Meet the NCEN 2026 Board Members

Monifa Beverly is owner and principal of Beverly Consulting Group, LLC based in Charlotte, NC. Monifa holds a doctoral degree in Education with a focus on culture, curriculum, and change, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in economics. She has 20 years of program evaluation experience applying a collaborative and culturally responsive and equitable evaluation (CCREE) approach toward supporting community members and organizations, educational institutions, and informal science organizations. Monifa has provided evaluation services to foundations and multiple federally funded programs. In addition, Monifa has mentored graduate students for over 15 years as an assistant professor of qualitative research and statistics, a dissertation chair, and a consultant. She has benefitted from RTPE (now NCEN) events and webinars, and she plans to continue building capacity for current and future evaluators and expanding the network of evaluators in North Carolina.

Julie T. Marks is a Senior Research Associate and Director of Evaluation at the Education Policy Initiative at Carolina (EPIC). She has extensive experience leading mixed methods implementation and impact evaluations of K–12 education policies and school-based initiatives across diverse contexts, with a primary focus on programs that support student development, advance educational equity, and foster inclusive learning environments. Dr. Marks conducts and oversees research spanning the education pipeline, with a primary focus on the implementation and impacts of supports for low-performing schools. She has expertise in mixed methods research designs, and in translating complex findings into actionable insights for key education stakeholders, including local, state, and federal policymakers, K–12 and postsecondary administrators, and external funders. She serves as board president for the North Carolina Cyber Academy, one of North Carolina’s two public all-virtual charter schools, and holds an adjunct assistant professor appointment in Policy, Leadership, and School Improvement in the School of Education at UNC–Chapel Hill.

Dr. Meghan Manfra is a Professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Learning Sciences at North Carolina State University, where she also serves as Faculty Director for AI Literacy in the Data Science and AI Academy. She is the founder of Action in Professional Learning (APL), a woman-owned consulting firm that supports organizations through action research, program evaluation, strategic planning, and professional learning.

Dr. Manfra’s work focuses on helping educators, researchers, and organizations use data and inquiry to drive meaningful improvement. She has led and supported research and evaluation projects across K–12, higher education, and informal learning environments, including multiple initiatives funded by the National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Education. She is particularly interested in AI literacy, media literacy, and building capacity for evidence-based decision-making.

She is the author of Action Research for Classrooms, Schools, and Communities and the forthcoming Fighting Fake News for Teens and Adolescents, and serves as editor of the Handbook of Social Studies Research. Through her teaching, research, and consulting, Dr. Manfra is committed to supporting practitioners as change agents in their own contexts.

Jessica Koehler just recently joined NCEN in the Fall of 2024 excited to connect with and learn from evaluators across the state of North Carolina. Jessica has been conducting research and evaluation in the k-12 and higher education space since 2013 in roles at non-profit organizations, academic institutions, and private consulting to nonprofit and for-profit clients. Jessica uses a mixed-methods approach with developmental and principles-focused evaluation lenses. Her content areas include human development, positive youth development, character development, motivational psychology, and STEM education. Since 2019, Jessica has been at Wake Forest University in various assessment and evaluation roles. Her current work is leading the research and evaluation efforts within the Wake Forest University Program for Leadership and Character in the Professional Schools (Law, Medicine, Engineering). She has a PhD in Education.

Dr. Stacy Huff is a program evaluator and researcher whose work centers on evaluator well-being, trauma-informed practice, and reflective evaluation. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Research Methodology from the University of North Carolina Greensboro, where she now works as a Project Director at the Center for Youth, Family, and Community Partnership. Her dissertation, Between Empathy and Exhaustion: Exploring Compassion Fatigue in Program Evaluation, explored the emotional impact of evaluation work and pathways to resilience. She is also a co-recipient of the Australian Evaluation Society’s 2025 EJA Publication Award for Excellence, recognizing outstanding international research in evaluation. Stacy’s work bridges compassion, reflection, and rigor to help evaluators and organizations sustain both impact and humanity in their practice.

Faye is a public health professional with a Master of Public Health from UNC-Chapel Hill and has experience in program evaluation, community health assessments, and project management. As a Senior Evaluation Associate at Epiphany Community Services, she leads comprehensive evaluation efforts, managing multi-year, high-value projects to drive measurable community impact. Faye is passionate about addressing health inequities and the social determinants of health, and is skilled at combining data-driven insights with strategic leadership to support organizations in achieving their goals. 

Faye is a resident of Charlotte, NC. She is fluent in two languages, lived in four cities, and loves learning about other cultures. When she’s not hard at work, you can find Faye exploring new coffee shops or restaurants, enjoying quality time with family and friends, or diving into a good book.

MeMee Winston is a Member at Large on the NCEN board and a current doctoral student in the Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation (ERME) Ph.D. program at UNC Charlotte, where she serves as a Graduate Assistant applying measurement theory, statistical modeling, and research design to educational assessments.

MeMee’s work focuses on mixed-methods research, data visualization, and stakeholder reporting to drive P-16 policy and equity. She is passionate about enhancing graduate member experiences on the board and strengthening North Carolina’s evaluator network through collaborative, culturally responsive practices.