We’re delighted to announce that Tanya Wheeler-Berliner has been named Coforma’s new Head of Marketing and Communications. Over the past 20 years, the through-line of Tanya’s professional journey has been her belief that words hold the power to inspire positive change. This conviction has guided her work across the education, healthcare, nonprofit, and civic tech sectors, where she’s led communications, marketing, public relations, and change management efforts designed to improve lives and strengthen communities.
Prior to joining Coforma in 2022, Tanya served as the Organizational Change Manager for one of Colorado’s largest school districts, playing a critical role in initiatives including a district-wide one-to-one student device implementation, pandemic response and recovery, and major system integrations and upgrades. Before that, she led website accessibility improvements across the district, spearheaded multi-channel campaigns for a statewide nonprofit advancing healthy eating and active living initiatives, and supported advocacy and fundraising efforts for a local nonprofit organization serving individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty.
These varied experiences have shaped Tanya’s leadership approach to be both strategic and human-centered. “Whether I’m guiding a cross-functional project or mentoring a colleague, I strive to foster environments where creativity, accountability, and compassion thrive,” she says. “I see leadership as a form of service—an opportunity to listen deeply, communicate clearly, and help others do their best work in pursuit of the greater good.”
We recently had the opportunity to chat with Tanya about her Coforma journey and the role of human-centered stories in civic tech.
Q: What drew you to Coforma originally, and what’s kept you inspired to grow your career here?
What drew me to Coforma originally—and what continues to inspire me—are the people and the mission-driven work we do. When I was preparing for my interviews, I was genuinely impressed by the depth and diversity of experience of the people who work at Coforma. I remember thinking how lucky I’d be to work with them. Then, reading case studies on the website, I saw real impact: technology solutions created to help low-income families access emergency grants during the COVID-19 pandemic and reunite families separated at the US-Mexico border.
Since joining Coforma, I’ve had the privilege of learning from colleagues who are not only experts in their fields, but who are also deeply committed to pursuing meaningful outcomes. Over the past three years, we’ve improved benefits access for Veterans, empowered patients facing surprise medical bills, helped build a free e-filing system for taxpayers, and so much more. I’m proud to be part of this team, working alongside people I admire and contributing to work that truly matters.
Q: When you think about the civic tech space as a whole, what’s one narrative or message you believe we need to amplify more loudly?
Right now is an interesting moment in civic tech. With the recent administration change, we’re hearing a lot of rhetoric about government inefficiency and the need for reform. While this conversation is important, it’s equally important to recognize that meaningful progress has been underway for years.
Across various agencies and levels of government—federal, state, local—dedicated public servants and civic technologists have been working, often behind the scenes, to make government more efficient, transparent, and responsive. At Coforma, we’ve had the privilege of partnering with many of them, supporting their efforts to deliver better outcomes for the people they serve.
One example of this is our work on the VA Benefits Tools Crew. Because of this effort, Veterans no longer have to wait for a paper decision notice to arrive in the mail. Instead, they can now access them directly through a secure online portal. That’s just one example, a small change with a significant impact.
And that’s one story among many. Coforma has contributed to dozens of projects like this, and we’re just one organization in the civic tech ecosystem. Together, we’re not starting from scratch. We’re building on a foundation of progress and moving forward with intention and purpose.
Q: Storytelling is central to your work. How do you think human-centered stories can drive real impact?
Human-centered stories drive impact because they offer connection, and that connection is where change begins. When we have the privilege of sharing someone’s story—their struggles, hopes, and triumphs—our words don’t just convey information, they create empathy. The emotional connection formed in that process makes people care, and caring leads to action.
As a communicator, content strategist, and former change manager, I’ve seen firsthand how stories rooted in real human experiences can educate, engage, and inspire action. In fact, I’ve built my career around this idea: that the most effective way to create change—whether in a nonprofit campaign, a healthcare initiative, or a community-driven tech solution—is to start with a human story.