Session Description:
High-quality programs maintained through observation don’t happen because a tool exists. They happen because leaders have made explicit decisions about who observes, how often, what they’re looking for, where findings go, and who acts on them. Without those decisions, organizations default to inconsistent monitoring: a few site visits when schedules allow, data that never surfaces to leadership, and coaching conversations that happen without evidence to anchor them. By August 1, every COMPASS site needs a functioning observation system, not just an observation tool.
This virtual working session is designed as a 120-minute build, not a survey of best practices. Executive Directors, Multi-Site Leaders, and Program Directors will work directly on the operating structures that their observation system is missing. The session focuses on three components: observer roles and observation frequency, the data path from site visit to leadership review, and the feedback routine that turns findings into staff development and follow-up. Each component is introduced with a real example, then built into an organizational working time.
By the end of the session, participating organizations will leave with a completed Observation System Map: a single working document that names who observes whom and on what schedule, traces the path from site visit to leadership review, and confirms the three highest-priority implementation actions before launch. The Map is built during the session using a ready-to-adapt template. It is a starting point: specific enough to hand to staff and act on the following week, and designed to be refined as the program year unfolds.
Intended Audience:
Organizational Leaders tasked with managing Compass staff across sites (likely a combination of Executive Directors and Multi-site/Program Directors together).
Dr. Hiershenee Luesse
Dr. Hiershenee B. Luesse is a founding partner and principal consultant at 8RES, LLC, a boutique consulting firm based in New York City. She is a social and behavioral scientist with extensive and diverse experiences in culturally responsive evaluation, applying behavioral science to create learning materials that lead to actionable results, and utilizing systems approaches to addressing social issues. She has over 20 years of experience in health research and evaluation working with minority and historically underrepresented populations, nationally and internationally, to develop and implement strategies that promote health and minimize social inequality.
Dr. Luesse is frequently published in peer-reviewed journals, has published various white papers, hosted widely attended sector-specific webinars, and presented at conferences around the country. An exciting project that Dr. Luesse led was the design of a national health behavior program (currently available on the Public Broadcasting Service, PBS) and its multi-site implementation and outcome evaluation within communities of color. She is a past board member of the American Evaluation Associations’ New York affiliate. Dr. Luesse received her Ph.D. in Behavioral Health from Columbia University.
Joe Luesse
Joseph E. Luesse is a founding partner at 8RES, a Research, Evaluation, and Strategy consulting firm. Joe has more than 20 years of experience in varied settings as an organizational leader, teacher, program developer, researcher, and evaluator. Joe has extensive experience leading program design, research, strategy, capacity building, innovation, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) efforts across the nonprofit, foundation, and education sectors. He’s an adjunct teaching evaluation at NYU’s School of Global Studies, a co-founder and former President of the NYC metro region’s American Evaluation Association affiliate, a New York Community Trust Leadership Fellow, and actively engaged in several professional communities. Joe is a regular presenter, speaker, and writer.
Prior to his current role, Joe worked with DREAM (formerly Harlem RBI), the Ford Foundation, The Research Alliance for New York City Schools, Government Relations at Columbia University’s Teachers College, and on various education research projects. Joe taught high school English for over ten years, and during that time he created a small learning community, tutored, became a UCLA Writing Project Fellow, formed a mentor exchange between high school and middle school students, participated in a progressive co-ed soccer collective, and assisted coaching basketball. Joe earned an EdM in Sociology and Education from Columbia University.
Organization: 8RES
Website: https://www.8res.org/
Org Description: 8RES partners with schools, community-based organizations, and public agencies to strengthen youth outcomes through leadership development, continuous improvement, and high-quality program implementation. Their work focuses on helping organizations build effective systems and practices that support the success and well-being of young people.