Alexis Carr

Alexis Carr graduated from the MAIS program in 2014 and currently works in Research, Monitoring and Evaluation for the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), an intergovernmental organisation focusing on learning for sustainable development. With an undergraduate background in English, history and liberal arts Alexis enrolled in the MAIS program after working for three years in rural Mexico as an English instructor and programme developer. A recipient of a Graduate Fellowship, Alexis was also awarded Graduate Research Travel funding to undertake original research in Mexico for her major project, and was subsequently nominated for the SFU Convocation Medal. Currently, Alexis supports the design and implementation M&E systems and action research projects at COL. Significant accomplishments include: the development of an empowerment framework, which has been used in more than five countries; authorship of a ‘Measuring Empowerment Toolkit’ launched by COL and UN Women at the 8^th Pan-Commonwealth Forum in 2016, and co-authorship of numerous papers and presentations which have been presented at major global events and conferences. A lifelong learner, Alexis has gone on to do additional coursework in data analysis, research methods and survey design. She credits the MAIS program with providing a solid grounding in international development theory as well as practical research skills, both of which are essential to her current work.