How I Got Here: My Path into Informal STEM Education Evaluation
Three hikers celebrate their ascent overlooking a mountain basin
In a previous post, we introduced a few career paths that folks typically take to enter the informal STEM learning or informal STEM learning evaluation fields. I often get asked by recent graduates, students, and early to mid-career professionals looking for a pivot how I got here. So, let’s talk about it!
Allow me to reintroduce myself.
Hi, I’m Sarah, the Founder and Principal Evaluator at Improved Insights and the Founder and Publisher of Insights & Opportunities. I’ve spent my career in the informal STEM learning and STEM equity spaces.
In college (proud Ohio State Buckeye here), I never had a clear sense of the direction I wanted to take. I considered being an English major, pursuing journalism, studying education, and finally landed in anthropology and international relations & diplomacy. But, as the “love to learn” person I am (which I’ve learned is called a “philomath”...nerd alert!), I also picked up a minor in Middle East studies and nearly another in Spanish. I was lucky to have this time to explore and let my interests guide me, but I had no idea coming out of undergrad what I’d do with all of this.
After undergrad, I moved to Chicago, where I dabbled in the world of museums and institutions. I interned at the Chicago Children’s Museum, helping with “Passport to the World” programming that highlighted different cultures in family-friendly weekend festivals and activities. I also spent time at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum as a Public Interpretive Program volunteer, where I learned to handle snakes (yeesh!) and other program animals, as well as to chat with the public. These experiences were my first foray into informal STEM learning.
A few key lessons that I took away from these early stages were:
Allow time to experiment and learn
Don’t commit too soon
Different fields and experiences build a unique you
Next, I picked up a role at the Lincoln Park Zoo where I facilitated educational programs for PreK-12 audiences. As a Student Programs Facilitator, I led inquiry-based field trip programs for thousands of Chicagoland students, teachers, and chaperones. After a promotion to Student Programs Coordinator, I began to work on school and teacher programs more broadly by designing curricula, teaching programs at schools, and overseeing our teen intern program. It was during this time that I was first exposed to the magical field of program evaluation. In my role, I had the opportunity to work with external evaluators from the University of Chicago. Collaborating with them to collect data and seeing their processes got me excited about how data can yield new insights and improve programs. I became the de facto internal evaluator on my team, working on surveys and conducting observations to collect data on our programs.
It was also during this time that I earned my master’s degree from Miami University’s Project Dragonfly initiative, a degree program for working professionals focused on conservation and inquiry-based education. The program took me on three field studies that allowed me to apply my learning in place-based education and conservation; first to Belize, next to Guyana, and finally to Costa Rica. Each field study lit me up and solidified my passion for informal STEM learning and conservation education. It also inspired me to connect more with the environment in my personal life by pursuing active hobbies like hiking, cycling, and snorkeling, and traveling to natural areas like National Parks.
Following my time at the zoo, I decided to explore what other opportunities in STEM media, education, and outreach were out there. I took a five month “working sabbatical” to consult on program evaluation and audience research with Chicago nonprofits. I also wrote for citizen science organization SciStarter’s blog (one post here), Discover Magazine’s blog (one post here), and set up informational interviews to learn from professionals I admired. I even wrote a piece for the Association of Women in Science’s magazine on a convening held in Chicago that year.
Some takeaways from this stage of my career development were:
Bet on yourself
Don’t worry about pursuing a “traditional” pathway
Be curious and learn from those around you
This was a formative time in my career that led me to the next phase - focusing on research and evaluation, specifically as the Research and Evaluation Associate and later the Senior Research and Evaluation Associate at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in New York City. The WCS runs global conservation programs and manages the four NYC zoos and one aquarium (you’ve probably heard of at least a few of them - the Central Park Zoo, Bronx Zoo, and New York Aquarium being the most famous, but not to exclude the Queens Zoo and Prospect Park Zoo as well). Working at WCS was an incredible experience that allowed me to dive much deeper into research and evaluation in informal STEM learning, and to act as almost an “internal consultant,” collaborating with teams at five different institutions. I truly learned so much.
Next, a pull to be closer to my home state led me to accept a role as Associate Director for Women in Science and Engineering at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), a private research-university heavy on the STEM subjects. This role allowed me to bridge my interest in research and evaluation with my program management and mentoring experience. During my time at CWRU, I built and managed programs for women in STEM, including a program focused on empowering student entrepreneurs, and organized the first ever group of students to attend the national Women of Color in STEM conference.
But, the pull of informal STEM learning and program evaluation never left me, so I began to transition back to the field that held my heart. I started consulting with select Cleveland-area nonprofits and institutions in my free time, and ended up jumping in with both feet in 2020. It’s been a wild ride ever since, and I’ve been fortunate to work with dozens of incredible organizations through Improved Insights. In 2024, I earned my Doctor of Education in Learning Sciences and Policy from University of Pittsburgh. There, I specialized in out-of-school learning and focused my dissertation research on informal STEM learning funding organizations.
A few lessons from this most recent stage of my career were:
Follow your passions
Build diverse skillsets
Let opportunity guide you
Today, I help STEM learning organizations to define, measure, and communicate the impacts of their work. My days are filled with deep thinking, instrument design, data analysis, and client calls, and no two are ever the same.
I’m a firm believer that our uniqueness is our value, and the diverse set of interests and experiences I carry made me the professional I am today. I’d advise anyone reading to lean into the things that make you distinctly you, and consider how they might come together to give you your “superpowers.”
To anyone out there considering a career pivot - or to new graduates just entering the field - I welcome you and hope this profile of my journey was helpful. The museums, institutions, and nonprofits sector is a wonderful place to land, filled with dedicated, good people. When first starting this journey, I never could have imagined I’d end up in this role and space, but I’m so glad I have.
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