About US
Michael Leonardo Foster, EdD, MPH – Owner/Chief Evaluator
Michael is the Owner and Chief Evaluator of EPIC Services. Michael entered the field of evaluation in 1998 when he was hired as a program evaluator at Education Development Center in Newton, Massachusetts. At this time, Michael was earning his Doctor of Education (EdD) degree from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Michael completed his EdD in 2002, where he received extensive training in both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. After graduation, he has worked in education research. However, in 2005, Michael’s career took a turn when he became a post-doctoral Traineeship for AIDS Prevention Studies (TAPS) fellow at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). Upon completing the TAPS fellowship, Michael worked as a consultant through UCSF at the California Department of Public Health, Office of AIDS. During this time, Michael also worked with organizations throughout the country, primarily in the Southwest. These experiences broadened his focus to include projects with Indigenous People and People of Color, Indigenous peacemaking, restorative justice andm transformative justice, and land-based healing, such as solarization projects in Northern New Mexico communities and tribes, among others.
Michael works with a team of professionals across a range of substantive and methodological expertise. Teams are determined by the unique needs of each client.
Our Team
Working with a team of highly skilled and trained professionals from numerous fields, we approach our work from a mixed methods perspective. With our clients’ input, we determine the most suitable methodological approach(es) to use for each project; we design unique instruments that align with the goals of a respective initiative. As we conduct analyses, we keep our clients informed through intermittent updates to keep them abreast about the direction of the report as it unfolds. We adjust our design as needed, based on feedback from clients.
Who we work with
EPIC Services works with marginalized communities, including Indigenous People, People of Color, and children in the foster care system. EPIC Services works with Pueblo and tribal governments, secondary school program administrators, policy and program staff at the state level, frontline folks in foster care placement and adoption, and non-profit organizations, among others. Our work illuminates the positive impacts that our clients are making on the world. In addition, to elevate and expand these efforts, EPIC Services offers specific, implementable strategies to improve how you do your work.