AVP Kennedy Krieger Institute | How a Healthcare Nonprofit Is Getting AI Right

What does it take to lead a 30-person digital transformation team inside one of America's most respected pediatric health nonprofits — and do it almost entirely remotely? Tara Eckert, Assistant Vice President of Digital Transformation at Kennedy Krieger Institute, joins Tech Teams Today for a candid conversation on building high-performing teams, navigating AI responsibly, and what engineering leadership actually requires in 2026. From building a PMO from scratch to her viral take on remote accountability, Tara brings a grounded, no-fluff perspective that challenges how a lot of leaders think about their teams.What you'll learn:- Why remote work performance problems are a leadership problem, not an employee problem- How Tara built a PMO that turned a scrappy data team into a full engineering org of 30 — mostly remote, many out of state- The "peer supporter" model: why she pairs battle-scarred senior devs with AI-native junior devs on every project- What the AI hiring arms race actually looks like in practice — and how she uses AI to screen AI-generated resumes- Why critical thinking, not prompt engineering, is the skill that will matter most as AI matures- How AI gave her back enough time to get her hands back into technical work — and why she thinks that makes her a better leader- The biggest mistake engineering leaders are making with AI rollouts (she admits she's making it too)- Her take on the AI trust gap: "I don't care if it was AI or Bugs Bunny that generated the code. If it passes the tests, I trust it."About the guest:Tara Eckert is the Assistant Vice President of Digital Transformation at Kennedy Krieger Institute, a world-renowned nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of children and young adults with developmental disabilities. Over her seven years at Kennedy Krieger, she's grown her team from 4 to 30 people, built the organization's first PMO, and is now leading the charge on responsible AI adoption — including chairing the organization's Data Use and Security Committee.About Tech Teams Today:Tech Teams Today is a podcast by Revelo where we sit down with engineering leaders to talk about how they build, scale, and lead high-performing tech teams. Real conversations. No fluff.Subscribe and never miss an episode:- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@revelohq- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ymzd0MC1YjnFy7hKzzR9x?si=51f3989aa4bc4308- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-teams-today/id1641545336Connect with us:- Revelo: https://www.revelo.com- Lucas Mendes (CEO): https://www.linkedin.com/in/lmzmendes/- Revelo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/revelohq/#EngineeringLeadership #DigitalTransformation #RemoteWork #AILeadership #TechTeamsToday #HealthcareIT #NonprofitTech #StaffAugmentation #CriticalThinking #AIAdoption #Copilot #TechLeadership #Revelo #KennedyKrieger