Sam Mehoke,
MA Positive Developmental Psychology &
Program Evaluation
Founder of Development Matters Research and Evaluation
Sam Mehoke is based in Portland, Oregon, is a mentor for start-ups at the Portland Incubator Experiment, and hosts The Logic of Thriving podcast. Originally from the Midwest, he graduated from Claremont Graduate University with an MA in Positive Developmental Psychology and is a professional researcher, data analyst, and program evaluator. He has published research on the top of ‘Purpose in Life’, and believes (with evidence) that it is possible for organizations to be kind AND profitable.
A Message from Sam Mehoke,
Founder of Development Matters Research & Evaluation:
I created Development Matters to help the people who are trying to make the world a better place actually do that. With science. Over and over again I have watched kind, passionate founders and workers risk it all, only to have no way to show-case their value or struggle to articulate WHY their program works. Even worse, I’ve seen organizations spend valuable labor and money building programs that research shows does the opposite of they hoped.
The science of positive psychology and the methods of program evaluation can supercharge purpose-driven organizations - and support their goals and values toward greater systems of change. We can build organizations and teams that use evidence and inclusive, data-based practices to treat employees and their labor wisely, skipping the guess work and wasted effort on programs that do not work. We know better, and we can build better.
Become the Dungeon Master of your own Development.
Bear with me: Evaluations can sound scary, but they do not have to be. Just like leveling up in a game, you need to know what your and your party’s skills are so that you can decide where to spend your experience points strategically to reach your goals . Whether you are a new start-up or mature organization, a one-person program or a whole organization, we can help you level up and have fun doing it. In other words, we can help you figure out where you are, and what you need to get to where you want to go.
When you are Solving for Complex systems change, or being Human-Centered,
you will be told
“you can’t possibly measure that!”
Yes. You. Can.
Your community’s development matters.
Your company’s development matters.
Your development matters.
We can help.
Knowing where the next step is can be scary and at times difficult to see. The more focused your organization is at addressing systems change, the closer you need to measure what you are doing so that you avoid unintended consequences.
This is even harder when resources are scarce and measuring your impact might not be obvious or happen over night.
At Development matters we want our clients and their communities to thrive. We need to adapt and grow to meet unprecedented challenges in the world, in not-enough-time, and will not be able to get there unless we all collectively level up. We need to nurture our communities, organizations, and our own development to step into our best selves. We need to incorporate practices from the science of thriving and build more compassionate systems and metrics, and we need to do it now.
Development Matters explores better ways of helping clients save the world by measuring value with equitable and ethical metrics. We value relationships and lived experiences in tandem with rigorous measures, and articulate those values beyond money or numbers (we can include them too, if you or your partners want).
Sam Mehoke