2022 POSITION STATEMENT
For
IEEE Region 6 DIRECTOR-ELECT
Good day to you all…my name is Gora DATTA. It is my pleasure and honor to seek nomination as R6 Director-Elect candidate by my fellow IEEE Region 6 peers.
A bit about who I am!
I am a global serial entrepreneur and ICT (information and communication technology) professional with over 38 years of international experience. I live in Irvine, Orange County; for over 30 years. In the recent past, for over twenty years, I have specialized in Digital Health and am a pioneer in the world of Mobile Health standards.
As a serial international entrepreneur, the company that I found 26 years ago, CAL2CAL, is still going strong. Besides my industry experience, I also cross the world of academia – I am a Visiting Scholar at University of California Berkeley, I am on the Management Board of Trustees California Southern University and on the Program Advisory Committee of 6 other Universities and Colleges, and I am also part of a School District’s Advisory Committee. On my Professional front, I work very closely with multiple County, State and Federal entities – and therefore I bring to you a perfect mix of industry, academia and government experience and expertise.
Now…about my involvement at IEEE…
I am a Member of IEEE Computer Society for over 28 years. Member of TEMS for over 7 years, EMBS for over 6 years, and also a WIE Affinity Group member for over 2 years. Besides being a member of IEEE Standards Association for over 5 years, I am also an active volunteer hold multiple leadership positions at HL7 (a Health Informatics Standards Development Organization) and also at ISO/TC215: International Standards Organization Technical Committee on Health Informatics TC215.
At IEEE, I have held and continue to hold leadership positions:
- at local level for over 15 years – been Orange County Section Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer and member-at-large,
- at Council level as Chair of Southern California Council and am its founding member,
- at Computer Society level (its Geographic Activity Committee Member) and
- also, at IEEE Board Committee level – Future Directions Blockchain Committee leadership and also Sustainability Committee to name a few.
I am also active at IEEE Conferences; was 2021 Chair of SusTech: technology for sustainability – a R6 flagship conference. Earlier was its vice-chair for couple of years. I also founded, for the first time in IEEE, a year-long Virtual Series called IEEE Healthcare: Blockchain and AI – concept now gaining traction but was unique when it was started in the early days of Pandemic in 2020. Currently I am the Chair or part of Organizing Committee of a few upcoming IEEE Conferences in 2022 and beyond: Founding General Chair of 2022 IEEE 1st-GET:Global Emerging Technology Blockchain Forum.
I am Senior Member of IEEE, a 2018 graduate of IEEE VoLT2 (Volunteer-Leadership) Program and also a senior Member of ACM. I am Fellow at HL7 – a distinction that only 97 people of the world have – so far….50 of them in California.
For the past 15 years, I have volunteered my time with various Standards organizations (like IEEE-SA, HL7, ISO/TC215) & Professional organizations (like HIMSS, OCEC: Orange County Engineering Council) and bring to you a rich and diverse international experience of over 38 years.
As the R6 Director, I will see to it that our Region expand from a niche and loosely connected divergent set of members & Sections, Councils, chapters to a cohesive and thriving group focusing on the following:
- Expanding Member’s Career, Growth & Knowledge
- Promoting Diversity, Equity, Innovation & Outreach
- Developing future Technology Leader, Innovators, Entrepreneurs & Educators
- Enabling workforce development by mitigating skills-gap, upskilling & reskilling our members
My moto is: Earn, Learn and have fun!
Happy to expand on the moto and my philosophy when I get elected as IEEE region 6 Director-Elect 2023-24.