about
Surfacing and centering community wisdom.
About Patricia “Trish” Dao-Tran, MPH
Founder and Principal, Resonance Data Collective
Hi, I’m Trish. I am a community data convener, an equitable evaluation practitioner, and a data equity strategist. Those are fancy words to mean that I help people and organizations make meaning from data and stories. And, I do so in a way that bends the arch of social and justice movements towards liberation and joy.
I believe that people have the embodied wisdom and lived-experience to define and lead the change they wish to see in the places where they live, work, and play.
I steward grassroots and grasstops social innovators to use heart-centered data — information that is operationalized and quantified, as well as stories from people’s lived experiences, cultural traditions, and embodied knowledge — in a way that is authentic, inclusive, respectful, creative, and accessible.
And, I coach them to adopt learning and evaluation approaches to redirect narrative- and decision-making power into the hands of people and communities who are closest to the solution, but farthest from capitalist power structures.
Whether in life or in my consulting practice, I strive to inhabit this earth in a way that centers people, builds relationships, and facilitates relational learning.
My Story
I proudly come from a family of Chinese and Vietnamese political refugees who fled Southeast Asia in the 1970s.
My life experiences have brought me here, in this work, with you.
Interpreting with doctors, lawyers, grocery store clerks in white and English-speaking America for my non-English speaking family members nurtured the empathy I draw from when communicating technical data, processes, and frameworks to non-technical collaborators.
Navigating convoluted insurance policies and siloed healthcare services on behalf of my single-mother impressed upon me the importance of designing systems and processes with attention to culture, accessibility, and ease at the forefront.
These collective experiences instilled in me a resolve to remove systemic barriers and to create conditions where all children, families, and communities are thriving and living choice-filled lives.
My experience
Over the last 15 years, I have led data strategy and evaluation efforts for cradle-to-career education, school health, food system, and place-based systems change initiatives in diverse nonprofit, governmental, and cross-sector partnerships.
And, through these experiences, I have learned the art and heart of working with people and data.
I am trained and experienced in using the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Results Count Framework through StriveTogether and Equity & Results’ Anti-Racist Results-Based Accountability Approach to help cross-sector partnerships identify root causes, develop shared goals, and foster mutual accountability through trusting relationships.
I earned my BA from Tufts University and MPH from Tufts University School of Medicine and the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.
I serve/have served on the boards of the Strengthening Capacity for Equity in New England Evaluation Collaborative, Greater Boston Evaluation Network, and Eastern Evaluation Research Society and continue to lend my energy to reimagine the evaluation field and practice alongside The May 13 Group.
