Board of Directors

Raheem Dilgir is a Level 2 Road Safety Professional, with 27 years of experience in Canada and internationally. Over the past 10 years, Raheem has operated TranSafe Consulting Ltd., through which he assists road agencies across Canada in the development, delivery and evaluation of road safety plans and projects. Raheem is currently the co-Chair of the TAC Vision Zero and Safe System Subcommittee, and President of the Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals. Raheem regularly offers workshops on modern approaches to road safety, presents to municipal councils and international conferences, and is called upon as an expert witness.

Matthew Mulkern is the past chair of the CARSP Young Professionals Committee (YPC) and former president of the Canadian Road Safety Youth Committee (CRSYC). He has four years’ experience in transportation engineering and is proficient in the collection and analysis of large/complex data and technical writing.

He completed his Masters of Science degree in Civil Engineering specializing in transportation at the University of New Brunswick.

Originally from Houston Texas, Matthew received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering along with a Canadian Studies Minor at the University of Maine in Orono, Maine. Additionally, Matthew received an Honours Bachelor of Arts in French as a Second Language at Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, Québec where he was a Killam Scholar with the Killam Fellowships Program.

Matthew is a Professional Engineer with Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta, registered as an Ingénieur with the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec, and is also a member the Réseau des ingénieurs du Québec. Matthew is excited to work with fellow members that have a passion for transportation and roadway safety.

Doug has spent his entire professional career doing research in the area of alcohol and drug-impaired driving. His educational background includes an M.A.Sc. in Addiction Studies and a Ph.D. in Psychology specializing in behavioural pharmacology. He currently serves as a senior research associate with the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction and works as an independent researcher.

Dr. Beirness has published many papers and given numerous presentations on his work at national and international conferences and workshops. In addition, he has presented to both Parliamentary and Senate Committees on alcohol and drug-impaired driving issues.

He has served on numerous working groups and committees, including a term as the Chair of the Transportation Research Board Standing Committee on Alcohol, Drugs and Transportation and is currently a member of the Canadian Society of Forensic Science Drugs and Driving Committee.

He has been recognized by the International Association of Chiefs of Police Drug Recognition Expert Section as a DRE Ambassador, and is the recipient of the Haddon Award from the International Council on Alcohol Drugs and Traffic Safety. He was recently presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals.

Paul Boase graduated from York University in Toronto with a BA in Sociology/Psychology in 1979. In 1982, he graduated from University of Toronto with a Masters Degree in Psychology.

In 1987, he joined the Ministry of Transportation and Communications Ontario as Assistant Research Officer, and in 1990, was promoted to Senior Research Analyst. In this capacity he worked on the annual collision statistics as well as a number of safety related projects such as graduated licensing, administrative licence suspension and photo radar. In 1999, Paul joined Transport Canada as Chief, Road Users where he is responsible for research related to road user behaviour.

Current Affiliations include: Board of Director of the Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals (CARSP). Member of the Road Safety Research and Policy Committee of the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA).

Since 1976, Pierro Hirsch has studied the effects of driver training on driver behavior and crash risk from the multiple perspectives of: driver trainer for novice and professional drivers; teacher-trainer; driving school owner; training program developer; corporate consultant, and; road safety researcher. Pierro completed his undergraduate degree at the University of California and his PhD at the University of Montreal. His doctoral research focused on the factors associated with increased crash risk among 1,807 adolescent, novice drivers during their first year of unsupervised driving. He is the author of many scientific publications related to driver training and its impact on road safety.

In 2006, Pierro became Research Director at Virage Simulation, a Montreal-based designer and manufacturer of car and truck simulators and developer of customized training programs. There he applies his experience, knowledge, and passion for crash injury prevention towards the development of innovative applications of driving-simulator technology for the training and evaluation of drivers of all ages and experience levels, from novices to professional and emergency vehicle drivers to the population of aging drivers.

Brian is currently a research consultant in Ottawa. He has completed projects for Transport Canada, Health Canada, the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators and the Center for Disease Control, among others.

Brian retired from the Road Safety Directorate of Transport Canada in November 2008 where he had been the Director, Road Safety Programs responsible for collision data collection and analysis, including collision investigations, road user and road infrastructure research, the development of road safety related strategy and programs, and communications with the public.

He has worked over the past 42 years on road safety research, vehicle safety regulation, and policy and program evaluation, with particular emphasis on impaired driving, seat belt use, distracted driving, risky driving, and young drivers.

He is a founding member and past president of the Board of CARSP. He has been a member of several Transportation Research Board Committees including those on impaired driving and occupant protection.

Valerie Smith has worked as a Director of Programs at Parachute Canada since 2014. Valerie oversees Parachutes programs, campaigns and multiple networks focused on road safety. Valerie is a strong Vision Zero advocate and presents on Vision Zero in Canada on a regular basis. Prior to working at Parachute, Valerie held a number of management positions focused on international development, youth and health promotion. Valerie has a MA in international and comparative education from University of Toronto.

Dr. Christine Wickens is a Project Scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, and she holds an appointment as Assistant Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Wickens has been involved with CARSP since 2001, when she attended and presented at her first CMRSC conference as a York University graduate student. Throughout her graduate program, Dr. Wickens conducted research on driver anger and aggression, roadway stress, and aberrant driver behaviour. In 2009, she received the top student paper prize for her work linking attributional theory to driver anger and aggression.

After completing her PhD in social and personality psychology, she received post-doctoral fellowships from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the CAMH. These fellowships allowed Dr. Wickens to expand her research interests to include alcohol- and drug-impaired driving and the impact of mental health disorders on driver behaviour and roadway safety. In 2015, Dr. Wickens and her colleagues at CAMH received the Dr. Charles Miller award for the top research or evaluation paper submitted to the CARSP annual conference.

Dr. Wickens routinely presents at peer-reviewed national and international meetings, with her CV listing close to 50 collaborative presentations at academic conferences. She has also published extensively in peer-reviewed journals including Accident Analysis and Prevention, Transportation Research Part F, Traffic Injury Prevention, and the Journal of Safety Research.

Starting his career in the private sector, Michael earned his diploma and Bachelor Degree in Automotive Management from Georgian College in 2013. Working his way through different sales and service positions in GM Dealerships, automotive service centers, power sports retailers, and body shops Michael gained the experience to join Transport Canada as a Collision Investigator. Working as a collision investigator and subsequently a defect investigator and information analyst, Michael has dealt directly with the automotive industry to help increase road safety on Canadian roads. Michael currently works with the Analysis of Companies’ Technical Information for Vehicles and Equipment (ACTIVE) within Transport Canada helping to develop upcoming regulations for information gathering from regulated companies within the Canadian market.

Serial entrepreneur and all round safety advocate, Steve is the founder of Biker Down North America and inventor of the Medical Data Carrier. His passion is safety for everyone, at work or at play, with particular focus on emergency preparedness for motorcyclists and school aged kids. His work with the State Motorcycle Safety Association MSP committee is helping to shape how motorcycle training is delivered in the USA. Steve is also an information and data privacy specialist, sponsorship expert and the proud father of two. He makes his home on the shore of the Fraser river in beautiful Steveston BC. He can be reached directly at stevereed@BikerDown.ca.

Manan Gupta is the founder of Road Today Media Group proudly serving the transportation industry since 2004 through qualitative publications, events, and services. A passionate advocate for road safety, he is a recognized voice for the changing face of the industry especially catering to the growing needs of New Canadians from South Asia. He is currently serving as General Manager and Publisher of Newcom South Asian Media Company in Toronto.

Manan hosts informative series on numerous radio and television channels in Hindi and Punjabi languages covering issues impacting the industry and community. He has appeared as a guest speaker on Rogers TV, Omni TV, Global TV, CBC Radio, Prime Asia TV, 5aab TV, Channel Y, Sikh TV, 101.3 FM radio, 1350 AM radio, 530 AM radio, and other multicultural channels.

Manan is a committed volunteer and regularly offers his time for campaigns like Ontario Ministry of Transportation Road Safety Challenge, Operation Red Nose, etc., and serves on the board of many organizations including Ontario Safety League, Road Connections Safety Group, and South Asian Trucking Association of Canada. His volunteering efforts and contribution towards safer communities have been recognized through prestigious industry and government awards including the Ontario Ministry of Transportation Road Safety Media Excellence Award, Ontario Volunteer Service Award, arrive alive Drive Sober Media Tribute Award, Peel Police Media Excellence, CN Rail Safety Award, amongst others.

Robert is a Ph.D. student in Health Promotion at Western University, London, Ontario (supervisor: Dr. Liliana Alvarez). He is a member of the i-Mobile Driving Research Lab and is involved in many student volunteer and leadership initiatives within and outside the University, including the Chair of the CARSP Young Professionals’ Committee. Prior to his Ph.D., Mr. Colonna completed a master’s degree in Rehabilitation Sciences and a bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences, with a Specialization in Health Promotion and Minor in Economics. Mr. Colonna’s emerging scholarly work is motivated by the potential to improve public health through road safety interventions. Specifically, his unfolding research explores driving under the influence of cannabis among young Canadian drivers.

Amit has a doctoral degree in urban planning with over 15 years of experience with research, academics, and consulting in Canada, India, and the United States. She delivers courses in science and engineering programs in colleges/universities across the Greater Toronto Region. In addition to teaching, Amit volunteers with the city of Markham as part of the advisory Committee on Cycling and Pedestrian issues. Amit is an accredited Road Safety Professional and is passionate about pursuing work in creating safe environments for all ages and abilities. Amit pursues independent research and projects addressing safety on roads and encouraging the use of alternate modes of transportation through outreach and advocacy.

Vikas is a Professional Engineer with working experience in academic, public and private sectors on diverse Transportation Engineering projects. He is a certified level 2 Road Safety Professional (Infrastructure Domain) and a licensed Professional Traffic Operations Engineer. He holds two Master’s degrees focused on Structural and Transportation Engineering. Vikas also serves as the Event Director of the CARSP Young Professionals Committee (YPC).

Vikas is currently working as a Senior Traffic Engineer with the City of Regina and leading a dynamic team in delivering Citywide Traffic Signals & Expressway Lighting – Capital and Operation programs as well the traffic data management program. He assists the City’s Road Safety Vision though his expertise in managing projects on traffic Calming, Network Traffic Safety Screening, and Red Light Camera operations. Vikas takes immense pleasure in working with diverse stakeholders in resolving challenges, optimizing programs, and promoting safer transportation networks for all modes of travel.

Pascal Verville graduated from the University of Ottawa in 1997 with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering.

Pascal has spent his entire professional career at Transport Canada since joining the Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) Directorate in 1997. For most of this career at TC, Pascal was responsible for leading the regulatory program for gas cylinders in Canada during which time he acquired significant experience in the evaluation of regulations and the development of safety standards to promote public safety in the transportation of dangerous goods. Among his duties, he performed several on-site inspections of gas cylinder manufacturing facilities and participated in the development of safety standards for the design and testing of gas cylinders by working on national and international standardization committees and working groups.

During his time at TC, Pascal also worked as an emergency response advisor at TC’s Canadian Transport Emergency Centre (CANUTEC) and as a senior engineer within the Aviation Security Directorate where he managed engineering research studies and projects related to new security technology equipment for explosives detection.

Pascal is currently the acting Chief of the Collision Investigations & Research Division within the Motor Vehicle Safety Directorate at TC where he manages a network of multi-disciplinary research teams located across Canada who are mainly responsible for conducting investigations of real-world motor vehicle collisions. Pascal’s current areas of interest include vehicle crashworthiness, crash avoidance technologies, occupant injury/prevention, vulnerable road users and the development of best practices for heavy vehicle event data recorders (HVEDR).

Abrar Haq is a Director of Digital Engineering at Bond Brand Loyalty in Toronto and holds a citizen appointment at the City of Mississauga’s Road Safety Committee. Abrar is an advocate for Vision Zero and continues to strive for the betterment of the City of Mississauga’s roads by aiding in implementing new road safety initiatives. Abrar’s passion is using technology to make vehicles and roads safer for people by using his background in autonomous urban disaster recovery as a conduit. Prior to working at Bond Brand Loyalty, he has held several technical positions including running a software delivery company catering to local small businesses. He is also known to be a horticulturalist, car/bike enthusiast and a proud husband. Abrar has a BSc in Computer Science from Toronto Metropolitan University.