#ImmigrationMatters in Fredericton, New Brunswick – Enhancing food and beverage shelf life while leading women in STEM

Video length: 3 minutes, 31 seconds

Inspiring piano and strings play throughout.

An aerial view of downtown Fredericton and the Bill Thorpe Walking Bridge.

Text displays : “Immigration Matters in Fredericton, New Brunswick”

Natasha is in her lab coat. She smiles at the camera.

Text displays: “Natasha Dhayagude, CEO & Co-founder at Chinova Bioworks”

Natasha: My name is Natasha Dhayagude. I moved to Canada from Pune, India, when I was 10 years old. I didn’t know what I wanted to do after I graduated from university. I really wanted to mix science and what I learned in school with something creative. I knew there had to be something out there that I would fit into.

A series of photos are displayed: Natasha as a child, dressed in traditional Indian clothes, and various photos of Natasha and her family at her graduation from the University of New Brunswick.

Natasha and her family enjoy a walk on the Bill Thorpe Walking Bridge.

Natasha: So I actually ended up working at an incubator accelerator centre for entrepreneurship, and I end up meeting Dave who is now my co-founder and COO.

Natasha walks with Dave down a hall in an office space. They sit at a round table, and Natasha opens her laptop. Dave points out something on the screen, and they discuss it together.

Natasha: He also had a background in science, and so we started talking about common interests and we found we really aligned, specifically when it came to the science of food.

A lab technician draws liquid from a small tube. A lab technician pours some crystals into petri dishes. The lab technicians examine the petri dish.

Natasha: We came across this ingredient that was extracted from the stems of white button mushrooms that really had the ability to improve the quality, freshness and shelf life of various food and beverage applications. That really led to the initial framework of what would become Chinova.

Lab technicians look at mushrooms on a table. A lab technician puts a few drops of liquid into an Erlenmeyer flask. The lab technicians look at the flask.

Brightly coloured soda cans are arranged on a shelf. A lab technician pours a powder-like substance into a large flask.

Natasha and Dave look at a laptop.

The Chinova Bioworks logo is displayed on a glass office door.

Dave: My role here at Chinova Bioworks is overseeing more of the day-to-day operations, whereas Natasha's role is more toward talking to clients, talking to investors, presenting the company to the outside world.

Dave is typing on his laptop in his office.

Text displays: “David Brown, COO & Co-founder at Chinova Bioworks”

Natasha is in her office, talking on the phone.

Natasha and her head of product development, Alyssa, are in the conference room talking to other members of the team via video conference.

Dave: She's really a fearless leader. She's not afraid to stand up in front of crowds of people and tell her story and tell Chinova Bioworks’ story.

Natasha is holding a team meeting in the conference room. Chinova employees, including Dave, listen attentively as Natasha speaks.

Dave: I think it's led people to get out of their comfort zone and try to work in areas that maybe they didn't feel confident to do before. She's inspired our whole team.

Natasha is in the lab talking with Alyssa.

Text displays: “Alyssa Brewer, Head of Product Development at Chinova Bioworks”

Alyssa: I started working at Chinova about 4 years ago as a chemistry technician. I've learned a lot from Natasha. She's really helped develop my confidence.

Alyssa examines a petri dish. With another colleague looking on, Alyssa pours drops into a beaker.

Alyssa and Natasha talk to their teammates via video conference.

Alyssa: My role today is head of product development, and I'm now managing quite a few people.

Aerial view of the Fredericton lighthouse.

Krista is walking along a downtown street in Fredericton.

Text displays: “Krista Ross, CEO of the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce”

Krista: I think what we're seeing here in Fredericton is the growth of businesses and start-ups and, you know, we’re really excited to see people like Natasha launching their businesses here.

Krista waves and smiles as she sees Natasha. They hug and enter a coffee shop together.

Krista: Natasha is involved in things other than her own business, whether it's a panel, or a roundtable, or a forum. She's a real role model for entrepreneurs.

Natasha is sitting and talking with her family at a hotel lobby. They go out for a walk together.

Krista: I definitely see the company continuing to grow and I see Natasha being a leader. A leader in women in STEM, a leader in business and entrepreneurship in our community. She's definitely got big things ahead of her.

Krista and Natasha order their drinks at the coffee shop and then sit at a table chatting and drinking their tea.

Back at the Chinova offices, Natasha holds up a mushroom and explains something to someone out of frame.

Natasha: My personal mission has always been to work with other women and hire other women because I am a woman minority in STEM. And so I'm happy and proud to say that we are 90% women in STEM at Chinova.

A female colleague shows Natasha her work. The lab is full of women in lab coats, working together and smiling.

Natasha: Dave and I are both from Fredericton, so it just made complete sense for us to be here. Our families are all here, and we wanted to find a way to give back to the community that had given us so much. I just could not see ourselves anywhere but here.

At a distillery bar, the Chinova Bioworks team is hanging out. Dave pets the head of his colleague’s golden retriever. The team members lift their drinks and they clink their glasses together.

An aerial view of Fredericton fades to black.

Text displays: “Immigrants enrich our communities”.

The scene fades to black.

Text displays: “Share your story #ImmigrationMatters

Facebook: @CitCanada

Twitter: @CitImmCanada

Instagram: @CitImmCanada”

The scene fades to black.

Text displays: “Canada.ca/immigration-matters”

The scene fades to black.

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada corporate signature is shown followed by the Canada wordmark.