ABOUT
ROBIN LABARBERA, PhD, DSW
President, LaBarbera Research & Evaluation | Professor Emerita, Biola University
Throughout my career, one question has guided my work: How do we know whether programs are truly changing lives?
That question has shaped my work as an educator, researcher, and evaluator across higher education, correctional education, nonprofit organizations, and community initiatives. Whether evaluating trauma-informed reentry programs, neighborhood transformation efforts, or educational initiatives, my goal has remained the same: helping organizations understand, strengthen, and demonstrate the meaningful change they create.
My Philosophy
I believe evaluation should do more than satisfy reporting requirements. It should become part of the work itself, helping organizations learn, strengthen programs, make better decisions, and build evidence that improves lives.
The strongest organizations don’t treat evaluation as something that happens after a program ends. They integrate evaluation into implementation so that evidence continuously informs practice, strengthens participant outcomes, and supports long-term sustainability.
That’s why I partner with organizations from the beginning. Together, we design evaluations that not only demonstrate impact but also strengthen programs, inform strategic decisions, and help organizations create more of the change they exist to achieve.
Evaluation is not the end of the story.
Too often, evaluation is treated as a requirement that happens after a program ends.
I believe it should be something different.
Evaluation should become part of the work itself, helping organizations continuously learn, strengthen programs, demonstrate impact, and build evidence that supports future growth.
That’s why I partner with organizations from the beginning, integrating evaluation into implementation so evidence informs practice rather than simply documenting it.
Areas of Expertise
- Correctional education and reentry
- Community transformation
- Behavioral health
- Higher education
- Faith-based organizations
- Nonprofits
Why I do this work:
The organizations I partner with are working to improve lives and strengthen communities.
They deserve evaluation that does more than satisfy reporting requirements.
They deserve evidence that helps them learn, improve, and communicate the difference they make.
That's the work I love.
EXPERIENCE
Three decades of evaluation in complex environments
Much of this work has focused on environments where change is difficult to measure but deeply significant -- including incarceration, reentry, and faith-based community programs. Published in Health & Justice, The Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, and Journal of Global Education and Research, with presentations at international conferences, including the British Society of Criminology
BEYOND THE REPORT
Social advocacy as part of the work
Evaluation in this practice is never just internal documentation. Results reach wider audiences through peer-reviewed articles, books, conference presentations, and media -- advocating publicly for the programs and populations that matter.
RESEARCH & WRITING
Grounded in the work
It's Changed What I'm Living For
Ethics Press, 2025
Based on a multi-year study of theological education in prison -- exploring identity, purpose, and human flourishing across six correctional facilities and 266 participants.
LET'S WORK TOGETHER
The organizations I partner with are working to solve some of society's most complex challenges. They deserve evaluation that not only demonstrates impact, but also helps them create more of it. That's the work I'm privileged to do.
