Nicole Vahl is a Health and Science Program Manager at Illinois Medical District. She possess expertise in emergency management, public health, program development, government, program evaluation and 17 more skills. Colleagues describe her as "I have supervised Nicole Vahl since January 2008 on a federally funded, nationally deployed bio-surveillance network . She has distinguished herself as an exceptional and indispensible asset to the program. Nicole's position is responsible for coordinating the biosurveillance network in one of the largest cities in the U.S. and its surrounding counties. She acts as the liaison between local, state, and federal stakeholders making sure that continuity of operations is maintained despite the diverse composition of stakeholders. Additionally, she is responsible for advancing emergency preparedness planning within her area of operation (aka, jurisdiction). Nicole has a remarkable ability to independently identify areas for program development, build a network of local, state, and federal agency relationships, and be a lead coordinator for the operational testing and deployment of new technologies within her jurisdiction. Nicole is considered to be a program subject matter expert in her jurisdiction. Federal program managers rely on Nicole's assessment of the local/state environment to generate strategies for daily and future operations within her jurisdiction. Likewise, local/state stakeholders rely on her to keep them informed of federal priorities, initiatives, and plans. Through her coordination and efforts, emergency response preparedness planning within her jurisdiction is considered exceptional when it comes to bio-threat response. Beyond her stellar work performance, I have to say that I genuinely like Nicole. She is easy to get along with, has a great sense of humor, and can negotiate difficult political environments with aplomb. It isn't always necessary to enjoy the people you work with, but it is always greatly appreciated when you do. I could not recommend Nicole more highly though I would sorely miss her if another opportunity entices her away." and "Nicole was a tremendous asset to our efforts to address childhood lead poisoning. Although in a junior role at the time, seized responsibility for projects and successfully carried out a variety of tasks with minimal supervision. From figuring out the scientific protocols and methods for testing a variety of consumer products for lead, to handling data collection and management, and to writing up the results in an easy to understand and clear way, Nicole excelled at all aspects of the project."