Connect With Us
To Learn More About Our Work
Reach out to Shield Managing Director Vass Bednar. We’re always looking to hear from people who are passionate about Canadian sovereignty and public policy!
For Media Inquiries
If you’re a journalist, email James McLeod, Director of Communications. Members of the Shield team are happy to provide expert commentary on the economy, defence, digital regulation and Canadian sovereignty.
Meet the Team
Vass Bednar
Recognized as one of Canada’s sharpest policy minds, she is known for cutting through corporate jargon and bureaucratic inertia to ask the questions others won’t. With a career spanning think tanks, government, academia, and media, Vass has built a reputation as a fearless and independent voice on the policies that shape our daily lives. In 2020, she co-founded the Master of Public Policy in Digital Society program at McMaster University, where she also taught courses on policy design.
Vass is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, a Fellow at the Public Policy Forum, and an advisor to both the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project and Social Capital Partners. She is the co-author of The Big Fix: How Companies Capture Markets and Harm Canadians and writes for The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business where she focuses on the policies, technologies, and corporate forces that shape our everyday lives and economic futures.
Kaylie Tiessen
Kaylie is a tenacious economist and policy innovator, known for translating complex economic challenges and ideas into practical solutions that strengthen Canadian competitiveness, innovation, and economic resilience. Her work explores how Canada can build more domestic capacity, capture greater value from its industries, and remain competitive in an increasingly uncertain global economy. She has developed sector strategies for advanced manufacturing and aerospace, written extensively on economic sovereignty, innovation, competition, and technology policy, and advised some of Canada’s largest organizations and public institutions.
A sought-after commentator and speaker, Kaylie has appeared at the Public Policy Forum’s Canada Growth Summit, on CBC Ideas, TVO’s The Agenda, and before the House of Commons Finance Committee. She holds a Master of Development Economics from Dalhousie University, is a Policy Fellow at Social Capital Partners, and serves on the board of Kindred Credit Union, where she chairs the Technology and Innovation Advisory Group.
James McLeod
James is a veteran communications strategist focused on innovation, economics and public policy. For more than a decade, James worked as a journalist covering a mix of politics, business and public policy. He has written for The Financial Post, MacLeans, The Line, and the St. John’s Telegram.
Before joining Shield, James was director of communications for the Council of Canadian Innovators, working on public policy advocacy for Canadian high-growth technology companies. He is the author of “Turmoil, As Usual” about Newfoundland and Labrador politics. In his free time he is an avid watercolour painter.
Matthew da Mota
Matt is an interdisciplinary thinker and researcher with a background that spans industries from construction to academia to policy. His work explores how emerging technologies and shifting geopolitical dynamics reshape security, governance, knowledge, and sovereignty — with a focus on the implications of AI and digital infrastructure.
Matt previously worked on international AI governance and security at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. His Ph.D. research examined the relationship between historical narrative, written evidence, and political power.
Matt is also a fellow in Technology and Security at Queen’s University’s Centre for International and Defence Policy, and he serves on multiple standardization technical committees.
Emily Osborne
She is an interdisciplinary thinker and public policy researcher who cares deeply about issues affecting Canadians. She is also a Fellow at the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project (CAMP) and a 2025 winner of Global Affairs Canada’s International Policy Ideas Challenge.
Formerly, she worked on AI governance at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI).
Emily holds a Master of Public Policy in Digital Society and a Bachelor of Arts and Science from McMaster University. Her commentary has been featured in The Globe and Mail, Tech Policy Press and the Financial Post.
David Corbett
David is a dedicated intellectual with experience that ranges from tech policy research at GoodBot to developing innovative product ideas at the Digital Society Lab. He holds a Master of Public Policy in Digital Society and an Honours B.A. majoring in economics with a minor in philosophy from McMaster University. Stemming from time spent in the construction industry, David takes a practical and ground-level approach when thinking about policy alternatives.
Rea Roshni
Rea is dedicated to maintaining a balance between powerful visual identity and strong communication. Her approach to design prioritizes the end-user experience and how they see and interact with material in a world of digital noise. In a cluttered online network, Rea understands the importance of information that stands out through beautiful visuals. She believes that a strong organizational identity leads to a stronger organizational presence. A graduate of the University of Waterloo, Rea launched her career in Kitchener’s fast-growing ed-tech sector. As a former Senior Designer at ApplyBoard, she focused on leading campaign identities from initial concept to launch. Today, Rea applies her expertise at Shield, where she helps strengthen the visual identity and accessibility of its communications. She also works simultaneously with the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), where she similarly supports their initiatives and programming as a Digital Designer.
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