KDA CONSULTING
Supporting individuals, teams, and organizations in re-imagining services to achieve meaningful, sustainable change through a systems-thinking and learning approach.
ABOUT ME
My name is Kyla Avis and I am the Principal of KDA Consulting. I work, live and play in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada which is located in on Treaty Six Territory - traditional territory of the Cree people and the homeland of the Metis Nation.
I started my career in healthcare as a Registered Nurse and practiced for a number of years in acute care in Saskatoon and Calgary. After obtaining a Master's in Community Health and Epidemiology I worked overseas in both South Africa and Mozambique contributing to health projects together with local community members. I carried the experience of working with these amazing individuals, teams and communities back with me to Saskatchewan where I integrated authentic partnering, relationship building, and collaboration into a new career path - health system improvement.
Since shifting into health system improvement I have worked in a variety of roles such as as the Program Director responsible for the rollout of Releasing Time to Care: The Productive Ward improvement program in over 30 wards and hospitals across the province, a Consultant on the Saskatchewan Emergency Department Waits and Patient Flow Initiative, a Strategic Advisor with the Health Quality Council, a Coach with Health Excellence Canada, an Educator with Great Plains College, as well as a facilitator with a variety of clients.
Today, I consider myself a Systems Change Practitioner. I look for opportunities to collaborate with individuals, teams, and organizations who feel frustrated with traditional approaches to health care improvement. I am seeking partners who want to go beyond surface-level fixes and move toward deeper, more systemic change. My style is relaxed, relationship-driven, and focused on the seen and unseen forces that hold a system in place. Together, we’ll explore new ways of thinking, challenge the status quo, and be creative with out change ideas. No cookie-cutter solutions — only customized strategies grounded in your unique context.
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
PARTICIPATORY DESIGN & MAPPING
WORKING WITH RESISTANCE
"FISH BOWL"
ANALYSIS
Engage your team and stakeholders in co-creating a shared understanding of your service system through collaborative mapping and design. This process fosters open dialogue, diverse perspectives, and collective ownership of solutions. By visually illustrating workflows, relationships, and underlying dynamics, participatory mapping helps uncover hidden patterns and systemic opportunities. Together, we’ll identify areas for meaningful change, build trust, and lay a strong foundation for transforming services in a way that reflects everyone’s voice.
Rooted in trust, empathy, and authentic connection, relational facilitation is about creating a safe space for open dialogue and meaningful engagement. As a Lewis Deep Democracy facilitator, I have the skills to work alongside teams and leaders to improve communication, and build the trust necessary for more effective and sustainable change. By facilitating conversations that honor diverse voices and navigate resistance, we can unlock shared insights, foster collaboration, and develop collective strategies that reduce resistance to change.
As the Chinese Proverb Says "If you want to know about water, don't ask a fish". Through immersive visits, I can work with you to observe your service in action while engaging with clients and staff to gain a deeper understanding of how your system truly functions. This hands-on approach allows me to identify underlying patterns, dynamics, and hidden barriers that often go unnoticed in other audits and evaluations. By closely analyzing these insights, we can work together to uncover root causes, brainstorm innovative solutions, and set the stage for meaningful, sustainable improvement grounded in your unique context.