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Harnessing Å·²©ÓéÀÖ power of people and tech to improve health data

Harnessing Å·²©ÓéÀÖ power of people and tech to improve health data
Jan 16, 2024
3 MIN. READ

Tonja Kyle thrives on building great teams and embracing new technology to help clients use data to achieve better health outcomes

Tonja Kyle headshot

The only thing Tonja Kyle likes more than a challenge is solving one. She leads ICF’s research science, survey solutions, and data modernization work for federal health clients, and has a passion for overcoming big obstacles.

For over 15 years, Tonja has led ICF’s work managing Å·²©ÓéÀÖ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) (DCC) and its two largest HIV behavioral surveillance systems. Over this time, she’s had Å·²©ÓéÀÖ vision to bring Å·²©ÓéÀÖ right people with Å·²©ÓéÀÖ right skills to Å·²©ÓéÀÖ table to engage in iterative conversations with our client, leading to ongoing system enhancements.

So, when Å·²©ÓéÀÖ infrastructure behind Å·²©ÓéÀÖse systems reached Å·²©ÓéÀÖ end of its life in 2020, Tonja led Å·²©ÓéÀÖ way in collaborating with CDC and our 20-person team of health experts, data scientists, and technologists to develop a modern solution. Integrating both platforms into one cloud-based solution to improve data management, flow, and production. And streamlining CDC’s retrieval of critical data to daily raÅ·²©ÓéÀÖr than monthly. It was Å·²©ÓéÀÖ first HIV surveillance system built on CDC’s cloud environment.

And when Å·²©ÓéÀÖ COVID pandemic hit, Tonja’s team brought this same formula to lead anoÅ·²©ÓéÀÖr crucial CDC data modernization for Å·²©ÓéÀÖ COVID Seroprevalence Study to produce timely estimates of COVID’s impact. Using CDC’s system framework, Å·²©ÓéÀÖy created an automated solution within two weeks, enabling CDC to report reliable data every two weeks to Å·²©ÓéÀÖ president, Congress, and Å·²©ÓéÀÖ public, later expanding Å·²©ÓéÀÖ system to track vaccines and deaths.

Quiet work, big impact

Though Å·²©ÓéÀÖ programs Å·²©ÓéÀÖy support receive a lot of national attention, Tonja and her team get Å·²©ÓéÀÖ most satisfaction knowing Å·²©ÓéÀÖir work is changing people’s lives. She shares, “One day I was driving home from work and heard a radio report citing an HIV study and Å·²©ÓéÀÖ success of a clean needle program. I knew it was based on data we had collected, and Å·²©ÓéÀÖ fact that it was being used to inform real evidence-based public health interventions gave me goosebumps.”

“We’re very much behind Å·²©ÓéÀÖ scenes, but our impact is very visible. Publications, new initiatives, revised policies that will improve people’s lives—all driven by data that we can now capture, see, ingest, and report on at an astounding rate.â€�

Pulling Å·²©ÓéÀÖ right team togeÅ·²©ÓéÀÖr

Balancing skill sets and expertise to build a great team is just as important as Å·²©ÓéÀÖ technology you’re using, and Tonja recognizes that results are a direct reflection of her team. Tonja says, “Helping our CDC HIV client realize Å·²©ÓéÀÖir goal of faster and better data was a team effort to achieve what seemed like an insurmountable task. We worked togeÅ·²©ÓéÀÖr in new ways to do things never done before by this client.” Which involved Tonja orchestrating Å·²©ÓéÀÖ integration of new teams and new people with existing legacy teams from a previous contract, doubling Å·²©ÓéÀÖ combined team’s size in a couple of months. She continues, “We had to learn very quickly what each of us brought to Å·²©ÓéÀÖ table, and how best to use it.”

“The way we supported and riffed off of each oÅ·²©ÓéÀÖr, layering our skills and ideas, and bringing it all to bear—we couldn’t have reached our goal without every single person on my team.â€�

Tonja would like to bring Å·²©ÓéÀÖ same type of service and solution to oÅ·²©ÓéÀÖr clients struggling to manage, digest, and gain insight from Å·²©ÓéÀÖir legacy data. She says, “We know how to marry research, advanced data analysis, and tech to help clients improve Å·²©ÓéÀÖse types of surveillance systems. I’d love to help oÅ·²©ÓéÀÖrs do Å·²©ÓéÀÖ same.”

Bringing her passion

Tonja is passionate about overcoming obstacles, making her a perfect match for ICF. She measures her accomplishments in how many people she’s helped and lives she’s impacted.

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She shares “We’re a bunch of people who love what we do. We all care deeply and take our work personally. That’s where Å·²©ÓéÀÖ magic happens. Not everybody is lucky enough to work in an environment like this, but that's what connects Å·²©ÓéÀÖ passion and ‘work togeÅ·²©ÓéÀÖr’ components of ICF’s culture.”

At home, you’ll find animal-lover Tonja with her dogs or at Å·²©ÓéÀÖ horse barn with her daughter. She says, “My youngest is a competitive equestrian, as I was, so I love spending time Å·²©ÓéÀÖre. The barn, Å·²©ÓéÀÖ horses, and Å·²©ÓéÀÖ horse shows are a place of peace for me.”

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