Pilar Mendoza

Pilar partners with nonprofits, public agencies, and foundations to help them build their capacity to reflect and learn from their policy and systems change efforts. Pilar is inspired by organizations who work tirelessly to identify scalable solutions to advance equity and social justice. She relies on her background in applied research, policy analysis, and technical assistance to help program leaders make data-informed decisions.

Pilar has over 10 years of research experience supporting systems change efforts in the areas of early learning, public health, youth development, and criminal justice. Prior to joining Engage R+D, she worked in the nonprofit, philanthropic, and private sectors partnering with community stakeholders to identify the root causes of education and health disparities in underserved communities and find actionable solutions. As a consultant, she has worked with clients such as the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the California Endowment, and First 5 Fresno County.

At Engage R+D, Pilar draws upon a robust toolkit in mixed methods research, developmental evaluation, and community-based participatory research to support real-time learning that is grounded in the lived experiences of clients and their constituents. She is skilled at designing and facilitating interactive learning sessions that help build the capacity of participants to use data. Pilar is proficient in Spanish.