SSMIC employee brings Acorn Information Solutions out west by working remotely

Working from home is one aspect of the “new normal” and although some may question the opportunity to make connections and expand their networks while working from home, one Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre (SSMIC) employee is not only stretching the boundaries of remote working, but also the boundaries of our products and services. 

Zoe Alavi, a Data Analyst with the Acorn Information Solutions division of SSMIC, recently made a 10-day drive home to British Columbia and has been successfully working a ‘mere’ 3500km away from the office. 

 “Working for Acorn Information Solutions is what brought me to Sault Ste. Marie in the first place,” said the B.C. native. “It was exactly what I was looking for given my education and I’m glad I am able to continue doing the work.” 

Graduating with a degree in Health Sciences from Simon Fraser University (SFU) and receiving an advanced diploma in GIS from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), Alavi was excited to dive into the workplace but was disappointed at what was available in her area and took the risk to move across Canada to a smaller Ontario community.  

“This position with Acorn allows me to use my education to improve services that focus on the health and well-being of Ontario residents,” said Alavi. 

Now situated in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Alavi is set up with all the equipment she needs to do her job. She explained that with the onset of COVID-19 her situation became a “blessing in disguise.”

“I knew that I wanted to return home (to B.C.) but wasn’t sure if I would be able to work for the organization being that far away. Living in the Sault when COVID hit allowed our team to work out all of the kinks, and with the wonderful support from our IT team, I knew that I could work from anywhere.” 

Right now, Alavi is working on an analysis report for the Manitoulin-Sudbury District that assesses social services uptake in the community, where users are coming from, distance traveled to access services, and frequency of services accessed, all to better optimize where their services are located. Additionally, as the main Data Analysis Coordinator for the Algoma District Services Administration Board, Alavi is currently working on a Children’s Report for Algoma which includes an overview of the community using census data as well as indicators related to, health, the physical environment, education, child care, and family structure.

While Acorn Information Solutions works closely with several northern communities, its services reach many communities in southern Ontario as well. 

“Many of my colleagues are doing work for communities in southern Ontario from digitizing and data clean ups, to offering services like KEyON in several Districts,” said Alavi.

KEyON, one of Acorn’s licensed products, is a software that makes signing in and out of Ontario’s EarlyON Centres easier for parents, and makes planning easier for EarlyON Centres. The KEyON software collects EarlyON attendance data and the aggregate data reports supply provincially required data elements. The information collected is essential to Data Analysis Coordinators across the province for planning and evaluation purposes.

One of Zoe’s goals is to try and introduce the product to British Columbia. She explains that B.C.’s equivalent of EarlyON Centres is StrongStart B.C., and the Acorn team believes they would benefit from having KEyON integrated into their sign-in, sign-out, and data analysis procedures. 

“Our participating Centres in Ontario have really found that KEyON has helped them provide the best services to their clients and efficiently gathers the data required by the province,” she said. “Having the opportunity to bring a product or service into another province is exciting and I look forward to the task.” 

The rest of the staff at SSMIC wish Zoe well in her new work environment and support her in her goal of bringing some of the solutions developed by Acorn to British Columbia. 

Get more information about Acorn Information Solutions. 

Contact: 

Lori McDonald

lmcdonald@ssmic.com 

705-942-7927 ext. 3138