Staff
Heléne Clark, Ph.D., Founder and Director
An urban geographer and environmental psychologist, Heléne Clark works with organizations engaged in social change to build their capacity to develop clear goals, gather knowledge about results, and expand the impact of critical social interventions. Dr. Clark and a colleague founded ActKnowledge to provide rigorous research, planning and organizational development skills to the social sector. Heléne has been the lead evaluator on numerous initiatives and served as advisor to many other evaluations around the U.S. and in the United Kingdom. Dr. Clark incorporated the “Theory of Change” methodology into ActKnowledge’s work, and has led ActKnowledge to be the pre-eminent developer, facilitator and trainer of this method. Her international work includes the development of not-for-profit organizations in Moscow, various projects in the U.K., and work with numerous international non-government organizations in the developing world. Heléne has served on the Board of Directors of Housing Conservation Coordinators in New York City for eight years. Prior to founding ActKnowledge, Dr. Clark was Associate Director of the Center for Human Environments, and taught courses in urban and economic geography, environmental psychology, housing policy and research methods. She has published widely on housing and community development policy topics, as well as education and youth development.
Dana H. Taplin, Ph.D., Director, Theory of Change
Dana Taplin, an urban planner and environmental psychologist, brings an interest in applied social research to ActKnowledge’s practice in Theory of Change. Dana is overseeing the development of Theory of Change Online and its introduction to the field. Dr. Taplin’s research interest is in parks and other public community spaces as human environments. He is working to expand ActKnowledge’s practice into research on public space and environment and is currently directing an evaluative study of schoolyard playgrounds for the Trust for Public Land’s New York City Playgrounds program. In 2007-08, Dr. Taplin played a key role for ActKnowledge in developing a Theory of Change for Lumina Foundation for Education’s work in the higher education sector. His previous research includes an ethnographic overview and assessment of the Fire Island, N.Y., National Seashore, and a community impact study of Battery Park City in Manhattan ten months after the attacks of 9/11/01. Dr. Taplin is second author, with Setha Low and Suzanne Scheld, of Rethinking Urban Parks: Public Space and Cultural Diversity, published in November 2005 by the University of Texas Press.
Dr. Taplin taught undergraduates as an Adjunct Associate Professor in environmental studies at Pace University and also taught for several years in the Interior Design program at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.
David L. Colby, JD, General Counsel and Director of Business Development
David is a social change consultant with many projects that involve expanding the use and application of the Theory of Change methodology. He heads up ActKnowledge’s Global initiatives and works with both the public and private sector, including new markets such as social entrepreneurs and corporate CSR programs. He also leads several online projects toward the development of Theory of Change as an online community with new content development and software resources. David is a licensed NY Attorney and an Adjunct Professor at two NYC universities where he regularly teaches courses on Business Planning and Strategy. David serves ActKnowledge as both General Counsel and Director of Business Development.
Eoin Collins, Visiting Scholar, Evaluation Specialist
Eoin Collins is an economist and social policy analyst and advocate. From 2006, he was Director of Policy in GLEN, a Dublin based NGO, where he made a significant contribution to the enactment by the Irish government in 2010 of civil partnership legislation for same-sex couples. He was appointed in 2006 by the Minister for Justice as liaison to the department on sexual orientation issues and served on the Government (Colley) committee in 2006 that led to the enactment of civil partnership closely based on civil marriage.
He is a founding member and director of Nexus Research, a Dublin based research consultancy where he worked from 1991 as evaluator and social policy analyst. He was responsible for research and evaluation work across a range of issues, in particular, employment and social inclusion. His work included the national evaluation of the government’s job facilitator programme and a review of the application of the partnership principle in EU cohesion fund expenditure in Ireland. International work has included extensive work for the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working conditions on the co-ordination of social welfare and active labour market measures and on the integration of minority ethnic groups.
Lynne Montague-Clouse, Theory of Change Consultant
Lynne, the Denver representative on our team, first worked with ActKnowledge as a client when ActKnowledge helped the United Way of Transylvania County, North Carolina, develop their Theory of Change. Inspired by the community effort at the United Way and the TOC process, Lynne joined ActKnowledge to bring her private sector experience and business sense to our marketing and outreach. Having learned the value of Theory of Change work first-hand as a client, Lynne is a valuable member of our TOC team.
lmontague-clouse@actknowledge.org
Veronica Momjian, Research Associate
Veronica came to Actknowledge at the start of 2011 with several years experience as a research assistant and evaluation consultant. Currently, Veronica is a doctoral student in Sociology at the City University of New York Graduate Center. Her research interests include religion, public health, sport and sociology as applied science, particularly in terms of policy reform and program evaluation. Recently her article “Employment, Mental Health and the Economic Crisis in New York City” was published in the Western Journal of Black Studies, an article she also presented at the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Symposium in May 2010. Veronica also be presented her work “Actions to Protect; A Three-Pronged Approach to Policy Reform” at the Society for Applied Anthropology in April 2011, and is currently in the pre-production stages of her latest ethnographic research on women weight lifters.
Muamer Rasic, Research Assistant
Muamer Rasic graduated from Baruch College, School of Public Affairs, with a Master Degree in Public Administration, specializing in Policy Analysis and Evaluation. His research interests are in performance measurement and program evaluation. Muamer joined ActKnowledge in August 2011as a Research Assistant; he has assisted in developing several projects using Theory of Change for strategic planning and evaluation. Such projects include the Helmsley Charitable Trust Education Program, United Way of Greater Lehigh Valley, Community Rehabilitation Services, and Keeping Families Together (Corporation for Supportive Housing). Muamer has also assisted in protocol development, data collection, research reviews, planning evaluation logistics, and conducting analysis.
Connie White, Executive Administrator
With more than 20 years of varied experience in “creating order out of chaos,” Connie White has been maintaining order at ActKnowledge almost since its inception in October 2000. Ms. White performs a variety of administrative duties associated with ActKnowledge’s day-to-day operations, provides support for all staff members, and manages the company’s finances, payroll, and employee benefits. Connie created and manages our Internship program, serving as mentor to fortunate high school students. She also provides technical support on computer software applications. In her previous experience Ms. White served as Director of Operations at a software development firm and held various administrative positions in the popular music industry including a substantial term as minister-without-portfolio at CBGB, the famous downtown Manhattan rock music venue.
Connie moved to San Francisco after getting married in late 2009 (some of you may remember her as Connie Hall!) Connie continues her work for ActKnowledge, except for keeping the plants watered, which she turned over to someone else.
conniedaviswhite@actknowledge.org
Cass Daubenspeck, Administrative Assistant and Community Manager
Cass came to ActKnowledge at the beginning of 2012 after working as a public school teacher in California and New York. Passionate about education, she continues her interest in education policy through her work on Everyone at the Table, a project funded by the Gates Foundation that focuses on bringing teacher voice to the table on teacher evaluation reform. Cass also brings experience in new media, writing, and community management to AK, and currently serves as our home office administrator and Social Media Manager.
Cass graduated from Fordham University with a bachelors degree in philosophy, and went on to receive a Masters degree in Urban Education from Bard College.
Affiliations
Lewis Sustainable, London
Helene Clark is on the Advisory Board of Lewis Sustainable in the UK.
Nexus, Dublin
