Staff Leads
Petten Consulting is led by Nick Petten who maintains a roster of qualified and specialist evaluators that contribute their sector- and evaluative-specific capabilities to meet the diverse needs of its clients. Our associates represent the unique needs and capabilities required for each of our projects.
Nick Petten, MA, Principal Evaluator at Petten Consulting
Nick Petten is a researcher, consultant and evaluator with over 10 years’ experience working with culturally diverse populations in multiple roles and positions. He is primarily concerned with how to meaningfully and ethically involve children and youth in research and program design. Nick has extensive knowledge and demonstrated research ability developed through a masters-level education in early childhood studies. He is also dedicated to building the capacity of the organizations he works with through several volunteer and board engagements, including board membership for the National and Ontario Chapter of the Canadian Evaluation Society. Nick has in-depth and front-line experience working with children and adolescents with multiple needs and capabilities through parent education programs, early childhood education centres, youth programs, adolescent treatment centres and many other community programs.
Jenna van Draanen, MPH, Ph.D., Evaluator and Data Analyst
Jenna van Draanen is an experienced evaluator having executed evaluations at the system-level with several large organizations including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation and Health Canada. Jenna’s statistical skills are advanced and she regularly conducts rigorous data cleaning and analysis for clients using large national and international datasets. She had eight years of experience in program evaluation consulting and has helped several organizations develop comprehensive multi-year analytic strategies. Jenna has also designed tools for measurement and evaluation for several education programs including the UW Directions Aboriginal Education Program, the Academic Achievement Centre, and the Get Set Learn program through Project Read.
Wendy Suh, MA, Evaluator and Data analyst
Wendy Suh is a graduate of the Master of Arts, Early Childhood Studies program at Ryerson University. During her studies, she was a student researcher for a pilot study in Abuja, Nigeria, which focused on understanding young children’s play and implementing play-based learning in Nigerian early learning centres and schools. She continues to work on this evolving project, a multi-year partnership with Ryerson University and various not-for-profit and government organizations in Nigeria, Ghana and Canada. Her research skill-set includes conducting literature reviews, designing tools for measurement and evaluation, qualitative and quantitative data collection, data analysis and reporting. Her experience also extends to program evaluation and research for government agencies, hospitals and other not-for-profit organizations in Toronto. Wendy strives to expand her research experience, particularly cross-culturally with the ethical involvement of children and youth. Wendy is a member of the Canadian Evaluation Society (Ontario Chapter). Wendy speaks English and Korean.
Kimia Ghomeshi, MES, Evaluator and Project Manager
Kimia Ghomeshi has been actively engaged in community development initiatives for over 10 years on a local, national, and international level. With 6 years’ experience conducting community-based research and evaluations, Kimia has designed and implemented project related to a wide range of topics including immigrant and refugee settlement, youth empowerment, children/youth with developmental disabilities, community health, and environmental justice. She has extensive experience conducting participatory, mixed method, and complex, multi-year evaluations that involve diverse stakeholders and communities, primarily in Canada and Latin America. She currently sits on the Canadian Evaluation Society (Ontario Chapter) Professional Development Committee, and the Community-based Research and Evaluation Committee for the Ontario HIV/AIDS Treatment Network. Kimia holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in International Development Studies from McGill University and a Masters of Environmental Studies degree from York University. She speaks English, Farsi, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Priya Kekre, MPH, BSc.Evaluator and Data Analyst
Priya Kekre has over eight years of experience as a researcher, activist, project manager and volunteer in the academic and non-profit sector. She has significant applied research experience in international settings, particularly in maternal and child health programs in low-resource settings. She has published and presented on the benefits of conducting formative research to inform larger-scale Randomized Control Trials for policy-evaluations. Her skill-set includes a range of mixed-methods protocol development, capacity building, field management, stakeholder engagement, data analysis and reporting. Having worked with a consortium of partners including the University of Toronto, Emory University, CARE, World Vision and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, she has niche expertise in balancing academic research rigor with the practicalities of program implementers when developing and implementing Monitoring and Evaluation plans. This contributes to her versatile communication style suited to meet the needs of different audiences including donor reporting, academic publications and program reports.