Joyce Lee-Ibarra

At JLI Consulting, LLC, I combine my passion for serving community with my interest in rigorous, outcomes-based learning. Since 2003, I’ve been a nonprofit consultant, providing grant writing, program evaluation, and academic research and writing services to a range of nonprofits and public sector agencies. Although my client base is broad, I have a special interest in organizations focused on improving social justice, meeting the needs of underserved youth, and advancing public health. These interests were shaped early in my career, particularly by my experiences as a Teach For America corps member teaching high school science in rural North Carolina.

My current consulting efforts focus on research and evaluation. My “sweet spot” is the use of evaluative thinking—an intentional process of identifying the learning purposes of an evaluation, defining what success looks like, identifying appropriate metrics to determine whether that definition of success has been achieved, then using collected data and analysis to chart a course toward program or organizational impact.

Previously, I served as Director of Research at Further the Work, a Bay Area-based nonprofit consulting firm. In this role, I oversaw the use of evidence-based research to support and inform the work of the firm’s nonprofit clients. Prior to that, I served as Research Coordinator of the Violence Intervention Project (VIP) at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, an emergency department-based youth violence prevention program that sought to better understand the social and psychological forces that lead to violence and its consequences. VIP also created partnerships among members of the medical, academic, and nonprofit communities seeking to reduce youth violence in West Philadelphia.

I received my BA in Anthropology and Molecular & Cell Biology from the University of California-Berkeley, and my MS from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Expertise

I harness the power of research, analysis, and evaluative thinking to help nonprofits and philanthropies advance the greater good. I make current knowledge on promising and evidence-informed practices accessible and relevant to your organization. And I provide thought partnership to inform program strategies in ways that forward your mission, and maximize your impact on community.

My research and evaluation services have supported the work of a range of nonprofits and funders, including the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Child and Family Service, Aloha United Way, and the Hawaii Community Foundation.

Get in touch with Joyce