KAYLA Donohue
29 | United Way of Northwest Vermont | Community Data Insights Manager
Residence: Jericho
Career highlight(s): The career highlight I am most proud of is collaborating on The Standards of Care: Policing and The Opioid Crisis with public health experts, the Police Executive Research Forum, and police chiefs from across the country.
Community Involvement: My community involvement includes coaching the Junior Milers team for the Vermont City Marathon relay, serving on the Jericho Trails Committee, and volunteering with the Vermont Mountain Bike Association. I also volunteer on the Racial Justice Alliance's Data Team, serve on the Advisory Board for Champlain Valley Head Start, and serve on the University of Vermont Master of Public Health Program Community Advisory Board.
What motivated you to live and work in Vermont? A post-graduate Public Health fellowship brought me to Vermont, where I was excited to work for a State with a deep sense of community and the ability to effect change. I stayed in Vermont because of incredible people I have met and the active lifestyle with ample access to the outdoors.
Favorite part of your job? I help community partners enhance their data collection, analysis, and evaluation capacity, while providing epidemiological expertise and technical assistance. These data are essential to track identified outcomes and performance measures, and to make policy and programmatic improvements. I work as a data resource for the community and disseminate information regarding our collective impact. I enjoy problem-solving with partners and using data to drive change.
Tell us something fun about yourself that few people know: Few people know that I qualified to compete in the Irish Dancing World Championships when I was 13 years old.
Favorite Vermont escape: My favorite Vermont escape is anywhere in the mountains. One of my favorite trails is Wampahoofus on Mount Mansfield.
Favorite downtime activity: In my free time I enjoy spending time outside with my dog, Link. We love hiking, backcountry skiing, and mountain biking. Last year, the two of us thru-hiked the Long Trail.
How has your job changed since this pandemic? During the pandemic, my job has changed completely. As a trained Infectious Disease Epidemiologist, I've been deployed to COVID-19 response at the Vermont Department of Health. I've been working as Team Lead for the Healthcare Outbreak Prevention and Response team. At United Way of Northwest Vermont, my focus areas have shifted to mental health promotion and working with the Population Health Alliance to address systemic racism as a public health emergency in our community.