On December 5, 2023, ACFO-ACAF held its inaugural Holiday Tune Up and Awards Ceremony at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Ottawa City Centre. The Holiday Tune Up portion of the day featured a special afternoon of professional development, and it was capped off with an awards ceremony and reception afterwards. The awards ceremony and reception were an opportunity for members of the CT Community to come together and celebrate the successes of their colleagues who were accepting awards for the work that they have done in the CT Community.  

We were extremely pleased with the interest that both events received from our members and want to thank you for taking time out of your schedules during this busy time of year to attend our events. We also hope to bring back the reception next year with a larger capacity, so stay tuned next year for more information!  

Holiday Tune Up 

The Holiday Tune Up featured six extraordinary members of the CT Community who shared their own personal stories and lessons that they have learned throughout their careers with more than 100 members who were in attendance. The presenters covered an array of topics such as resilience, the power of networking, the value of mentorship, and much more. They also answered questions from the crowd about how they got to where they are in their careers.  

CT Community Awards 

ACFO-ACAF developed the CT Community Awards as a way to celebrate excellence within the community and to honour those who have made such outstanding contributions throughout their careers. This year we gave out three awards, where each recipient exemplified the skills and characteristics of an exemplary member of the CT Community.  

If you know someone who you think should be nominated for a CT Community Award, keep an eye out for the launch of the 2024 Awards Program! 

2023 CT Community Award Winners  

CT Innovation Award: Danny Ha  

The CT Innovation Award is given to an ACFO-ACAF member or team of ACFO-ACAF members at the forefront of innovation in finance or audit in the core federal public service who fostered significant improvements in their department, led a team through a challenge, or allowed their organization to better serve Canadians. 

Danny is a financial analyst working at Health Canada who’s demonstrated how leveraging artificial intelligence can help revolutionize the most inefficient of processes and allow the CT Community to add even more value in their work. Through his ingenious use of a Power BI dashboard, Danny streamlined Health Canada’s salary variance reporting for over 10,000 employees from a two-week task into a two-hour task, reducing monthly effort by over 95%. 

Danny’s a shining example of how any member of the CT Community can pioneer data-driven decision making and make a significant impact in their department. 

Tessie Genise Volunteer Award: Sanja Pintar 

The Tessie Genise Volunteer Award is given to an ACFO-ACAF member who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to volunteerism within the CT Community. The award is named in memory of Tessie Genise, a dedicated ACFO-ACAF member, volunteer representative and collective bargaining team member who had a lifelong commitment to volunteerism and giving back to the government finance community. 

While Sanja is currently a CT-FIN-03 at the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada, Sanja lived through the Bosnian Civil War and fled to Canada in 1999 with her parents, her three siblings, and only a few bags of clothing. Throughout her 15-year career in the public service, Sanja has generously dedicated her time to the betterment of her organization, the lives of her colleagues, and the lives of those in need. This desire to help others was on display as an ACFO-ACAF Volunteer Representative and when she organized a fundraising event for colleagues that raised $10,000 for CHEO.  

CT Lifetime Achievement Award: Peter Zomparelli 

The CT Lifetime Achievement Award is given to an ACFO-ACAF member in recognition of their career of dedication to the CT Community. This is an individual whose inspirational contributions have left a lasting legacy, setting the standard for professionalism, ethics, and financial stewardship within the public sector. 

Peter has been working in the federal government for 33 years, starting out as a mail clerk in Toronto and working his way up to a CT-FIN-04 as a Director at ESDC’s CFOB. Peter is viewed as a mentor and role model by many throughout the CT Community and as someone who can be trusted to lead his team through any challenge. He’s pioneered innovative strategies that have had a profound impact at ESDC and he’s served as a vocal advocate for ethical practices and compliance in finance.