At Taylor Newberry Consulting we are grateful to be able to connect to incredibly talented, passionate and dedicated individuals. We are especially fortunate that some of these individuals have chosen to call themselves “TNCers”. We are continually inspired by members of our staff who share laughs, values, and learnings. Periodically, our website will feature a different member of our staff who will share a little bit about their work and a glimpse into their life.
Karla recently sat down with Katelyn to get to know a bit more about her and her work. Katelyn became a part of TNC in 2023 holds a PhD in Sociology from Western University. Her unique skills and enthusiasm have been a great addition to the TNC team.
Karla: What’s your favourite thing about working at TNC?
Katelyn: I really enjoy the autonomy I’m granted here. Specifically, I’m able to work on projects that really interest me and get to explore that further. And I really love how I’m able to apply for projects that are typically not in TNC’s wheelhouse, and I am given space to learn more about new approaches in the field. One example that comes to mind is that Andrew knows I’m really passionate about working on projects that involve more community consultations and engagement processes. So a lot of strategic planning stuff. And he’s been really good at supporting me to apply to projects that kind of involve this piece and is giving me space to think deeper about our approach to community engagement and strategic planning. And I just really appreciate that I’m able to get that because I don’t think a lot of workplaces allow people to have so much autonomy and what they choose to do with their work and time. I think that’s pretty great here.
Karla: I’m glad to hear that. And what do you think it is about these community consultation and strategic planning projects that you like so much?
Katelyn: Yeah, I think these processes can sometimes be more complex than evaluation—not that evaluation isn’t complex, because it definitely can be. But they require a lot of consensus building and a lot of time working with the community to come up with a plan that’s really going to be aspirational and help with these systemic changes.
When we’re doing evaluation work, it feels more like we’re assessing what’s working and giving feedback on how to fix challenges, whereas I feel like I’m more part of the action when I’m doing a strategic planning process. Like I can actually make a recommendation that can be coded into policy one day and that could lead to actual work towards eliminating this bigger systemic barrier. That sense of impact feels really nice.
Karla: Yeah, totally. Could you tell me a little bit about one or two projects that you’re currently working on and something that you’ve learned from them?
Katelyn: So one project that I’m at the tail end of right now is the Ujima project, which is a very ambitious system change project. It is trying to standardize approaches to care across the infant and early childhood sector and become this one-stop shop for parents that are struggling. Why I kind of like this or wanted to mention it was because the project’s very mission driven and very complex and ambitious.
We’re working with a lot of different pieces because one of the more complex aspects is that there are nine different agencies involved across Ontario. Each agency has its own approach to providing services in the early childhood sector, as well as working with young parents. They offer different services, but the Ujima project is meant to help standardize their practices.
As an evaluator, my role requires me to work within their structures and consider these differences. Each agency has different tasks and responsibilities, and some offer services that other agencies don’t, which makes the evaluation process more complex. I have to kind of think about that deeper and how that’s going to work into my interpretation of the results. Sometimes the evaluation is just completed differently because some agencies just have way more on their plate than other agencies do. And so it’s really led me to think a lot deeper about how to conduct multi-organizational evaluations – when there’s multiple partners involved in the evaluation process – and how to go about it.
Karla: If you were to give one tip to another member of our team about working on multi- agency evaluations, what do you think you’d say to them?
Katelyn: I think really focusing on case study approaches and really working at the beginning to assess capacity is a big piece. Some agencies just don’t have the capacity or the staff to do a deep evaluation, where others are going to be really enthusiastic about it.
Karla: Yeah. Really meeting them where they’re at. And what’s one of your favorite memories from the past few months?
Katelyn: So one thing I was thinking about is I recently just helped Andrew lead a workshop on conducting needs assessments and community consultations for a program at Laurier. And it was a lot of fun. It was definitely different from what we do in our day-to-day here at TNC. And it really just got me thinking a lot more deeply about our approach to conducting community consultations and thinking about the literature around this a lot deeper which was really fun to do.
Karla: And what’s something outside of work that’s made you smile this week?
Katelyn: So one thing I’m trying to do is be a little more active and I’ve been getting into running outside, which I actually used to do a lot in my teens but just haven’t done since I went to university. I’ve been kind of stuck running about four to five kilometers per run non-stop. But this Monday I was actually able to get an extra kilometer past what I usually do which is a really huge step because usually I’d be dying at that point. I didn’t feel that way by the end of it. I think it’s been a really nice accomplishment. I can’t say that I’ve been able to run that distance again, but it was just nice meeting it for the first time.
Karla: Yeah, definitely something to celebrate! Finish this sentence. When I’m not working at TNC I’m most likely…
Katelyn: I’m most likely going on a hike with my dog, binge watching a lot of TV and movies, and trying out a new recipe.
Thanks Katelyn!