My Background and Track Record

Professional background:

I'm a Senior Research Data Scientist (Group: RES-SE-03)  working with the Canadian Government since 2000.  First, I worked at the National Research Council of Canada, where I was developing computer vision solutions for the Canadarm and Intelligent Vision Interfaces for users with disabilities. Since 2028, I've working at the Canada Border Services Agency (first in the Science and Engineering Directorate and then in Chief Data Office) as a Principal Investigator, acting Manager for 5 years  (bilingual position), responsible for evaluating Biometric and Artificial Intelligence systems for security and border control applications. 

I hold M.Sc., with Distinction, in Applied Math from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, and two Ph.D. degrees - one in Mathematics (in the field of Pattern Recognition and Neural Networks) from the Institute of Cybernetics of Ukrainian Academy of Sciences in Kyiv  and another in Computing Science (in the field of Computer Vision and Artificial Intelligence) from the University of Alberta.

I was Adjunct Professor at University of Ottawa, Université du Québec, and University of Dalhousie,  supervised over 30 subordinates (colleagues and students), led many national and international conferences and projects (with total attracted funding of over a million and over a hundred of engaged subject matter experts).  I am of the most published and cited Government of Canada researchers in my field. My work was featured in the success stories of all institutions I worked with. 

For my contributions to science and community I been awards multiple Academic and Government awards , including "Cultural Diversity Leadership Award" from the University of Alberta, the "Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award" from the National Research Council of Canada,  "Young Investigator Award" from the Canadian Image Processing and Pattern Recognition Society, and named the "Leader of Tomorrow" by the Partnership Group for Science and Engineering of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Canada. 

Involvement in community and Union matters:

From years before I was directly active with our Union, I supported fellow colleagues at the workplace. I was a key contributor to recommendations for improving the culture at the CBSA, and supported the development of the CBSA Scientific Integrity Policy, creating a more open and safe environment there.

In more recent times, I started a data science community on GC-Collab aimed at assisting colleagues to learn new data visualization tools while leveraging data to improve the public service. I helped develop the PSES results and Canadian Vital Statistics tracking Web Apps, which provide insights into the challenges faced by PIPSC members. Fear of speaking up was one of the major concerns present among colleagues, especially in areas responsible for regulating products and developing policies.

Seeing firsthand “fitting evidence to desired political narratives” and working closely with colleagues from other departments seeking further support from our union has strengthened my resolve to support all members.

I am not here seeking the luxuries of office. In fact, when I expressed interest in attending my first NCR Council in spring 2024, I proposed to decline the hotel room that is provided to a delegate, as I live within a reasonable commute of that meeting venue.

Working with many colleagues from other departments allowed me to connect with many of them and strengthened my resolve to support them, leading to my decision to be more involved in the Union matters.

Following my contributions to improving the culture in my department and my efforts to help colleagues who faced workplace-related challenges in their departments, I was encouraged to get involved in PIPSC matters, and in April 2024 I won an election to one of the Executive positions for the National Capital Region (NCR) of the Union.

This was a big honour for me, and I have already made a number of submissions to the NCR executive board meeting aimed at addressing the concerns I've heard from you.

What is even more significant is that being a part of the NCR Executive Board has further helped me to appreciate the challenges our professionals face. I realized that these challenges are coming not only from how the Government operates but also how the Union operates. This includes the lack of transparency, efficiency, feedback mechanisms for member input, internal culture - to name a few, which, I  believe, I can improve if I am elected as the Vice-President (Part-time) position within the Union. 

I have just started. Much more is planned and can be achieved. I am going to this position to become your Voice - to help you help me to do what is the best for all of you, in the challenging times we now live in.