Nikole Lobb Dougherty, MA

Nikole is the Director of Learning and Evaluation at the James S. McDonnell Foundation. She was the Evaluation Center Director from May 2022- March 2024 and Associate Director from 2019-2022.

Nikole has over 18 years of experience in program and systems-level evaluation, project management, evaluation capacity-building, data visualization, and innovative and effective dissemination and reporting. One of the things she loves most about being an evaluator is the diverse set of responsibilities – from designing meaningful evaluations, to analyzing data, to effectively communicating findings into actionable recommendations, and supporting stakeholders as they build their capacity to better understand, document, and communicate their impact. Nikole led evaluation activities for a number of Center projects, co-facilitated the development and implementation of the Center’s strategic plan, provided operational guidance for Center staff, and identified and implemented new opportunities and partnerships. In addition, Nikole provided data collection, management, and analysis guidance for Center projects and led training and educational opportunities. Nikole also led post-master’s certificate programs in Program Evaluation and Visualizing and Communicating Data at the Brown School and served as the Vice-President of Evaluation Association of St. Louis (EASL).

Nikole had been a part of the Brown School family since 2011. Prior to joining the Evaluation Center, Nikole served as the associate director of the Center for Public Health Systems Science (CPHSS). At CPHSS, she oversaw their evaluation portfolio, provided operational and programmatic guidance, and expanded their research and evaluation partnerships across the region and nationally. She led mixed methods and multi-year evaluations for numerous projects and initiatives such as, a state obesity prevention initiative, a comprehensive state tobacco control program, and an early childhood home visitation program, and a local school-based health clinic. In addition, she worked with several non-profit or community-based organizations to build evaluation capacity through technical assistance and training.

Prior to joining the Brown School, Nikole was Program Director of Evaluation Services at a non-profit in New York City where she oversaw the evaluation of roughly 100 out-of-school time and summer programs. She holds a master’s degree in applied anthropology.

Nikole loves to travel with her family, try new food and restaurants, and go see live music.