Convening: The Use and Misuse of Evidence
Join us on January 12, 2026 for our second convening.
Across the social sector, people creating, sharing, and using evidence have long been driven by a simple goal: make better decisions to improve lives. But the systems that support this work – how evidence is funded, created, shared, and used – often get in the way.
We’re holding a one-day convening to have candid conversations about our current evidence landscape and what we can do to improve it.
Building on the foundation of our first convening, we’ll focus on reflection and shared action. We are bringing together funders, practitioners, and innovators to examine what’s working, what’s getting in the way, and how we can take coordinated steps to improve the evidence ecosystem.
Let us know you’re coming and receive updates about the agenda.
Where:
When:
Washington D.C. at Georgetown University’s Capitol Campus (125 E St. NW)
January 12, 2026
Speakers
Senior Program Officer, Measurement, Learning Evaluation
Bio information goes here
Senior Program Officer, Measurement, Learning Evaluation
Bio information goes here
Speakers
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Description text goes here
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Cihak leads evidence-informed practice and partnerships for the regional government of the 12th largest county in the United States. Cihak guides County agencies on community outcomes and impact, with a strong focus on advancing racial equity. Former roles at the County include three years leading learning and evidence practice and partnerships at King County Metro Transit; serving as an inaugural member of the community mitigation team in the County’s pandemic response; and eight years as Chief of Policy for King County Executive Dow Constantine with responsibility for identifying the highest priority policy areas and community outcomes for leadership focus and developing and launching innovative solutions to complex, controversial, and cross-sector issues. Cihak has served as sponsor for the County’s nationally-recognized work on equity and social justice and is the architect of several County initiatives such as Best Starts for Kids. Cihak also served for eight years as a senior-level policy and budget analyst for the King County Council and as lead staff for the King County Board of Health.
Cihak is trained as a Ph.D.-level (ABD) economist specializing in Japan and served as staff economist on international trade and finance for President Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers. Cihak is a Local Government Fellow and serves on the Advisory Committee for the Federal Standards of Excellence at Results for America, a non-profit organization that supports all levels of government in making the use of data and evidence in decision-making the “new normal.” Cihak was the first government Policy Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University (CASBS) in 2017-18 and has been a Research Affiliate at CASBS since that time. Cihak was named J-PAL North America’s inaugural Evidence Champion in 2023.
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Erik Erickson is the Chief Data Officer for Hennepin County and the Director of the Integrated Data & Analytics Department. Erik provides leadership to advance the use of data in support of county strategies and effective government. He does this by furthering the role of data science, fostering a data informed culture, advancing the responsible use of AI, and helping the county fully leverage its data as both an operational and strategic asset. His leadership and work on integrated data and innovative uses of data in government have been nationally recognized by the National Association of County Organizations. Erik has more than a decade of leadership experience in data and analytics with a background in applied research, program evaluation, and education. He holds a master’s degree in educational policy and a PhD in organizational leadership, policy, and development from the University of Minnesota. Outside of work, Erik is involved in his community as a cross-country ski coach, high
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Jed Herrmann is a Director in the state and local government consulting practice at Guidehouse, where he co-leads the firm's grants management and program implementation work. Most recently he served as a senior advisor at the White House Office of Management and Budget where he worked on the effective implementation of trillions of dollars in federal programs. Before joining the White House, he spent three years at the U.S. Treasury Department where focused on the administration of approximately $600 billion in economic recovery programs from the American Rescue Plan. Previously, Jed was Vice President for State and Federal Policy Implementation at Results for America where he led the state government practice and worked with governors across the country to improve the results of their economic mobility programs. He also served at the Corporation for National and Community Service in the Obama Administration and was Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs under Mayor Bloomberg.
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Ben McNamee is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at DARO. A strategic impact and evaluation leader in the non-profit sector, Ben has experience at service delivery organizations, Foundations, and intermediaries. He was previously a Senior Vice-President responsible for evaluation and data management at ACCES Employment, a Director of learning, measurement, and evaluation at Ontario Trillium Foundation, and an impact analyst at Charity Intelligence.
As an impact measurement expert, Ben has completed hundreds of impact evaluations. He has also co-developed one of Canada’s first outcomes-focused funding evaluation frameworks and business intelligence strategies. He speaks frequently on the topics of Data and Impact Measurement. He has an MA in Economics from Simon Fraser University and a PhD (ABD) designation in Economics from the University of British Columbia.
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Amy O’Hara is a Research Professor in the Massive Data Institute and Executive Director of the Federal Statistical Research Data Center at the McCourt School for Public Policy. She works on data governance, linkage, and privacy enhancing technologies. Her research focuses on methods to improve secure data access, particularly involving administrative data with applications in education, justice, and population measurement.
O’Hara has published on topics including the measurement of income, longitudinal linkages to measure economic mobility, and the data infrastructure necessary to support government and academic research.
Prior to joining Georgetown, O’Hara was a senior executive at the U.S. Census Bureau where she founded their administrative data curation and research unit. She received her Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Notre Dame.
Speakers
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Description text goes here
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Cihak leads evidence-informed practice and partnerships for the regional government of the 12th largest county in the United States. Cihak guides County agencies on community outcomes and impact, with a strong focus on advancing racial equity. Former roles at the County include three years leading learning and evidence practice and partnerships at King County Metro Transit; serving as an inaugural member of the community mitigation team in the County’s pandemic response; and eight years as Chief of Policy for King County Executive Dow Constantine with responsibility for identifying the highest priority policy areas and community outcomes for leadership focus and developing and launching innovative solutions to complex, controversial, and cross-sector issues. Cihak has served as sponsor for the County’s nationally-recognized work on equity and social justice and is the architect of several County initiatives such as Best Starts for Kids. Cihak also served for eight years as a senior-level policy and budget analyst for the King County Council and as lead staff for the King County Board of Health. Cihak is trained as a Ph.D.-level (ABD) economist specializing in Japan and served as staff economist on international trade and finance for President Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers. Cihak is a Local Government Fellow and serves on the Advisory Committee for the Federal Standards of Excellence at Results for America, a non-profit organization that supports all levels of government in making the use of data and evidence in decision-making the “new normal.” Cihak was the first government Policy Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University (CASBS) in 2017-18 and has been a Research Affiliate at CASBS since that time. Cihak was named J-PAL North America’s inaugural Evidence Champion in 2023.
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Description text goes here
Agenda
8:30–9:00 am
Check-in & Coffee
Welcome Remarks
9:00–9:15 am
Session 1:
Understanding the Evidence Gap in Policymaking and Implementation
9:15–10:15 am
Session 2:
Pursuing Continuous Improvement Within and Across Government
10:15–11:15 am
11:15–11:30 am
Break
Session 3:
Mapping the Current Evidence Landscape
11:30 am–12:30 pm
12:30–1:30 pm
Lunch
Session 4:
Increasing Evidence Findability, Usability, and Adoptability
1:30–2:30 pm
Session 5:
E&I Group Perspectives on the Current State
2:30–3:30 pm
Building a Better Evidence Future
3:30–3:45 pm