
2010 Report: State of Evaluation Practice and Capacity Building in the Nonprofit Sector, with J. Morariu
Evaluation 2010: Conference of the American Evaluation Association
2010 Report: State of Evaluation Practice and Capacity Building in the Nonprofit Sector, with J. Morariu and E. Reed
National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association Annual Conference (2010)
Crafting Evaluation Outcomes
Evaluation 2009: Conference of the American Evaluation Association
Participatory Evaluation and Effective Evaluation Project Management: Incorporating the Participatory Approach Throughout the Evaluation Lifecycle, with K. Brennan and D. Vaughn