Member Spotlight
- Shannon Farguson
- Ari Hershberg
Welcome to our CHEFS Team Member Spotlight Page
Get to know the team behind the work! As part of our commitment to collaboration, we’ve launched a Spotlight Page—your go-to place to meet our team put faces to names, and build stronger connections. Check it out and discover the people driving our shared success!
For our third edition of the CHEFS Team Member Spotlight, we are introducing Bhuvanesh Pattanashetti, a Client Analyst on the CHEFS Team.
Q & A with Bhuvanesh Pattanashetti
What is your role in BC GOV and what product are you currently working on at the CHEFS team?
I am a Client Success Analyst on the team, dedicated to helping clients optimize their use of Common Hosted Forms (CHEFS). My responsibilities include managing and customizing forms, troubleshooting issues, and ensuring a smooth user experience. Additionally, I serve as a Developer/Technical Architect, working on proof-of-concept projects scheduled for piloting in the upcoming quarters.
What do you like most about working at the CHEFS team?
What I appreciate most about working with the CHEFS team is our collaborative and client-first approach. Engaging with clients, understanding their needs, and transforming those insights into user-friendly form solutions makes the work both engaging and fulfilling. CHEFS is a simple yet powerful tool that enhances the accessibility of government services, and I'm proud to be part of a team that is making a meaningful difference.
Do you have a favorite failure or apparent failure that has set you up for later success?
When I first started, I focused solely on the solutions available within the user interface. This approach enabled us to make our solutions more efficient and flexible to meet our clients' needs better.
Initially, I worked only with the standard options, which felt like a roadblock when something wasn't possible within those limits. However, as I began exploring custom JavaScript, I realized we could achieve much more. Scripts allow us to customize form behaviour and create dynamic solutions extending beyond the default capabilities. This has enabled us to address various challenges more effectively.
This shift in perspective encouraged me to think outside the box and seek creative solutions rather than feeling restricted by limitations. It has been a valuable learning experience that has made my work more impactful, allowing me to support clients more effectively while enhancing the CHEFS platform.
What is an absurd thing you love?
It might not be entirely absurd, but it is a stubborn habit. Using a 15-year-old DSLR when smartphones can do it all? I know the settings like the back of my hand and just can't let it go. My trusty 50mm lens and a couple of others still allow me to capture some of my best shots. Sure, changing lenses can be a hassle—I often find myself fumbling with lens caps. The autofocus is hit or miss, and transferring photos feels like dealing with ancient technology. But somehow, all of that makes it even more enjoyable. As long as it still clicks, I'm keeping it.
What is a book or movie that has greatly influenced your life?
I enjoy the movie "Whiplash," as it is one of those films that lingers in your mind long after watching it. It's a high-energy story about a dedicated drummer and his mentor, who pushes him to his absolute limits. The movie is intense, unpredictable, and filled with raw emotion, keeping you engaged until the end. It blurs the line between passion and perseverance, ultimately leaving us to question whether Andrew achieved greatness because of Fletcher's methods or despite them.
Q & A with Minshen Wang
What is your role in BC GOV and what product are you currently working on at the CHEFS team?
My name is Minshen Wang, and I am the Service Designer on the CHEFS Team. My current focus is on the “learning” side, connecting with stakeholders and users of CHEFS to gather insights, use cases, and feedback to guide the design of our product as well as service delivery.
What do you like most about working at the CHEFS team?
What I enjoy most about working on this team is the opportunity to bridge the gap between policy and the people who use our services. As a Service Designer, I collaborate closely with real users—public servants or everyday citizens—to understand their needs, frustrations, and behaviours. It's incredibly rewarding to translate these insights into strategic improvements that make common components clearer, more accessible, and more efficient. I also appreciate collaborating with a multidisciplinary team to ensure our product is functional and tailored to the diverse and complex use cases within the BC Government. Ultimately, knowing that our work helps people navigate their daily tasks with less frustration is what makes this role so fulfilling.
Do you have a favourite or apparent failure that has set you up for later success?
One of my favourite experiences, initially perceived as a "failure," was the accident that led me to my current career path. I was a biology nerd and enrolled in UVic's Health Information Science program, hoping to pursue a future in health or human biological sciences without thoroughly researching the program. It was a fantastic experience but almost entirely unrelated to health sciences! However, I was introduced to data science, healthcare policies, and software design, which set me on a different and unexpectedly fascinating path, ultimately leading me to where I am today. While I wouldn't consider myself a "success" just yet, I have found this journey satisfying.
What is an absurd thing you love?
It's not really absurd. I love gardening! As a millennial, I've often been told that this hobby is more suited for grandmas.
What is a book or movie that has greatly influenced your life?
A book that has had a profound influence on me is Anthony Doerr's "All the Light We Cannot See." Before reading it, I hadn't fully appreciated how fortunate I am to live in an era of peace despite hearing my grandfather, a World War II veteran, talk about the war. This book deeply moved me with its empathy, perspective, and human connection themes. Doerr's writing is compelling, precise, and poetic. While the Netflix adaptation was good, the book was a thousand times better.
For our first edition of the CHEFS Team Member Spotlight, we are introducing Shannon Farguson, a Senior UX Designer on the CHEFS Team.
Q & A with Shannon Farguson
What is your role in BC GOV and what product are you currently working on for the CHEFS team?
As a Senior UX Designer on the CHEFS team, I’m currently working on a Multi-Tenancy Proof of Concept. This initiative enables CHEFS form owners to connect related forms under a common initiative while ensuring security, scalability, and usability.
What’s most exciting about this project is that if our hypothesis proves successful in CHEFS, we can expand multi-tenancy to other common components. This would be a significant win for the BC Government, as it balances shared efficiency, privacy, and customization across multiple systems—not just CHEFS.
What do you like most about working on the CHEFS team?
I like the challenge of simplifying complex concepts into something easy to understand and use. It’s far easier to create something complicated than to distill complexity into clarity— that’s what makes this work so rewarding.
Do you have a favourite failure or apparent failure that has set you up for later success?
I enrolled in a two-year Classical Animation diploma program in the early 2000s. While I didn’t fail at it, I quickly realized I wasn’t great either. Rather than forcing a path that didn’t feel right, I chose to pivot after graduation and explore design instead.
Twenty years later, I’m still in design, constantly learning and growing. Looking back, what felt like a setback at the time was an opportunity to discover a career I truly love.
What is an absurd thing you love?
These are not absurd things to love, but I do absurdly love: my ‘Tiny Terror’ of a Dachshund, books and Audible, a dry gin martini, exploring the island as a relative newbie, not having to cook on the daily and finally, my husband and his ability to make an incredible meal out of whatever is in our fridge.
Is there a book or movie that has greatly influenced your life?
As a kid, I loved ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ books. They sparked two lifelong passions: reading and travel. That love for exploration led me to "choose my own adventure" across Canada for nearly two decades, living and working in almost every province from coast to coast.
