PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Debra Joy Pérez, Ph.D., joins the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation as chief evaluation and learning officer. In this newly expanded role, Pérez will work closely with the grantmaking teams to advance the organization’s work in science, environmental conservation, patient care, and in the Bay Area.
“Our founders, Gordon and Betty Moore, ask that we apply a scientific approach to our grantmaking, which focuses us on defining measurable outcomes and understanding what does and does not work,” said Harvey V. Fineberg, M.D., Ph.D. “Debra brings important expertise in social science, performance measurement, research and evaluation, expanding our commitment to learning and evidence-based decision making.”
As chief evaluation and learning officer, Pérez will develop, manage and refine measurement, evaluation and learning processes across the foundation. She will oversee a team of evaluation officers including those embedded within the foundation’s four grantmaking programs. This internal consultative approach will streamline measurement and evaluation efforts across programs, increase the effectiveness and utility of program evaluations and increase learning and use of evaluation results across the foundation.
“I am excited to contribute to the important work of the Moore Foundation and expand the influence of the foundation in the field of philanthropy,” said Pérez. “This new unit will ensure the Moore Foundation’s investments benefit from formal processes and structures to measure performance, evaluate our progress, document learning and apply evidence to our work. I am impressed with the foundation’s commitment to be results-oriented and adherence to its strategic principles.”
Most recently, Pérez was vice president of Research, Evaluation and Learning at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, where she led performance measurement, evaluation, research, data development, knowledge management and learning. In that role, she developed strong and productive partnerships with internal program staff and external field leaders to support public systems reform and advance equity.
Prior to her work at the Casey Foundation, she was assistant vice president for research and evaluation at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Her extensive experience working with large national foundations and her strong passion for measuring impact in philanthropy has led her to work on some of the nation’s most pressing social problems.
Pérez earned a bachelor’s in communication from Douglass College; a master’s in social science and women’s studies from the University of Kent in Canterbury, England; a master of public administration from Baruch College, City University of New York; and a Ph.D. in health policy from Harvard University. She and her wife Kristine look forward to hosting any of their 32 nieces and nephews when they transition.
Pérez assumes her post July 18, 2016 and reports directly to the president.
With more than $6.4 billion in assets, the Moore Foundation is the ninth largest foundation in the United States. In their Statement of Founders’ Intent, Gordon and Betty Moore place a premium on measurement and evaluation: “To track progress and confirm outcomes, measurement against goals is necessary. It is often difficult to implement, but key to our quantitative approach to philanthropy.”
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation fosters path-breaking scientific discovery, environmental conservation, patient care improvements and the preservation of the special character of the Bay Area.