Katrina L. Bledsoe, Ph.D.

Katrina L. Bledsoe, Ph.D., is a trained evaluator, mixed methodologist, and social psychologist with evaluation experience in both U.S. and international settings. Dr. Bledsoe’s evaluation work has focused on locally-led social services, health and education evaluation and programming, mixed methodology and methods, theory-driven evaluation, and topics in applied social psychology.  

In her 25-year career, Dr. Bledsoe has served as principal investigator, co-principal investigator, or project director on a variety of projects, and has received grants and contracts for programs in mental and physical health, the arts, organizational change, economic sustainability, education, and international development. She has served as a consultant to federal, state, and local government agencies such as the National Science Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, and to schools, universities, and community organizations. 

At Abt Global, Dr. Bledsoe focuses on responsive and theory-driven research and evaluation approaches, organizational change, and organizational learning.

Dr. Bledsoe currently serves as the Executive Board Chairperson for Efficacy Methodology, a research think tank in Uganda. She is also a member of the American Evaluation Association, the Washington Evaluators, and the European Evaluation Society. 

In 2021, Dr. Bledsoe joined Abt from Boston-based Education Development Center, where she was a senior evaluator and research scientist. She served as principal investigator of the Overview of the IMLS Museums for America Empowered about Responsive Evaluation Practices for the Museum of Science in Boston and as co-PI on the Complexly English Language Learners Project.

Dr. Bledsoe’s work has been published in journals such as the American Journal of Evaluation, New Directions in Evaluation, Families in Society, and in edited volumes such Qualitative Inquiry in the Practice of Evaluation, and the International Handbook of Urban Education. 
 

Expertise

• Locally-led social service
• Health and education evaluation and programming
• Mixed methodology and methods
• Applied social psychology
• Evaluation in arts and culture

Key Projects

• Boston Museum of Science Responsive Evaluation Practices
• What Works Clearinghouse
• NSF INCLUDES Broadening Participation Initiative
• Evaluation of the Human Institutional Capacity Development Program, U.S. Agency for International Development

Select Publications

• Nkwake, A., Morrell, J., & Bledsoe, K.  (eds.) (forthcoming, 2025). Assumptions: Complexity, Practice and Values. Information Age Publishing. North Carolina: Charlotte

• Bledsoe, K. L. (2021). Evaluation’s Identity: Who Are We, Why Are We Here, and What Does Our Future Look Like? New Zealand Journal of Evaluation.