Luminary Evaluation Group Names New President and CEO
PITTSFIELD, Mass. Luminary Evaluation Group, an evaluation firm serving nonprofits and based in the Berkshires, announced that Alison LaRocca has been named the organization's first President & CEO.
Luminary was founded in 2017 by Gary Romano, President & CEO of Civitas Strategies to meet the increasing number of evaluation projects the firm had at that time. Since its inception, Ms. LaRocca served as the firm's Managing Director where she expanded the client base, built out service offerings, and accelerated Luminary's growth with a 500 percent increase in revenue.
"Luminary Evaluation Group was conceived and founded out of Alison's passion and ability to work with nonprofit leaders and community members to pursue a data-driven approach to improving outcomes for children and families," said Gary Romano, founder of Luminary Evaluation Group. "Under her leadership, Luminary has and will continue to grow in impact – helping communities across the nation to effectively meet community needs."
As Luminary developed, Ms. LaRocca refined an approach to conducting collaborative, rapid cycle evaluations that support nonprofit leaders and funders in making data-informed decisions about programming and investment. Over the course of her career, she has led over 50 evaluations for foundations and nonprofits of every size and scale across the country.
Ms. LaRocca's areas of evaluation expertise span the public serving sector with a focus on early childhood education; post-secondary readiness and success; homelessness; adult coaching and education; and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
Under Ms. LaRocca, Luminary will continue its mission to help more nonprofit leaders recognize existing strengths around data collection that help them understand and communicate their impact. With projects currently spanning coast-to-coast, Luminary's evaluations go beyond data collection and analysis to provide hands-on support to innovate, adapt, and change course as results emerge.
"Our rapid growth is based on elevating the wisdom and program expertise that our partners bring to the table since they are the ones working directly with their local communities on a daily basis; it is their voices that truly guide our approach," said Ms. LaRocca of Luminary's diverse client base. "I am proud and honored to continue this important work and be a part of building the Berkshire economy."
A Berkshire County native, LaRocca grew up on her family farm. She was a first-generation college student who graduated from Williams College, where she majored in History. While at Williams, she received the Hubbard A. Hutchinson fellowship in dance. She also holds a Master's in Elementary Education from Merrimack College. Alison currently lives in the Berkshires with her husband, two children, basset hound Maribelle, and two pugs, Chloe and Zelda.