🌍Celebrating Economic Development Week – A Month in the Life 🤝
As a Senior Business Innovation & Strategic Partnerships Officer, Economic Development Week is a moment to reflect on the why behind what I do here at Invest Barrie and the how our department helps build thriving communities through innovation and entrepreneurship.
April was a whirlwind of impact and momentum. I was out in full force to celebrate the events not only across the region, but province!
Georgian College’s Research, Innovation, Scholarship and Entrepreneurship (RISE) Symposium
Georgian College had one of the most successful Research, Innovation, Scholarship and Entrepreneurship (RISE) Symposiums to date! It was amazing to see the college highlight their achievements with their wins through last year’s Mayor’s Innovation Awards, with one of the co-winners of the Creative Collaboration award, Jill Tettmann, President & CEO of the YMCA Simcoe/Muskoka delivering an empowering speech around the elements of belonging and how it functions as a loving ecosystem where every individual has a role. With all the amazing announcements and changes coming through the City of Barrie, this statement couldn’t have hit home harder for me. Here in Barrie, we’re lucky to say that our community partners are our friends, and we truly are focused on putting our businesses and community first. After Jill’s speech, I had the honour of participating in my first Community Impact Lab hosted by Georgian College’s Social Innovation department.
The question of how do we show up and get involved was at the forefront as stakeholders or “actors” as Social Innovation likes to say, began to understand how social innovation is rarely a solo effort. All the diverse perspectives and resources that were in the room are essential to not just creating solutions—but sustaining and scaling them for long-term impact.
Sandbox Centre’s 3rd TARA Talk
The next week had me back at the Sandbox Centre for their third TARA Talks business conference. This transformative event geared towards female leaders offered a powerful opportunity to connect with others who share similar challenges, ambitions, and lived experiences. This event fosters mentorship, collaboration, and confidence by highlighting voices, insights, and successes often underrepresented elsewhere. Most importantly, TARA Talks reminds us that we're not alone—and that our presence and leadership matter as females in the business community. I was proud to see our Small Business Centre sponsoring the event and I loved being able to attend with my colleagues Crystal Pollard, Marissa Caldwell and Kristen Marumoto. I already have my eyes on my inbox for when the fourth iteration of the event comes out.
Tour of RVH with Life Sciences Ontario
While a lot of my portfolio has me focusing on the start-up ecosystem, many would be surprised to learn that I also lead up the development of the City of Barrie’s Health & Life Science sector. Through this work, I’ve had the privilege of working with both the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre’s internal innovation team, as well as Life Sciences Ontario. Andy Donovan, VP of Strategic Partnerships from LSO traveled up to Barrie to meet with our team, as well as Jesse McLean and Dave Brewin from RVH, to get a firsthand look at their Strategic Plan 2024-2034 Vitally You, outlining the health centre’s vision for the future and the roadmap for how to get there. I have to say, this strategic plan might have come with some of the coolest marketing campaigns I’ve seen in a while through their “KEEP LIFE WILD” branding, truly capturing the urban/ rural elements of our region. We chatted all things from their future expansion plans, key projects their staff are working on, and ways to continue to promote Barrie as a destination for industry to come and grow in.
Ontario Centre of Innovation’s DiscoveryX Conference
Flipping back to the standard tech events, I made my way down to Toronto to attend Ontario Centre of Innovation’s DiscoveryX Conference. This conference really highlights that innovation isn't optional, it’s essential! Keynote Aaron Erickson from NVIDIA promoted his words of wisdom for his approach to life with “Wouldn’t it be cool if…". I always say if I can leave every event with one or two phrases that make me reevaluate my life from both a personal and professional standpoint, it will have been a success and this event certainly was. Shoutout to local Barrie cyber security business, White Tuque, for their amazing booth!
I'm looking forward to July where our department is working with OCI, Toronto Business Development Centre, local partners and a group of international founders!
Launch of the 7th Annual Mayor’s Innovation Awards
Rounding out the month had me back at RVH to film the launch video of this year’s Mayor’s Innovation Awards. Through my work on this event, each year I'm lucky enough to be invited into the building of one of our past year’s winners. This year, we featured RVH and their Pink Zone project. I joined Mayor Alex Nuttall, Sharon Ramagnano and Dr. Christopher Zanette for another tour of the space, as well as an update on the impact of the project as they near the point of publishing. Nominations for the Mayor's Innovation Awards 2025 are open until 11:59pm on June 30, 2025, across 5 different categories. These awards recognize businesses, individuals and organizations whose innovative approaches and sheer determination contribute to a resilient foundation for our city, so make sure to submit your story today!
What’s Next For Me?
Looking ahead, the rest of Q2 is all about building on this momentum. Invest Barrie is ramping up new partnered events, preparing for upcoming funding program launches, and scheduling tours into some of our top businesses to ensure we're not just supporting entrepreneurs - we're growing sustainable, future-ready industries.
Here’s to more partnerships, bold ventures, and inclusive growth in 2025! Happy Economic Development Week 🚀