Alumni Profiles
VASILIKI BEDNAR ’08
ARTS & SCIENCE
Vass Bednar is 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. Prior to this role, she was a Policy Associate at Airbnb where she worked with legislative bodies and government agencies on fair rules for homesharing. She previously chaired the Expert Panel on Youth Employment for the federal government. Vass earned a Master’s degree in public policy from the University of Toronto’s School of Public Policy and Governance and served as Associate Director of the Rotman School of Management’s Martin Prosperity Institute, where she worked with urbanist Richard Florida on a range of economic geography projects. A proud millennial wonk, Bednar has also worked as a Senior Advisor at Queen’s Park and has successfully completed the Action Canada and Civic Action DiverseCity fellowships. She was previously the co-host of Detangled, a pop-culture and public-policy radio show.
Why did you choose to come to McMaster?
To be frank, one fact that influenced my decision is that my parents discouraged me (I may have felt I was “not allowed”?) to blindly follow my twin brother and go to Queen’s university. That urge was an easy organizing principle to follow: I will go where my brother goes and we can be together forever(!). The reality was that at 17 or 18 years old — whenever it was that I had to decide who I wanted to be or what I wanted to do — I just didn’t feel capable of selecting a particular path. I craved the intellectual freedom to “have it all,” and so I was lucky to be admitted to McMaster’s Arts & Science program. When we spent a year studying physics, we also contextualized our scholarship with history and philosophy (i.e. why were we looking to the stars? To get closer to God. Ironic!) (side note: the “twin paradox” stuff in physics never made sense to me).
So I came because I wanted to explore and integrate during my undergraduate work. I wanted to learn, but I also wanted to learn how to think and ask the right questions. I wanted to be a triple threat, and not just during intramural basketball. McMaster’s inquiry-based learning pedagogy was a good match for me.
*My father also teaches at McMaster and at the time I was eligible for a serious tuition discount. In all, it was a great deal.
What are some of the highlights of your career?
One is nominating myself to give a TEDxToronto talk. I had just read an article about how the TEDs were becoming a total “sausage fest” that recounted how often women decline an invitation to speak and refer someone else, often male. I was toying with the idea of asking my boss at the time to nominate me, and looked into the nomination process. There was a button that said “click here to nominate yourself,” and I thought to myself, “wow what kind of person does that?” and then I immediately realized that: I do. I had nothing to lose and could only gain. It was a great opportunity, a huge thrill, and helped to create the important illusion that I had things to say about public policy.
A second is chairing a federal panel. It was a great honour and act of public service. It was also very difficult. The highlight was working through each step of the way, learning from others, challenging myself, and being able to “speak truth to power” and reflect the great ideas we heard from people back to government. Sometimes people ask me what it was like to chair the Panel. Answer: I never cried during the process, but I DID require two juice cleanses afterwards.
A third is co-hosting a live radio show. That’s another situation that I had no business jumping into, but for two-and-a-half years I co-produced an hour of live radio/week here in Toronto. I got to meet fascinating people, keep my finger on a particular pulse and quickly build baseline knowledge on a range of issues. It was an incredible forcing function to think both out-loud and on my feet often.
*I guess I am just constantly getting on a boat and throwing myself off of it, trying to see if I can swim.
What have been your greatest challenges?
Probably the hidden biases of others, and being underestimated [when I was younger.] I still bristle from inquiries seeking to determine whether I am a student (no offence to actual students, but when you are a professional woman this is a huge diss). I’ve already mentioned my male twin, but when you grow up with a boy (now a man) there’s a particular awareness of gender expectations. At 33 years old, I am still often referred to as “emerging.” Know what? I’ve emerged! Enough already!
What would like to be remembered for?
I would like to be remembered for: being inclusive, getting things done, and “effortlessly” hosting incredible dinner parties. I hope to be a role model for people that want a non-traditional career in public policy.
What advice would you give to current students?
I always tell current students the same stuff I wish my fairy godmother had hammered home for me: have fun! Don’t fret too much. Keep exploring the world. Read, volunteer, play. You will and can carve out the right career path for you. There’s no perfect path or “right” decision. Anyone that tells you otherwise is a) lying b) lacking courage c) your mom. This time in your life is characterized by uncertainty and you need to be able to embrace that adventure and make the most of it. Now stop reading this and go daydream.
