Speakers

Trevor Banks

Trevor Banks

Organizational Development Manager, Digital Talent Management

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

With significant recognition and awards for developing specific expertise in the realities and practicalities of leading IM initiatives, Trevor is now a recognized expert in the field of Information and Data Governance. As of 2022, Trevor is now leading the development of Government of Canada Information and Data HR products at the enterprise level, including work streams, interdepartmental standardized job descriptions, competencies and associated learning/development requirements associated with the data continuum (IT, IM, data, data science), and providing advice and guidance to Digital Change Sector management on HR matters related to the IM community and the joint data/information work underway.

Trevor is long standing member of Information and Data community who has contributed a significant amount of professional and personal time, energy, and resources contributed to the fostering of community spirit, professional development, and strategic direction. His exploits have been recognized by the ARMA NCR chapter via the awarding of the prestigious Ted Ferrier Award and by ARMA Canada with member of the year status.

Mary Elias

Acting Manager, Health Data Science

Ontario Ministry of Health

Mary Elias is currently an Acting Manager within the Health Data Science Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Health. Her area of expertise include health services research, health analytics, performance measurement, program evaluation and data science. At both the national and jurisdictional levels, she has been responsible for the development and production of several health system performance indicators, automation processes, analytical reports and tools. A few examples of the public-facing work she has been involved in includes the Canadian Institute for Health Information’s Indicator Library, the Ontario Ministry of Health’s OPDP At A Glance Report, as well asOntario’s public reporting on COVID-19 outcomes by vaccination statuses. Mary holds a Bachelor of Science with Honors from York University and a Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Toronto.

Sherin Emmanuel

Sherin Emmanuel

Enterprise Information Architect & Strategist

Canada Revenue Agency

Sherin Emmanuel works at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) as the Enterprise Information Architect for the Agency and has extensive experience in both the public and private sectors.

Sherin is passionate about managing data and Information in a manner that is future proof and scalable.  She is currently leading the implementation of an Enterprise Metadata Architecture at CRA to help break down the silos, and facilitate enterprise business intelligence that can enable decisions backed by data, through comprehensive integration of all data and information sources. Sherin is a strong advocate for using active metadata with advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Fabrics and Dynamic Masking to automate processes and provide quality data and information, to much broader audiences, in real time, without compromising privacy or security. Prior to joining the CRA Sherin worked at the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) and Nortel Networks. Sherin is a Project Management Professional (PMP) with a Masters in Information Studies (MIS) from the University of Ottawa.

Sandra Ferguson

Sandra Ferguson

Director of Policy

Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

Sandra Ferguson has been Director of Policy for the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario since February 2022. Prior to joining the IPC, she worked for more than 20 years leading and delivering access, privacy and information management programs in the Ontario public sector, including for Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, Ontario Cannabis Store, Liquor Control Board of Ontario, Treasury Board Secretariat, Ministry of Government Services, Ministry of Consumer Services, Ministry of the Environment and the Archives of Ontario. Sandra holds a Master of Information Studies from the University of Toronto.

Katie Gibson

Vice President, Strategy Partnerships

CIO Strategy Council

Katie is VP, Strategy and Partnerships at the CIO Strategy Council, where she leads cross-sector partnerships to foster a trusted, secure, sustainable digital ecosystem in Canada.

Danielle Goldfarb

Vice President, Global Affairs, Economics and Public Policy

Real-Time Interactive Worldwide Intelligence

Danielle is VP, Global Affairs, Economics and Public Policy at RIWI (Real-Time Interactive Worldwide Intelligence), and a Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. Danielle’s Tedx talk is about who is left out of datasets and the importance of inclusive data for prediction and policy making. She is developing a graduate course at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs on the use of new data tools for global affairs and public policy. Danielle’s research expertise is in real-time economic sentiment and behaviour, global trade, emerging technologies, and the global digital economy. Danielle’s current work at RIWI uses a unique technology to gather citizen intelligence and economic data – including from those that don’t typically share their opinion – during major global events including the COVID-19 pandemic and during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Danielle has also held senior roles at several economic policy think tanks. She directed the Conference Board of Canada’s research centre on global commerce, and led trade and trade policy research at the C.D. Howe Institute. Danielle has an M.Phil. in International Relations from Cambridge University and a B.Comm. in Honours Economics from McGill University.

Steve Gooch

Steve Gooch

Data Governance Strategy Lead

Department of National Defence

Steve Gooch is the Data Governance Strategy Lead at National Defence under Assistant Deputy Minister (Data, Innovation and Analytics) (ADM[DIA]).

He has entered his thirteenth year in the Public Service – all with DND – and has enjoyed the privilege of serving in a number of different roles including personnel benefits administration, client service intake, oversight, procedural fairness and military personnel research. After a stint in Data Policy, he joined the Data Governance Office as Strategy Lead, where he is responsible for integrating the Department’s Data Governance Framework and its Stewardship Model into National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces. Currently, he is concerned with standing up Enterprise Data Domains that will form the basis of assigning Data Stewardship roles.

Marie-France Guindon

Manager, Data Governance

Department of National Defence

MF Guindon is the Data Governance Manager at National Defence under Assistant Deputy Minister (Data, Innovation and Analytics) (ADM[DIA]). 12 years ago, she started  her career in the Public Service – mostly with Natural Resources Canada before joining DND, as the Manager of IMT Governance, Business Relations and held other interesting roles in support of the Chief Information Officer mandate.

Andy Handouyahia

Andy Handouyahia

Acting Director, Data, Methodology and Evaluation

Employment and Social Development Canada

Andy Handouyahia is currently Acting Director of the strategic planning and methodology within the evaluation Directorate at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC, GoC).

More than 25 years of experience in the area of data, methodology and evaluation across GoC (Statistics Canada, Treasury Board Secretariat, and recently Employment & Social Development Canada). Andy spent the last 12 years at ESDC as a manager of data and methodology supporting evidence-based evaluations to support decision-making.  Andy is now acting director and he is also leading the strategic planning of the directorate.

For example, Andy led a multidisciplinary team in the implementation of a modern data environment to enable effective evaluations, policy analysis and research in the area of labor market programs. A very successful and innovative project in terms of effective use of administrative data to support policy development. He presented different innovative work in many international conferences and workshops including (Canadian Economic Association, Metropolis, SCSE, ACFAS, UN/UNICEF workshop in Panama, OECD workshop in Brussels).

Andy is also teaching part time at the University of Québec en Outaouais (Québec) for the last 25 years in the area of analysis, data management and data science.

Emily Kozinski

Emily Kozinski

Advisor, Data Governance, Data Governance Office

Canada Post

Emily Kozinski is an Advisor in Data Governance in the Data Governance Office at Canada Post, she joined the team in 2017. In her role, she works with all areas of business at Canada Post to ensure that data management practices are consistently applied. Emily’s current focus is on establishing a data literacy program which includes building data literacy training materials and building awareness of the program throughout the organization. Prior to joining Canada Post, Emily worked as an Information Management Analyst for the International Development Research Centre. There she assessed, designed, and implemented solutions for information, document, and records management. Emily earned her Masters of Library and Information Science from McGill University in 2012 and obtained her Bachelors in Public History from Concordia University in 2010.

Patrick Lagioia

Patrick Lagioia

Director, Data Strategy, Policy and Governance

Public Health Agency of Canada

Patrick is a corporate strategist, digital and data specialist, and seasoned policy executive with a track record of delivering public sector reform through multi-sector collaboration. As Director of Data Strategy, Policy and Governance at the Public Health Agency of Canada, Patrick is responsible for execution of the data strategy, advancing solutions to ensure the responsible and strategic use of data to protect the health of Canadians. Patrick is a graduate of the University of Manitoba where he earned a Masters of Public Administration.

Francis Loughheed

Francis Loughheed

Senior Policy Advisor Performance Measurement and Data Analytics

Natural Resources Canada; Canadian Forest Service

Mr. Loughheed is a Senior Policy Advisor Performance Measurement and Data Analytics with the Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada.  Mr. Loughheed specializes in developing unique approaches to leveraging data in supporting decision making.  His recent work has been on designing, developing and implementing an organization wide data culture toolset to promote data culture, data skills and data maturity at the corporate level.  He is currently working with the Office of the Chief Data Officer at Natural Resources leading a corporate Data Skills Challenge to promote and enhance data skills across the department.  He is a curriculum contributor to the Canadian School of Public Service and the tools and strategies being led by NRCan are being adopted by other Government of Canada departments.

Somaieh Nikpoor

Somaieh Nikpoor

Lead, AI Strategy and Data Science

Transport Canada

Somaieh Nikpoor is a researcher, advocate, and mentor working at the intersection of AI, data, and policy. She is a lead for AI Strategy and Data Science at Transport Canada. She designs AI and analytics road maps based on organizational readiness and supports various initiatives on data science and AI. She is passionate about the responsible development and application of AI technologies and is currently collaborating with non-profit organizations to curate and generate original content that will help others navigate through various AI ethics and AI policy topics and concepts. Somaieh holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Ottawa

Howard Ramos

Howard Ramos

Chairperson

Canadian Statistics Advisory Council

Howard Ramos is Chair of the Canadian Statistics Advisory Council. He is also Chair of the Department of Sociology at Western University and is a political sociologist who investigates issues of social justice and equity. He has published on social movements, human rights, Indigenous mobilization, environmental advocacy, ethnicity, race, and immigration. He also investigates issues of social change and perceptions of change. He has published five books and over 75 academic articles and book chapters and is dedicated to knowledge mobilization and translation.

Tristan Rikhi

Tristan Rikhi

Senior Data Analyst

Employment and Social Development Canada

Tristan Rikhi is a Senior Data Analyst and holds a Master’s degree in Economics from McMaster University. Tristan has been working with the methodology team for 5 years where he applied econometric and statistical analysis, including machine learning, to the evaluation of multiple labor programs such as the Youth Employment Strategy, Labor Market Development Agreements, and Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities.

Nader Shureih

Nader Shureih

Vice President, Business Development, Public Sector

Environics Analytics

For almost 20 years, Nader Shureih has worked across the public and private sectors in marketing and market research. He now serves as Vice President of Business Development in EA’s public sector practice. In his current role, Nader works with clients across government to address key business questions and helps them leverage data to get at insights that can be used towards real, effective outcomes. Prior to joining EA, he taught market research at the post-secondary level and managed the market research function at Service Canada.

Sid Tobias

Mayor of View Royal, Director, Digital Services, Environmental Assessment Office

Government of British Columbia

Sid Tobias is the Director of Digital Services with the Environmental Assessment Office of the Government of British Columbia.  He has been a public servant with the Government of British Columbia since 2015.  He works on building agile teams that build innovative solutions to enhance public access to information and engagement for the public.  He also builds solutions to enhance data-driven decision-making in government.  He teaches Digital Leadership and Complexity Theory with the public service and is frequently called upon to deliver keynote speeches at national and international conferences.  Sid was also elected Mayor of View Royal in 2022 and assumed his duties on 1 November.

Sid served in the Royal Canadian Navy for over 24 years retiring as a Chief Petty Officer First Class Naval Combat Information Operator.  He was trained by US Joint Forces as a Joint Interface Control Officer specialist.  He has been awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM), and the Inaugural South West Asia Medal (SWASM) by the Governor General.  He has also been awarded the Canadian Forces Decoration with bar, the Operational Service Medal Expedition (OSM-EXP) and the Command Commendation by the Commander Joint Task Force South West Asia.  He was also awarded the Assistant Deputy Minister Information Management’s Nova Award for Leadership, as well as, various leadership awards as Chairman of the NATO Data Link Working Group and the Air and Space Interoperability Council (ASIC).

He is a graduate of Royal Roads University with a Master of Learning and Technology (MALT) and a Graduate Diploma in Knowledge Management.  Sid continues to work and research applications of complexity theory, decision-making and continuous improvement.

Emily Tregunno

Emily Tregunno

Advisor, Data Governance, Data Governance Office

Canada Post

Emily Tregunno is an Advisor of Data Governance with Canada Post, and has been with the corporation since 2004. In this time, she has contributed to the corporation’s major transformational projects by documenting processes, writing Corporate wide policies and practices, establishing an operational signage program, and researching and implementing best practices in Data Governance. In her current role, Emily is focused on developing and implementing a data literacy program for the corporation in support of corporate data governance. Emily holds a Certified Data Professional Designation from the ICCP, a Green Belt, and has earned a Master’s Degree in Communication from Carleton University (2003), as well as an Honours Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Communication (Carleton University 2001).

Jenny Ye

Director, Data Engineering

Canada Energy Regulator

Jenny currently works for the Canada Energy Regulator as the Director, Data Engineering. She is an experienced leader with over 20 years of extensive experience in data, software development, and IT. She is passionate about solving problems with technology and data solutions. Jenny fully understands the many challenges organizations face with data and continuously looks for opportunities to improve data quality through innovation.