CORNWALL, Ontario – Kelly Bergeron, Executive Director of the Cornwall Innovation Centre, has been nominated for the Colleges Ontario Premier’s Award in Technology.
“I am very honoured to be nominated for this award in the technology category on behalf of St. Lawrence College,” said Bergeron.
Bergeron is amongst 19 nominees in her category, all of which are recognized for seeking to improve people’s quality of life through innovations. The winner will be announced on Nov. 26.
After graduating from the Computer Programmer Analyst program at St. Lawrence College in Kingston in 2004, Bergeron devoted her time to working in civic technology and solving social issues.
“I learned a lot and met a lot of people,” said Bergeron. “I had some great teachers. So I’m just really honoured and appreciate the recognition.”
Bergeron moved back to Cornwall in 2016 after working as the Web Experience Manager for Salesforce in San Francisco for two years. She saw a need for technology education and digital literacy in the area, so she founded the Startup Code Heroes, teaching digital literacy, coding, digital marketing and game design. She became the Executive Director of the Cornwall Innovation Centre in 2017.
“Coming into the Innovation Centre, it was really important for me to champion local entrepreneurs in the technology and innovations space to encourage people to pursue those types of opportunities,” said Bergeron.
This fall, the Ontario Emerging Jobs Institute (OEJI) will launch through the Innovation Centre, where community members can be educated for emerging jobs at a post-secondary level for no cost. Over the past two years, Bergeron has fundraised approximately $650,000 for local initiatives, specifically ventures through the Innovation Centre and Canada Learning Code.
“We are going to be teaching people the skills of the future,” said Bergeron.
Bergeron’s accomplishments are recognized amongst nominees who have founded ‘flying car’ start-ups, managed at NASA, and developed data and research solutions for companies like Greenshield.
Out of 19 nominees, four are female including Bergeron. Bergeron feels that this percentage is a decent amount, especially after recognizing the small percentage of females within the upper echelons in the Silicon Valley.
“Unfortunately we have to keep breaking that glass ceiling and speaking up, and lifting each other up,” said Bergeron.
Bergeron also has extensive experience with charitable organizations. After launching a non-profit technology network in Toronto, she followed a path that lead her to volunteer with the Global Poverty Project. Through this, she was invited to meet with Bill Gates, but had to turn down the meeting to attend an interview.
“You have to take chances and put yourself out there because you don’t know what might happen, and who you might become friends with, or what you could discover,” said Bergeron.
