The Notah Begay III (NB3) Foundation is excited to promote Renee Goldtooth-Halwood to lead its new Department of Evaluation and Research. As the new Director of Evaluation and Research, Ms. Goldtooth-Halwood will help develop a department focused on indigenizing evaluation and research practices that reflect and respect the communities we serve.
Too often, evaluation and research practices collide with or misrepresent Indigenous people. The results are research methods and evaluation data that do not improve the life of Indigenous peoples nor support their interests, but rather support theories of change and interventions that may or may not support or reflect Indigenous peoples.
“Creating a formal department focused on Indigenous Evaluation and Research is exciting and needed. And I am thrilled that Renee is going to lead this important journey for us. She holds a sincere passion for helping our relatives tell their stories and to keep track of their own journey through methods that genuinely improve their lives,”said Justin Huenemann, president and CEO.
Renee is Diné from Whippoorwill Spring and Chinle, Ariz. She is a doctoral of public health student at the University of Arizona’s Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health located on Tohono O’odham and Pascua Yaqui homelands. She has been with the organization for six years
“Indigenous peoples have always been evaluators and researchers. So, it makes sense to have a department that elevates and prioritizes our voice, art, values and geography. I recognize evaluation and research processes that are viewed as a collective are more powerful, and I will humbly continue living and learning alongside those in this space,” said Goldtooth-Halwood.
The NB3 Foundation remains committed to honoring community knowledge, stories and practices that have supported centuries of resiliency and determination. When communities are the architects of their own evaluation approach and their own research agenda, then the measures, impacts and knowledge gained are owned by and matter to the community.
