Beth Cain

Uplifting stories for informed decision-making

“There’s power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice. And there’s grace in being willing to know and hear others.”—Michelle Obama

Beth has an unyielding curiosity for the stories of people and places. She believes there is power in remembering the history that preceded a project, its cultural context, and in hearing directly from those most affected by its successes and failures.

As a mixed-methods evaluator, Beth brings a range of evaluative approaches to her projects and a tenacious enthusiasm for capturing data to answer essential questions about their effectiveness. Beth methodically sifts through large amounts of information in search of insights that amplify the work of awe-inspiring agents of positive social change. By providing her partners with these valuable insights, she encourages them to reflect upon their work, learn from it, and use data to inform future decisions. Across many years of experience in the education sector, Beth has partnered with clients to understand and improve the smooth transition of undergraduate students transferring from community college to a university; how early-career principals promote racial equity in their schools; and how schools create a culture of learning and development among staff.

Beth’s passion for the human experience extends beyond her professional life, including to her time volunteering as a creative writing instructor for young writers. By integrating lessons from the humanities into her evaluation work, and vice versa, she offers a holistic approach to her partners, colleagues, and peers.

At TCC Group:

• William Penn Foundation: Beth works in partnership with the Foundation to inform its efforts to advance early childhood issues in Pennsylvania. She concentrates on three campaigns:  Pre-K for PA, whose mission is to increase children’s access to high-quality, pre-kindergarten programs; Start Strong PA, which advocates for increased access and affordable high-quality child care programs; and Childhood Begins at Home, which advocates for public investments in evidence-based home visiting. Providing Foundation leadership with valuable insights on how campaigns are progressing, Beth leverages her analytical skills to understand the ways in which the campaigns are positioned in the political environment and their relative effectiveness in that environment.

Before TCC Group:

• Office of Socially Responsible Evaluation in Education, University of Wisconsin: Beth conducted a formative, mixed-method external evaluation of the pilot year of the Wisconsin Urban Leadership Institute. To provide ongoing feedback about the initiative’s progress in promoting racial equity in Wisconsin public schools, she observed training sessions and presentations, reviewed program documentation, attended leadership meetings, administered participant surveys, and conducted interviews.

• North Star STEM Alliance, University of Minnesota: As the internal evaluator for North Star—a campus program focused on supporting students of color to complete science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) baccalaureate degrees—she examined the experiences of enrolled STEM students and prospective transfer students. Conducting a mix of qualitative and quantitative studies, Beth explored the ways in which the participating institutes of higher education supported STEM students and other ways in which they could provide better assistance in the future.

Education:

• University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
  • MA, Evaluation Studies concentration within Organizational Leadership and Policy Development
• University of Delaware
  • BA, English Literature