Rita McWaters

Senior Research Consultant | Director of reporting & Analytics

Rita McWaters (she/her) identifies as a white woman and has worked in organizational development and evaluation consulting since 2005 at local and state levels. She has worked in a wide variety of programs such as health, human services, education, training, leadership development, early childhood and parent education, and poverty alleviation.

Her focus has been on program evaluation, strategic planning, organizational development, grant writing, professional writing, and more.

Fresh out of college, Rita was presenting her first big evaluation project and realized the crowd was bored out of their mind – they could not relate to the data and certainly did not understand the boring statistical terms she was nervously throwing around. From that embarrassing moment onward, she has made it her life's work about collecting and presenting data in ways understandable by its intended audience so that findings lead to realistic, actionable steps. She was determined her future reports would not end up in a drawer collecting dust.

While most evaluators finish with the final report, Rita builds evaluations with the end in mind – what will happen after the final report is written? This shift in focus ensures findings will be utilized and will inform decisions and improve performance. She is skilled in building teams of intended users of the data to work with her throughout the entire process. Working together, they ensure findings will be a true reflection of what is being studied, that everyone understands even the most complex data, and along the way, the team wins the support of all involved. Rita can make the process fun yet efficient and targeted.

Rita is also on a mission to help organizations amplify the value and impact of research by optimizing processes and reporting. This saves time and enables consistent application across time and teams.

Rita believes that data communication and design greatly impact the accessibility of findings. She believes that every stakeholder should be served data that is clear, actionable, and beautifully presented. Her methods reduce bias in research and respect the dignity of all participants by making the process accessible to all.

Rita has a Masters of Science in Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington and a Bachelors of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin.