Chari Smith believes evaluation should be accessible, practical, and usable. She demystifies this process, breaking it into manageable pieces that can be easily understood, and more importantly, applied.  She founded Evaluation into Action to help nonprofit professionals create realistic and meaningful program evaluation processes.

Her book Nonprofit Program Evaluation Made Simple: Get Your Data. Show Your Impact. Improve Your Programs. provides step by step instruction on how to do program evaluation. It is used in classrooms as well as by nonprofit professionals to understand how to bring program evaluation into their organization.

She is an engaging speaker, trainer and author who motivates professionals to understand the critical role program evaluation plays in the nonprofit landscape. By inspiring and informing professionals, she transforms how program evaluation is viewed – from a mundane required task to a critical planning tool.

Chari has also appeared on several podcasts, including Joan Garry’s podcast Nonprofits are Messy, The Nonprofit Show and Nonprofit Vision with Gregory Nielsen. She is also an adjunct faculty member for the University of Portland’s Pamplin School of Business Nonprofit MBA program.  

Chari is a proud member of the American Evaluation Association (AEA), Oregon Program Evaluators Network (OPEN) and the International Society of Evaluation Education (ISEE). She is also an adjunct faculty member for the University of Portland’s Pamplin School of Business Nonprofit MBA program. Chari is passionate about her work and brings her enthusiasm, insight, and expertise to each project.