CSPS Digital Academy Events/Policy Considerations Shaping Digital Transformation - Speaker Biographies

Date and time: April 12, 2021 | 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm (ET)

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Speaker Biographies

	Jesse Hirsh Futurist, Researcher, Internet Strategist and Canada School of Public Service Digital Fellow Jesse Hirsh is based out of Lanark County, Ontario, and has over 25 years experience as a technology researcher, ethicist, public speaker, broadcaster, and futurist. He writes a daily newsletter called Metaviews and works with organizations to help them use technology strategically and responsibly. He has an MA from Ryerson University in algorithmic media, and his current work focuses on the governance and ethics of artificial intelligence, data protection, and privacy. Jesse was a digital fellow with the Canada School of Public Service’s Digital Academy and a member of the Advisory Council for the Certificate in Machine Learning at York University’s School of Continuing Studies. An avid (social) entrepreneur, Jesse operates the Academy of the Impossible, a peer to peer lifelong learning network, and Ottawa Valley Smart Farms, an agricultural technology company.
	Hillary Hartley Chief Digital and Data Officer, Deputy Minister, Cabinet Office Hillary Hartley is Ontario’s Chief Digital and Data Officer and Deputy Minister, Cabinet Office. As the head of the Ontario Digital Service, Hillary is responsible for leading the government’s digital transformation efforts and the administration of the Simpler, Faster, Better Services Act to deliver simpler, more easily accessible services for the people, communities and businesses of Ontario. Hillary joined the provincial government in April 2017 as Deputy Minister Responsible for Digital Government. She also served as Deputy Minister of Consumer Services, where she led the government’s retail services operation (ServiceOntario), and programs focused on consumer protection. Previously, Hillary was the Deputy Executive Director of 18F, a digital services agency in the U.S. federal government, and was a Presidential Innovation Fellow in 2013. She has worked with governments, across jurisdictions, for more than twenty years, serving as a director at NIC Inc., an organization that helps governments deliver programs and services online.
	Abhishek Gupta AI Ethics Researcher, McGill University Abhishek Gupta is the Founder and Principal Researcher at the Montreal AI Ethics Institute and a Machine Learning Engineer at Microsoft where he serves on the CSE Responsible AI Board. He is representing Canada for the International Visitor Leaders Program (IVLP) administered by the US State Department as an expert on the future of work. He is the author of the forthcoming book titled Actionable AI Ethics that will be a practical and hands-on guide for operationalizing AI ethics. He additionally serves on the AI Advisory Board for Dawson College and is an Associate Member of the LF AI Foundation at the Linux Foundation. Abhishek is also a Global Shaper with the World Economic Forum and a member of the Banff Forum. He is a Faculty Associate at the Frankfurt Big Data Lab at the Goethe University, an AI Ethics Mentor for Acorn Aspirations and an AI Ethics Expert at Ethical Intelligence Co. He is the Responsible AI Lead for the Data Advisory Council at the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. He is a guest lecturer at the McGill University School of Continuing Studies for the Data Science in Business Decisions course on the special topic of AI Ethics. He is a Subject Matter Expert in AI Ethics for the Certified Ethical Emerging Technologies group at CertNexus. He is also a course creator and instructor for the Coursera Certified Ethical Emerging Technologist courses. He's the Founding Editorial Board Member at the Springer Nature AI and Ethics Journal. His research focuses on applied technical and policy methods to address ethical, safety and inclusivity concerns in using AI in different domains. He has built the largest community driven, public consultation group on AI Ethics in the world that has made significant contributions to the Montreal Declaration for Responsible AI, the G7 AI Summit, AHRC and WEF Responsible Innovation framework, PIPEDA amendments for AI impacts, Scotland’s national AI strategy and the European Commission Trustworthy AI Guidelines. His work on public competence building in AI Ethics has been recognized by governments from North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. More information on his work can be found at https://atg-abhishek.github.io
	Vernon von Finckenstein Executive Director, Core Services Transformation Advisor, Office of the Chief Information Officer of Canada, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Government of Canada Vernon has over twenty years’ experience in the Information Technology Industry within Government Central Agencies and core and large departments (National Defence, Public Works and Employment and Social Development Canada) where he has performed a variety of large multi-year transformations and implementations of large digital platforms. Due to his deep background in transformation and data, Vernon was recruited to the policy center of Federal Government start a project to develop “a whole of government” interoperability platform which further lead Vernon, as the Chief Architect of the Government of Canada, to explore disruptive technologies such as AI, Blockchain and Open technologies culminating in the GC Digital Standards. Recently, Vernon lead the NextGen initiative where he began the adventure of developing an Agile Procurement to approach to collaboratively work with Industry to develop a Digital Solution to replace the failing Phoenix system. Currently, Vernon acts as the Core Services Advisor helping the largest transformation initiatives develop new practices that leverage or challenge existing policy through a dedicated committee of Deputy Ministers.
	Neil Bouwer Vice-President, Canada School of Public Service Neil Bouwer has also served as an Assistant Deputy Minister at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Natural Resources Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and the Privy Council Office of Canada; and in executive positions at the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, Human Resources and Social Development Canada and the Business Development Bank of Canada. He has also worked at the Department of Finance and Western Economic Diversification Canada, and has Economics degrees from McGill University and St. Thomas University. Neil actively supports the Government of Canada policy and data communities, the Advanced Policy Analyst Program and the Free Agent HR Program.