At CPATA, we are a small team committed to the regulation of Canada’s patent and trademark agents. We work entirely virtually from our homes across Canada, working from coast-to-coast. Our approach to regulation and teamwork is modern, efficient and collaborative. We bring to the table diverse and complementary skills and work together enthusiastically to fulfil CPATA’s regulatory mandate. You can contact CPATA or e-mail us individually anytime – we look forward to hearing from you!
Juda Strawczynski
OntarioAs CPATA’s CEO & Registrar, Juda is responsible for all aspects of CPATA’s operations. Juda works closely with the Board of Directors to develop and execute the Board’s directions to establish and maintain a modern, risk-focused regulator. As Registrar, he addresses all regulatory matters involving registration, complaints, and discipline. As CEO, Juda also speaks on behalf of the College, and presents at educational events and conferences about CPATA’s work.
Juda is a lawyer by profession, with a focus on professional regulation. After starting his legal career in private practice, he became a policy lawyer at the Law Society of Upper Canada (now the Law Society of Ontario). In 2019 Juda moved to LawPRO, where, as the Director of PracticePRO, he was on the LawPRO Executive Team and led the claims prevention and risk management program. Juda is passionate about excellence in professional regulation, public protection, and public interest-based legal services regulation.
Fun fact: Juda enjoys playing hockey and is now an average player (if that) in Toronto’s lowest level recreational league.
Jen Slabodkin
OntarioJen Slabodkin is the Director of Registration & Education and Deputy Registrar, and has almost 15 years of experience in professional regulation. She provides strategic and operational leadership; is responsible for ensuring compliance with CPATA’s legislative framework in the areas of registration and education; and leads in the development of programs and strategies to ensure competence of licensees, which includes CPATA’s multi-year competence initiative, and administering the licensure process and qualifying examinations.
Jen worked with the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario for 5 years and in July 2015, joined the College of Denturists of Ontario as their Manager of Registration, Quality Assurance & Policy. In this role, Jen developed and implemented Standards of Practice, regulatory policies and by-laws, managed the development and administration of the Registration and Quality Assurance Programs, developed key performance metrics and program evaluation frameworks for regulatory programs, and managed key reporting initiatives including the College Performance Measurement Framework, fair registration practices, the Annual Report and health professions database submissions. She has presented hundreds of webinars, guest lectured at academic institutions and is a frequent speaker at professional association and international regulatory conferences.
Fun fact: Jen was CPATA’s first employee, a position she held while finishing her master's degree in public administration and management which earned her the Director’s Award, and still found time to knit, crochet, paint and do all her favourite other arts and crafts.
Victoria Rees
Nova ScotiaVictoria has been involved in the development of CPATA for almost 4 years, bringing her extensive experience in professional regulation and governance to the team. As General Counsel, she is responsible for and manages all aspects of the professional responsibility program, from ethics and agent conduct inquiries to complaints investigation and prosecution. She also provides in-house counsel, governance and policy development support to the CEO and staff team.
Victoria is a self-described professional regulation and governance ‘geek’ who also practices law through Pink Larkin in Halifax, NS, where she shares her experience with a wide range of regulators, not for profits and charities, as well as innovative legal service delivery businesses across North America. In her ‘spare’ time, Victoria loves to travel the globe and when home, devotes hours to tending her large gardens by the sea and with her growing family.
Fun fact: Victoria is a volunteer lawyer member of the Nova Scotia Capital Health Research Ethics Board, which reviews and approves cutting-edge medical research projects.
Sean Walker
Nova ScotiaSean is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) with over 15 years of experience overseeing the finances and related systems for several non-profit organizations and professional regulatory organizations. His team supports CPATA with all aspects of its finances and is responsible for all day-to-day and strategic financial matters of the organization including budgeting, financial reporting, legislative compliance and risk management. His focus is on helping others understand complex financial matters by breaking everything down into smaller bites.
Fun fact: Sean is a Partner with Baker Tilly Nova Scotia LLP and lives in Dartmouth, NS with his family and two doodle pups. He is an avid golfer and terrible fisherman.
Andrés Díaz
QuebecAndrés stewards all information systems used by CPATA, ensuring that they are modern and efficient for a growing regulator. He oversees access by registrants to the Licensee Portal as well as the integrity of licensee information, which is published on the Public Register. He is a primary source of contact for licensees about their licence renewal, fees and updating of information. He applies his understanding of complex IT infrastructure acquired in his previous professional experiences in higher education to a regulatory environment. His ability to ideate, lead and execute complex projects ensures that CPATA’s operations are always functioning optimally. Andrés also serves as CPATA’s Privacy Officer (priv@cpata-cabamc.ca), who oversees all Privacy and Access to Information inquiries and provides information about the College’s Privacy Policies.
Fun fact: Andrés, a weightlifter and cardio aficionado, writes poetry and fiction, published a book of short stories, and knows the 151 names of the first-generation Pokémon by heart.
Dana Dragomir
QuebecAs CPATA’s Director of Communications, Dana is responsible for overseeing all of CPATA’s communications activities, from strategy to implementation. She also works with stakeholders in the IP community to ensure effective collaboration towards shared goals.
Dana is a communications professional who is passionate about applying her expertise to affect positive change. She has several years of experience leading communications for public, private and non-profit institutions. She draws on her diverse skills in corporate communications, digital strategy and stakeholder relations to tackle new challenges with the CPATA team.
Fun fact: Dana loves outdoor adventures, recently completing a 100km solo hike in Quebec.
Anne-Thiphaine Camus
QuebecIn her role as the Administrator for Registration & Education, Thiphaine ensures everything runs smoothly, following the guidelines laid out in the CPATA Act. She works closely with the Deputy Registrar, helping out with the qualifying exams and getting paperwork ready for aspiring agents to register. Thiphaine uses her experience in the educational sector to bring innovative best practices to CPATA, always maintaining a focus on exceptional customer service and timeliness. Thiphaine also serves as one of CPATA’s Discipline Coordinators, helping orchestrate disciplinary hearings with the General Counsel – Professional Responsibility.
Fun fact: Thiphaine lived most of her 20’s in China and is proficient in Mandarin.
Vicci Sakkas
OntarioAs CPATA’s Administrative Coordinator, Vicci provides administrative support to the Board and to various Committees and departments within the organization. In addition, Vicci helps agents access and update their profiles via the Licensee Portal, supports annual licence renewal, updates firm affiliations and processes application payments for agents.
Vicci has a substantial background supporting regulatory organizations, having previously worked as the Operations and Examinations Administrator the College of Denturists. She is skilled at generating creative solutions to the administrative challenges of a new and growing organization, essential to building operational efficiency long-term. Vicci also serves as one of CPATA’s Discipline Coordinators, helping organize disciplinary hearings with the General Counsel – Professional Responsibility.
Fun fact: If Vicci were in a Where’s Waldo book, you would find her enjoying the sunshine on a beach.
Kathryne Ouellette
QuebecKathryne provides administrative support to CPATA on a part-time basis to ensure prompt processing of registration and education files and to support CPATA’s communications.
Fun fact: Kathryne is an avid reader and just finished a series of 7 books in under two months.