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Lori Hunter is a Project Management Professional and a Certified Scrum Master with 20 years of experience working in systems analysis, functional requirements analysis, user-centered design and user experience, database administration and design, and web design and development. Her projects and experience represent a range of complexities, including administrative and evaluation data collection and reporting systems analysis and visualization, clearinghouses, websites, technical assistance tracking, evaluation data collection, interactive online tools and libraries, communities of practice, and Section 508 compliance. She has been the lead project manager for several large CMMI-3 IT implementations. Her responsibilities have included directing project team personnel; managing scope, schedule, budget, and risk; ensuring contract compliance; and serving as the interface with the customer and customer stakeholders.

Diane Paulsell is an applied social scientist with more than 20 years of experience designing, conducting, and overseeing mixed-methods policy-focused research, including national multi-site studies. She has also led rapid cycle learning and program improvement efforts with a variety of human services programs and a foundation-funded research program on family supportive services. Her areas of expertise range from early care and education to parenting, family engagement, youth development and family supportive policies and programs, including nutrition.

Hanna Kovalova is a program manager with 15 years of experience managing humanitarian aid and development programs in Ukraine, with a recent focus on the eastern part of the country ravaged by the war with Russia. She has worked with international organizations, including the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the United Nations, as well as social enterprises. Kovalova’s work with vulnerable populations has centered around gender equality, non-discrimination, conflict sensitivity, and social inclusion. She has extensive experience with monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning approaches; program management; and communication strategies in public health, mental health, and community stabilisation.

Benny Kil is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a certified scrum master (CSM) with over 15 years of project and product management experience—working in business analysis and project delivery in the federal, state, and commercial areas with a focus on technology and digital processes. He has experience in leading multidisciplinary teams to deliver client requirements using agile methodologies (scrum and kanban). 

Debra Cammer Hines brings nearly three decades of executive experience to her role as chief solutions officer. She has had leadership roles at major consulting firms such as Ernst & Young and PwC and at IBM. She also has U.S. federal government experience from her stint at the Office of Management and Budget early in her career.  Debra has provided consulting services across the public sector – federal, state and local governments, healthcare organizations, and all levels of education (pre-k-12 and higher education). Her work has ranged from global technology services, finance, and housing to cybersecurity transformations, mentoring minority leaders, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) assessments.

Kristin Heck, JD, MBA, has more than 10 years of experience managing and directing technical teams in the development of digital solutions. Ms. Heck contributes her technical expertise to product development, coordinating the development of new technology solutions with IT engineers, developers, and cloud architects, and ensuring timely solution delivery. In addition, she often works closely with program leadership to set key solution objectives, manage the development and product roadmap, analyze customer feedback, and prioritize feature development.

Dr. Nora Connor is a data scientist at Abt Global, where she uses generative AI, cloud-based solutions, and automated workflows to improve data-driven decision-making for federal clients. Her clients include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). As the business owner for Abt’s AI strategy, Connor leads the Data Science team developing MLOps, automated real-time data streaming, Infrastructure as Code, and responsible AI solutions. She works directly with vendors and market partners to identify use cases to bring the best AI technologies to the public sector.

This report covers Abt-developed automated research tools for 21st century knowledge curation to quickly examine vast amounts of information within a domain.

The COVID-19 pandemic is producing an unprecedented need for rapid short-term and longer-range actions on the part of government agencies, foundations, grantees, service providers, and other stakeholders.