Empowerment Evaluation in Puerto Rico 2008

Empowerment Evaluation in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Drs. Maria Medina, Professor, Graduate Studies Deparment, School of Education, and Annette Lopez de Mendez, Director of the Educational Research Center, invited Dr. Fetterman to speak and facilitate an empowerment evaluation professional development workshop at the University of Puerto Rico (May 2008).

They took Dr. Fetterman and his family out for dinner the night before displaying friendship and hospitality. It was a warm welcome and introduction to many issues currently facing Puerto Rico. (Double click on the picture at the top left of the screen for a brief video of the workshop.)

David Fetterman and
Maria Medina

Annette Lopez de Mendez and her husband
(photographer) Hector Mendez Caratini

The day began with an overview about the steps of empowerment evaluation.


Dr. Fetterman presented the plenary talk and facilitated the workshop during the afternoon.


The workshop focused on views concerning the health care system in Puerto Rico. Participants quickly modeled "process use" by jumping in, ranging from activities such as drafting a mission statement to actually collecting the data and entering it into a spreadsheet; (and then displaying it using an LCD projector).



The taking stock step, using dots and 1 (low) to 10 (high) ratings, helped launch the dialogue and discussion.


Critical points were made during the day that unearthed concerns about the current health care system and a pride in the former health care system. This helped the group develop plans for the future.

It was an engrossing session and frank exchange about health care issues. It also highlighted both the mechanics and philosophy associated with the pursuit of empowerment evaluations.