Who we are
Our Mission
PIE builds the capacity of mission-driven organizations to evaluate impact, promote learning, and facilitate equitable change.
Our Vision
PIE envisions a future where all organizations have the capacity to fulfill their missions, live their values, and serve their communities.
Our Values
Excellence
We use the best methods available to deliver impactful, useful, and innovative work that helps improve organizations.
We meet or exceed the highest standards of collaboration, quality, and consistency.
Integrity
We are honest, transparent, responsive, and confidential.
We make decisions based on what is ethically aligned with our values, not what is comfortable or easy.
We all hold ourselves and each other to a high standard that is worthy of the important work that we do/the important client partners we serve.
Continuous Learning and Improvement
We embrace change, always seeking to learn from and leverage it for improvement.
We prioritize learning and growth—for ourselves and our clients—that is intentional and ongoing.
PIE staff regularly collaborates and shares learnings.
Equity
Equity is an ongoing practice, by our organization and the individuals within, to ensure that our work enables:
- Clients’ abilities to live their mission, vision, and values
- PIE’s understanding of our partners and their equity journeys
- Participation of stakeholders who have historically been less represented
Our Team

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Nancy is an executive management leader with diverse experience within the non-profit, education, and corporate sectors. She is committed to disrupting systems of oppression, advancing equity, and facilitating transformative
change. She brings a range of experiences to PIE, including team management and development; evaluation and research; project management; consulting; program and partner relations; and, building operational efficiencies. During her free time, she loves to read, cook, travel, and visit new restaurants.

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Keirstin has over a decade of experience in education, nonprofit management, program evaluation and social impact consulting. Possessing a master’s degree in Community Development and Action from Vanderbilt University, Keirstin is dedicated to enhancing organizational capacities, establishing continual learning systems, and centering the strengths of communities. In her free time, you can find Keirstin lost in her latest haul from the Chicago Public Library, taking walks around her neighborhood, or refining her dance moves.

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Jennifer is a creative problem-solver and measured risk-taker, focused on driving innovative and sustainable organizational improvements. She has worked as an evaluation and strategy consultant to nonprofit and government agencies since 1999 and has a deep passion for engaging staff and stakeholders to lead organizational change.
She holds a master’s degree from the University of Chicago and enjoys hiking and travel and has the dirt from more than 30 countries caking her boots.

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Francisca earned her M.Ed. in Educational Research Methodology at Boston College and is currently a doctoral student at Loyola University Chicago. As a Senior Research Associate at PIE Org, she applies her research knowledge by conducting data analysis and statistical testing for clients. Francisca is passionate about international affairs and global peace and enjoys working on mixed-methods research and evaluation in her daily work.

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Karen is an educator with over twenty years of experience in curriculum development, program evaluation, and capacity building primarily in Chicago’s under-resourced communities. At the beginning of her career, she served as a classroom teacher and school leader, later transitioning to the nonprofit sector, using a person-centered mindset to guide program evaluation and professional learning in arts education. In addition to her work, Karen finds joy in music, dancing, gardening, and dogs.

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Brandon developed his experience conducting mixed-methods community-based research through earning his Ph.D. in Psychological and Brain Sciences from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His research interests in public health and equity in minority populations lead him to PIE Org where he applies his knowledge in community psychology, statistics, and data analysis as an Evaluation Coach. In his free time, Brandon enjoys staying active, spending time with friends, and live music.

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As a Research Associate at PIE, Elisa supports project
management, data collection, and qualitative and quantitative analysis for multiple PIE projects that focus on education and community development. She is a licensed math teacher, has advanced Spanish proficiency, and holds a Master’s in Applied Economics from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

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Laura has worked at PIE since its inception, bringing with her the knowledge and background she developed early in her career in corporate finance and credit. She supports PIE’s work and growth behind the scenes by managing day-to-day operations and human resources/management responsibilities.
Laura coordinates the back-end functions of PIE, while aiming for effective communication with staff, clients, and vendors so that our team in the field is seamlessly supported.
Board


Wendy Fine
Director BAM Research and Evaluation
Youth Guidance

Kimberlee Guenther, Ph.D.
Chief Impact Officer
United Way of Metro Chicago

Leanne Kallemeyn, Ph.D
Associate Professor of Research Methodology
Loyola University

Ellen Cohen
Executive Director
Center for Health and the Social Sciences -University of Chicago

Bala Kattappuram
Senior Vice President -Project Management
Invenergy

Kim Tyler
CFO
Humanity United

Kylia Kummer
Chief Development Officer
Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund