Creating a Trust Environment for Learning and Mentorship: An Afternoon with Dr. Theresa Armstead

Come and engage in the conversation on learning and mentorship with Dr. Armstead where our collective voices and diverse experiences might create a valuable and supportive learning environment. A little over ten years ago the evaluators at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were a small community. Often there was only one evaluator in a lone program. Often evaluators formed communities of practice within their centers to share experiences and support. The evaluation community has grown exponentially over the decade. Mentorship, formally and informally, and supportive learning environments are as valuable now as they were when the community was smaller.

Join Dr. Theresa Armstead for an afternoon conversation where she will share her experiences intentionally building trust within the evaluation team she virtually led from 2020-2023, and between the evaluation team and other partners in support of evaluation. Theresa will also draw on experiences leading the evaluation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) COVID-19 Health Disparities Grant (National Center for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Public Health Infrastructure and Workforce Center; PHIC). 

Dr. Theresa Armstead has over 15 years of experience in program evaluation and research. Currently she is the Senior Lead for the CDC Youth Violence Prevention Centers program. The centers work with local communities to identify, test, and evaluate prevention strategies so communities can benefit from scientific advances to prevent youth violence. Theresa received the Society for Community Research and Action’s Distinguished Contribution to the Practice in Community Psychology Award in 2023. She is a past chair of the AEA Community Psychology Topical Interest Group and CDC’s Behavioral and Social Sciences Workgroup. She recently served on the CDC Evaluation Framework Refresh Workgroup and Steering Committee to update the CDC Evaluation Framework in time for the framework’s 25th anniversary. Dr. Armstead received her MS and PhD in Community Research and Action from the Human and Organizational Development Department at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University.