When the United States became the deadly epicenter of the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, surpassing one million cases and close to 60K virus-related deaths by the end of April, crucial gaps in our nation’s capacity to collect, analyze, and, importantly, share public health data with people became clear.

After nearly a year of climbing cases, Americans were understandably eager to find COVID-19 vaccines when they were approved for emergency use by the FDA in early 2021. With no national COVID-19 vaccine search solution and each state rolling out their own eligibility criteria, both demand and confusion were high.

The American Rescue Plan created unprecedented tax relief for millions of families through expanded tax credits.

But families that didn’t earn enough income in 2020 to require a tax filing – the people who needed the tax credits the most – were largely unaware of the economic assistance or that they needed to submit a tax return to qualify.

In mid-2022, a manufacturer product recall on infant formula, combined with weakened supply chains after the COVID-19 pandemic, caused a significant decrease in the availability of infant formula, especially specialty formula for babies with intolerances, allergies, and metabolic issues.

In late 2021, a new and more infectious variant of COVID-19 made its way through the U.S. population. In response, the White House initiated an ambitious program that allowed every U.S. household to order free, at-home COVID-19 tests.

We’ve grown from less than a dozen staffers to more than 200. We believe that fostering diversity, inclusion, equity, and accessibility (DEIA) is vital to our ability to imagine and build digital solutions that solve everyday challenges people face.