About Donna Milgram

Co-Founder, IEX | External Evaluator | Strategic Consultant

Your trusted partner for evaluation, strategy, and results in STEM & CTE education

I bring more than two decades of national experience helping community colleges, federally funded projects, and workforce education programs achieve results that matter. My core focus today is providing expert, funder-aligned external evaluation services—ensuring projects meet compliance, exceed expectations, and gain strategic value from their evaluations.

As a five-time NSF Principal Investigator, I’ve been on your side of the table. I understand the pressure to deliver measurable outcomes, satisfy multiple stakeholders, and continuously improve your project’s impact—all while navigating limited time and staff bandwidth. Now, as an evaluator and strategic consultant, I help grant teams do just that.

Federal grants require more than compliance checkboxes. I offer evaluation that supports real-time improvement, stakeholder engagement, and strategic decision-making:

No Learning Curve
Deep knowledge of community college systems, workforce education, and NSF/Dept. of Ed. priorities

Polished, Timely Reports

Tailored to funder requirements and deadlines

Interactive Dashboards 

Clear visuals for use with faculty, staff, and funders

Actionable Feedback

 Helps teams pivot early, not just report late

Beyond evaluation, I provide STEM program assessments and strategic consulting to help you strengthen enrollment, retention, and job placement outcomes. These services are ideal for programs launching new pathways, seeking funding, or addressing persistent outcome gaps.

I conduct a comprehensive review of your program’s recruitment, retention, and student success strategies, using:

1. Stakeholder interviews

2. Custom surveys

3. Institutional data analysis

4. NSF-backed best practices

You receive tailored recommendations in a live stakeholder session, backed by an interactive data dashboard. These insights support grant proposals, strategic planning, and internal decision-making.

This intensive Masterclass helps college teams create a customized recruitment plan to improve student enrollment, particularly for underserved students. Grounded in proven practices and real-world examples, the Masterclass includes hands-on guidance, team implementation support, and a detailed roadmap. Ideal for colleges seeking to improve outcomes without reinventing the wheel.

Want to recruit more effectively? I develop compelling, photo-rich bios of successful graduates to attract new students and showcase program impact. Used by colleges nationwide, these bios are perfect for program websites, high school outreach, and grant applications.

Donna’s dashboard tracks job readiness and placement status in real-time, helping staff prioritize follow-up, improve employment outcomes, and meet grant reporting requirements. It’s built in Google Sheets and tailored to your program’s metrics.

The National Science Foundation featured my NSF-funded project for demonstrating significant achievement and program effectiveness following an expert panel review at the three-year mark to the Committee for Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Performance Assessment.

I’ve supported hundreds of faculty and administrators in boosting enrollment, retention, and improving outcomes.

My templates, systems, and dashboards are grounded in real success stories—many from programs just like yours.

CyberSmart Summit: North America’s Only Cybersecurity Skills & Workforce Development Summit

"24 Hours for Stronger Cybersecurity Roundtable" by New America and National Initiative on Cybersecurity Education (NICE), Roundtable Member

Panelist, "Moving STEM Forward", Career, Technical and Adult Education Symposium by Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC

Multiple Presentations on “Recruitment & Retention Strategies for Underserved Students in STEM Programs

1. National Science Foundation, Advanced Technological Education (NSF ATE) Principal Investigator Conferences

2. American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Conferences

3. American Association of Community Colleges

4. League for Innovation in the Community College

5. Mid-Pacific Information & Communications Technologies (MPICT)

6. California Community College Association for Occupational Education (CCCAOE)

D. Milgram, Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) Techniques Magazine

Feature Article: "Intention to Action: Recruiting to CTE."

D. Milgram, Cover Article: "How to Recruit to the STEM

Classroom,"The Technology and Engineering Teacher Magazine, Winner of Reader's Choice Award at ITEEA's National Conference

D. Milgram, American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Annual Conference Proceedings

“Broadening Participation of Students in STEM: Significant Outcomes in Less Than One Year"; “Turning Limited Resources into Increased Recruitment & Retention of Students in Technology

Programs": “Recruiting and Retaining Students in Technology Programs”

D. Milgram, Joint WEPAN/NAMEPA Conference Proceedings, Using Surveys to Inform Retention Strategies of Female Technology Students

D. Milgram, "Evaluation Strategies: Improving recruitment and retention in ATE projects" [EvaluATE Blog post]

If you need an evaluator—or a strategic expert to assess and improve program performance—let’s talk.

© Higher Ed: Impact & Evaluation Experts (IEX) 2025