About

Katie Daniels is the founder and principal consultant at SIDE-Strategies.  She believes that strategic development, process innovation, and high-quality evaluation help to support organizations to increase and better understand the impact, thus improving the lives of those they serve.

Dr. Katie Daniels has a B.A. in Sociology (Grand Valley State University), a M.A. in Evaluation, Measurement and Research (Western Michigan University), and a Ph.D. in Evaluation, Measurement, Research, with an emphasis in measurement (Western Michigan University).  

She began her career working in human services - non-profit and state government, and then transitioned to working in higher education.  Her 15 years of higher education work experience includes having worked in capacities such as Director of Assessment, Executive Director of Curriculum and Assessment and Curriculum Specialist.  In these positions, she lead numerous process improvement projects, the development and implementation of various program and curriculum models, and provided guidance and oversight of the implementation of evidence based practices.

Upon the completion of her master's degree, over 15 years ago, she began working as a research analyst and simultaneously began providing independent consulting services in the areas of program evaluation, survey research, database development, and data analysis for non-profit organizations. 

Katie is an affiliated faculty member of the Evaluation, Measurement, Research programs at Western Michigan University   She has shared her expertise presenting numerous times at professional conferences such as the American Evaluation Association, the Association for Institutional Research, and the IUPUI Assessment Institute.  Additionally, she has developed and delivered customized workshops for institutions and organizations on a variety of evaluation - related topics.

Some of SIDE-Strategies Clients are:

DisArt

Ferris State University - Latino Business and Economic Development Center 

Hispanic Center of West Michigan

Hope Murals

Planned Parenthood of Michigan - Education and Outreach 

Realism Is Loyalty

STEM Greenhouse

West Michigan Center for Art & Technology

West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce