***Please note that Vass Bednar is unable to deliver the lecture in person. Her lecture will be broadcast remotely in real time in 202 Robert Sutherland Hall. 

Digital platforms and tools have redefined our lives. This lecture will discuss how we might optimize the tension and opportunities between our governance institutions and emergent, disruptive technologies while redefining the role of the state and clarifying a reasonable role for business. 

Vass Bednar is an interdisciplinary wonk focussed on ensuring that we have the regulatory structures we need to embrace the future of work and new ways of living. She works as the Head of Public Policy at Delphia, an artificial intelligence company that is working to empower citizens to reclaim the value of their personal data. As a student of the policymaking process, she has held leadership roles at Airbnb, Queen’s Park, the City of Toronto, and University of Toronto. Vass is recognized as a creative, data-driven thinker and was the Chair of the federal government’sExpert Panel on Youth Employment. A graduate of McMaster University’s Arts & Science Program, Vass holds her Master of Public Policy (MPP) from the University of Toronto and successfully completed Action Canada and Civic Action DiverseCity Fellowships. Passionate about public dialogue, she was also the co-host of “Detangled,” a weekly pop-culture and public policy radio show and podcast that ran from 2016 to 2018.