Sarah Williams Leng Consulting, LLC

07/14/2026

Four years ago, I launched Sarah Williams Leng Consulting, LLC with one goal: To help mission-driven organizations use evaluation and data in ways that are practical, collaborative and meaningful.

Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to partner with mission-driven organizations, funders, and public-sector leaders build evaluation frameworks, strengthen program data systems, develop dashboards, facilitate learning conversations, and translate findings into improvement strategies.

I'm grateful for the partners and colleagues who have trusted me to support their learning and improvement efforts.

07/09/2026

I am grateful for the opportunity to lead yesterday's webinar hosted by the Pennsylvania Nutrition Education Network (PA NEN).

During the session, we explored how the evaluation process helps nutrition educators and public health programs plan with clarity, learn and improve, and strengthen their impact.

Thank you to everyone who joined the conversation. I’m always encouraged by the commitment of nutrition education professionals to strengthening programs in ways that are impactful and community-centered.

06/10/2026

As we head into the second half of the year, I'll have availability beginning in July to support a few new organizations and collaboratives with their evaluation and learning efforts.

Whether you're trying to measure impact, make sense of complex data, or create stronger feedback and learning systems, I'd welcome a conversation about what you're working on.

Let's chat over a virtual coffee or tea: https://calendarbridge.com/book/swlconsulting/bookaconsultation

06/09/2026

Thrilled to have earned my Mapping Systems of Influence credential from Collaborative Capacity Co.

During this training, I built a systems map using the online collaborative mapping tool Kumu to show how various factors collectively shape perceptions, attitudes, behaviors, and outcomes. This is such a helpful way to visualize and communicate a system and identify leverage points for impactful change. It's also very useful for evaluating the systems of influence before and after a change has been implemented.

🎇 Biggest takeaway: the value of systems mapping is in the conversation that it sparks with participants!

05/14/2026

I was grateful for the opportunity to facilitate a workshop session on strengthening evaluation capacity alongside evaluation projects at this year’s Eastern Evaluation Research Society Conference.

The session drew on evaluation work performed alongside colleagues Kelly Feltault, PhD, Tasha Parker, Ph.D., LSCSW, MPA, Scot Seitz, PhD, and Katie Erickson Hale, PhD.

The discussion with fellow evaluators reinforced something I continue to see in practice: under-resourced partners often face real constraints to building evaluation and learning systems. However, there are many meaningful opportunities within evaluation work itself (as an external consultant or an internal staff member) to strengthen learning, reflection, and use of evaluation findings. It's about identifying practical ways to support a learning mindset, clearer and more practical data processes, and purposeful reflection within the realities partners are navigating.

I left the session feeling encouraged by how much possibility there is when we approach evaluation capacity building in ways that are practical, grounded, and responsive to context.

05/14/2026

I've been reflecting on all I took away from this year’s Eastern Evaluation Research Society Conference and what I want to carry forward in my consulting practice:

I'm grateful for the ideas and invitations that stayed with me, including:

💡Holding strong to my values and sharing my light as an evaluator and fellow human, especially in difficult times - thank you Nicole Bowman, PhD (Mohican/Lunaape)

🔦 Using foresight evaluation methods to help imagine preferred futures and honor people’s agency - thank you Annette L Gardner, PhD

🩷 Being more intentional about belonging and connection in how I show up - thank you Lenka Berkowitz

👏 Deepening my thinking about what we mean by engagement and how language shapes evaluation practice - thank you Esther Nolton, PhD, MEd, CDMP and Tatiana E. Bustos, Ph.D.

💭 Continuing to examine the narratives and assumptions that can limit the usefulness of evaluation or perpetuate harm - thank you Elizabeth Grim

🏗️ I was also grateful for the opportunity to facilitate a workshop session on strengthening evaluation capacity alongside evaluation projects (more on this in another post)

🙌 Most of all, I appreciated being in community with other evaluators- hearing about the questions they are wrestling with, the important work they are doing, and the possibilities we can imagine together.

I’m leaving with new ideas, renewed connection, and a deeper commitment to evaluation that is thoughtful, transparent, and grounded in people.

05/12/2026

A little late to post but I’m back from the Pennsylvania Community & Public Health Conference feeling both grounded and energized. This conference reinforced a theme I see everywhere: meaningful change happens faster (and adaptation occurs more quickly) when partners are clear about what they’re working toward and reflect regularly as they go.

I've worked alongside social and human services, prevention programs, and place-based health initiatives, usually helping teams turn big, values-driven goals into practical measurement plans: shared outcomes, usable indicators, and simple learning loops that don’t add burden. My evaluation-oriented takeaways from this conference:

-Start with a shared outcomes frame. Sessions repeatedly returned to the critical point that health is shaped by the Social Drivers of Health: where we live, learn, and work impacts our health. This is a useful anchor for aligning partners and translating big goals into measurable outcomes.

-Make implementation visible. Rural access strategies are complex systems—not single interventions. Evaluation and systems thinking can clarify what’s being implemented, for whom, and under what conditions.

-Policy is part of the program environment. Changes to eligibility, funding, and administrative processes can reshape access quickly. From an evaluation standpoint, that’s a reminder to track key context indicators—not just program outputs and outcomes.

-Elevate lived experience as data. Personal stories (collected with consent and transparency of how they will be used) are essential qualitative evidence for understanding barriers, sense-making findings, and improving service design alongside quantitative metrics.

-Build learning loops, not just reports. The strongest examples emphasized collaborating on meaningful measures across partners, reviewing data continuously, and translating findings into specific decisions, adaptations, and accountability.

Personal highlights (with pic): meeting fellow independent consultant Leah Roman, MPH, MCHES, CPACC in person and seeing the The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s mobile health clinic up close.

If you were there (or you’re working on similar efforts), I’d love to hear:
What’s one learning question, measure or feedback loop you’re prioritizing right now?

02/19/2026

Yesterday I walked a Program Director and their team through transforming their manual, static report into a live dashboard that updates automatically as new data comes in.

We mapped how survey data from multiple sources can flow into a single Excel-based model (their tool of choice) to power a dashboard that refreshes in seconds. We also discussed how to tailor insights for different interest groups and which visuals best support the takeaways.

This shift doesn’t just save time and reduce errors. It changes how the team uses their data. When information updates automatically, the conversation can more quickly move from “what happened?” to “what should we do next?”

This is one of my favorite transformations: helping teams spend less effort assembling data and more time interpreting it to make decisions.

02/18/2026

In my work, is embedded in implementation—providing real-time feedback, surfacing context, and supporting adaptation as and unfold.

I work beside teams to understand how programs are actually operating, how they are experienced across stakeholders, and what adjustments will strengthen .

Evaluation is often imagined as measurement or reporting. But at its best it is partnership. An evaluator beside you helps you see your program clearly as it unfolds, understand how it is experienc…