About us
Sharing your story of impact with the world.
We help mission-driven organizations turn impact evaluation into public advocacy, using writing, research, and media to elevate community impact and the issues that matter most.
Experience
We've partnered in the evaluation of a variety of social impact programs, from higher education credential programs, prison rehabilitation programs, educational courses, peer support programs, to services for unhoused transition age youth.
Advocacy
We don't stop at collecting data and presenting findings to your organization, we advocate in public spaces for your social impact cause. We write blogs, post on social media, publish peer-reviewed articles and books, speak at conferences, and appear on radio talk shows to support your cause.
Credentials
Dr. LaBarbera, our principal evaluation consultant, has advanced degrees and training in assessment and evaluation, social work, education, special education, and criminal justice. Her social worker heart underlies all her academic pursuits.
Compassion
At the heart of all we do is a “sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it" (Merriam Webster). We focus all our actions on social justice, with the desire to advanced vulnerable populations through lasting systemic change.
Featured Publication:
It's Change What I'm Living For
My new book, It’s Changed What I’m Living For, is now available.
This book grew out of an impact evaluation I conducted with participants in The Urban Ministry Institute (TUMI), a seminary-level theological education program offered in prisons and jails across the country.
Over several years, I studied how this kind of education shapes well-being, identity, relationships, and leadership among incarcerated men and women.
Alongside the research, I spent time listening. The book weaves together evaluation findings with narrative storytelling and firsthand interviews, tracing journeys of faith, responsibility, and human flourishing in places often defined only by punishment.
If you’d like to learn more or order a copy, you can click “Learn More.”
About our Founder:
ROBIN LABARBERA, PhD, DSW
Independent Program Evaluator
Partnering with a range of public health, education, and human service leaders to amplify their program's impact and bring human flourishing to their communities.
As a certified external program evaluator with two doctoral degrees (in social work and education) and a tenured professor (emerita), I enjoy using my professional training and expertise to improve quality of life and bring human flourishing to underserved populations. Speciality areas include higher education in prison, re-entry, high-poverty community programs, behavioral health, and public health programs.
I have developed, evaluated, and presented research on programs designed to maximize well-being and flourishing for children and adults with learning disabilities, parents of children with disabilities, educators coping with stress, individuals affected by childhood trauma and adversity, current and former foster youth/young adults, people who are experiencing homelessness, individuals who are incarcerated or formerly incarcerated, and people involved in the mission field.
Social advocacy is my specialty. I use my public voice to bring awareness to the issues you care about. I don't just help you develop your project or collect your evaluation data—I share it with a wider audience to advocate for what matters to you. I write peer-reviewed articles, blog, post on social media, write books, speak at conferences, and appear on radio shows, all with the ultimate goal of promoting your cause.
Let's partner to address today's most pressing social issues.
Speaking and Conversations
Robin regularly speaks in churches, universities, and nonprofit spaces about human flourishing, transformation in prison, and what research reveals about dignity and lasting change. These talks draw on original research and the lived stories of men who have changed what they’re living for.
👉 Learn more about inviting Robin to speak
Interested in our evaluation services? We're here to help.
We offer:
- Expert program evaluation (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods)
- Data analysis and visualization
- Organizational storytelling and historical writing
- Impact reports for donors and boards
- Long-form narrative writing and editing
We help organizations understand their impact, tell their story well, and design programs that support human flourishing.
We are proud members of the following associations and affiliations:
American Evaluation Association
American Grant Writers Association
Grant Station