How this industry veteran solves agencies’ digital challenges with empathy
With the end user experience in mind, digital transformation expert Tahera Zamanzada helps government agencies build more agile, omnichannel IT infrastructures
For 15 years, Tahera Zamanzada has helped federal agencies and other organizations stay ahead of a rapidly evolving digital landscape. She's passionate about leveraging data as a strategic asset—moving clients from a siloed approach to an omnichannel, interoperable system. 
Now, as our vice president of digital transformation, Tahera is at the helm of our expanding digital modernization capabilities while supporting portfolio growth by empowering clients to improve business processes and meet the increased demands of today’s digital age. 
Focusing on end user experience
Driven by a deep understanding of how bucking the status quo results in higher levels of success and satisfaction, Tahera takes a holistic, empathy-first approach toward digital transformation. 
“Throughout my career, I’ve honed my expertise on engineering solutions for clients,” she shares. “It’s about identifying and solving pain points, figuring out how to digitize and modernize government processes by borrowing from things that work in the consumer world. And as an end user myself, I use that lens to inform solutions that ultimately streamline processes for both clients and the public.”
As a thought leader and digital advisor, Tahera understands the challenges of digital transformation—specifically as it relates to cloud adoption. She sees this as a critical component within agency offerings that equates to happy end users.
“Security, seamless integration, and customer customization are key components of the digital government of the future. Each user who logs into an agency’s site should have a tailored experience,” Tahera says.
"If we want to leverage data as a strategic asset, we need to individualize the experience for the user. This requires agencies to shift away from being reactive to being both proactive and prescriptive.”
Empowering female STEM leaders
Tahera is also devoted to supporting initiatives that empower women to study and work in the STEM field.
“I’ve been a lifelong learner and technologist at heart,” she explains. “As a woman in STEM, it’s important that I lean in and pay it forward to others who are thinking about following suit. Mentorship, along with hiring women in leadership roles, are key components to supporting diversity in this space.”
In her new role, Tahera brings with her the customer-centric mindset and cloud expertise that enables our customers to both meet the challenges of today while planning for the improvements of tomorrow.
“I am excited to be part of ICF as we offer the technologies, strategies, and capabilities agencies need to both optimize their user’s experience and tackle today’s biggest IT modernization challenges.”
Tahera was recognized with the 2023 Women in Technology Leadership Award (Corporate Large-Market Sector) for her leadership of and commitment to the Washington DC-area tech community.
