Danielle Krakora loves change and embraces new technology as a mechanism for continuous improvement. She believes in putting the end user at the center of every project and that there is no such thing as a perfect design. Instead, she believes that projects are dynamic and needs are ever changing and require iteration to get to the next version of success.

Throughout her fellowship year, Krakora focused on creating a Makeathon Model for Building Community Partnerships to increase opportunities for external and academic institutions to collaborate with VA employees and provide subject matter expertise in support of specialized Veteran solutions. The Makeathon model sought to expand VHA's collaborations with industry and academia across the country to promote a user centered design approach in solving Veteran challenges through design competitions and socializing solutions. Through her project, Krakora refined internal VA processes and develop a replicable and transferable framework for future innovation events.