Program Development, Monitoring, and Evaluation
Overview
Office of Program Development, Monitoring, and Evaluation (PDM&E)
Housed within WJC's Office of Academic Affairs, the Office of Program Development, Monitoring, and Evaluation (PDM&E), led by Dr. Sonia Suri with support from Dr. Zita Tiamuh, is the powerhouse behind WJC's data-driven quality management approach to all its forensic and clinical services and grant-funded program management and evaluation activities. PDM&E specializes in mixed-method evaluations, overseeing the design of data collection tools and methodologies and conducting complex quantitative and qualitative research. PDM&E’s associated faculty, Drs. Contreras and Taveira-Dick bring to the work trauma informed practices and extensive experience with community-based partnerships.
At a broader level, Dr. Sonia Suri and her evaluation team work to aid program implementation, address unexpected program challenges, and contribute to organizational learning, development, and knowledge sharing. Her team spearheads interdepartmental collaborations with academic chairs, department heads, field education teams, project managers, and student service providers to articulate and evaluate program goals, key objectives and indicators, program outreach, and evaluation outcomes to ensure the efficiency, effectiveness, and relevance of the college’s programs. Some key programs that the team has worked with to deliver action-oriented recommendations include the Juvenile Court Clinic Operations, INTERFACE Resource and Referral Services, Military Veteran and Train Vets to Treat Vets program, Graduate Psychology Education (GPE), Opioid Workforce Expansion Program (OWEP), and Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) programs.
In service of the college’s evaluation aims, PDM&E also collaborates closely with IT, the Office of Institutional Research, and database developers to establish secure, encrypted online databases that collect, process, and track data critical to the college’s ongoing program implementation and evaluation efforts.
In addition to conducting evaluation research, PDM&E offers training and hands-on consultation to personnel and staff to help them build self-sufficiency in accessing, interpreting, and using data. PDM&E also works with students to train and equip them with the concrete research, program evaluation, and management skills needed to be more marketable to prospective employers and make a difference in the real world. Part of this effort involves PDM&E delivering evidence-based interpersonal intelligence trainings to WJC staff and students, assessing and improving their effectiveness in interactions in varied situations. This will help improve the holistic and effective behavioral health treatment of individuals from varied backgrounds.
Dr. Suri’s team works alongside WJC stakeholders to help secure grants to fund programs that cater to the behavioral health needs of the underserved populations and programs that diversify the behavioral health workforce in Massachusetts and beyond. Throughout the grants' lifespan, the team is responsible for using qualitative, quantitative and mixed method tools to measure the program's impact. They generate reports to grantors, holding programs accountable to all stakeholders.