Who We Are
A partner in helping organizations leverage data with clarity, confidence, and purpose.
Our purpose: TrueNorth Insights exists to help organizations build the systems, tools, and capacity needed to use research and evaluation to support learning, strengthen programs, inform strategy, and drive lasting impact.
YEARS EXPERIENCE
ORGANIZATIONS SERVED
EVALUATION AND RESEARCH EFFORTS LED
What Guides Our Work
Our work is grounded in a set of principles that shape how we approach every engagement and partnership.
Client-Centered
We design our work around organizational goals, priorities, context, and capacity.
Excellence in Practice
We are committed to delivering high-quality work that is thoughtful, rigorous, practical, and useful.
Collaborative Partnership
We work alongside organizations and their partners throughout the process, creating space for shared learning, reflection, and engagement.
Equity-Informed
We use culturally responsive and inclusive approaches that acknowledge the broader systems shaping outcomes and reflect the experiences and perspectives of the communities organizations serve.
Learning & Continuous Improvement
We view every engagement as an opportunity for learning, reflection, adaptation, and growth.
Commitment to Community
We are committed to supporting work that contributes to lasting, meaningful impact within organizations and communities.
Meet the Founder
Roxy Lawrence, MSW, MSP
Founder & Principal Strategist
TrueNorth Insights was founded by Roxy Lawrence, an applied researcher and evaluator with more than 15 years of experience partnering with organizations to strengthen programs, support learning, and improve decision-making through practical and actionable use of data. Over the course of her career, Roxy has worked alongside more than 100 organizations across the nonprofit, government, foundation, and social impact sectors. Her work is grounded in collaboration, relationship-building, and creating systems that organizations can realistically use and sustain over time.
Roxy brings expertise in mixed-methods research, program evaluation, performance measurement, strategic learning, and community-informed engagement approaches. She is particularly passionate about helping organizations move beyond collecting data to using it in ways that strengthen strategy, support continuous learning, and drive meaningful community impact. Her approach is equity-informed and centered on ensuring the perspectives and experiences of those closest to the work help shape the process.
Prior to founding TrueNorth Insights, Roxy served as Vice President of Applied Research and Evaluation at Black Onyx Management and as Director of the Center for Research on Inclusion and Social Policy at the Indiana University O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. She also taught program evaluation and performance management as adjunct faculty. Across these roles, she has led research and evaluation efforts for federal, state, foundation, and nonprofit initiatives totaling more than $5 million.
Roxy is also an alum of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Expanding the Bench Leader in Equitable Evaluation and Diversity (LEEAD) program. Based in Indianapolis, Roxy partners with organizations and communities across the country. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time in nature, traveling, and reading.
Education
- •MSW, MSP, Social Work and Social Policy, Washington University in St. Louis
- •BA, Anthropology and Sociology, Kalamazoo College
Data is most powerful when it helps organizations move from information to understanding, and from understanding to meaningful action.
— Roxy Lawrence, MSW, MSP
Founder & Principal Strategist
Let's Work Together
If your organization is looking for a collaborative partner to bring clarity and direction to complex work through practical and meaningful use of data, we'd love to connect.