Fleming College Graduate Receives Premier’s Award in Technology Category

Fleming College graduate Steve DeRoy received a Premier’s Award in the technology category at a Toronto ceremony on Nov. 28, recognizing his contributions to the field.

Photo courtesy of Fleming College.

The Premier’s Awards for college graduates recognizes past and recent graduates from Ontario colleges in seven categories. DeRoy was among six Fleming College alumni who were nominated for a Premier’s Award. Each nominee has made significant social and economic contributions in their field and in the community.

He graduated from the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Cartographic Specialist program in 1998 at the college’s Frost Campus.

“I am honoured to receive the 2022 Premier’s Award in the Technology category. Fleming College prepared me with the tools to engage in story telling through maps and geographic information systems (GIS) technologies, to stay curious and find creative solutions to tough problems,” said Deroy. “These foundational skills continue to be applied in my daily work as we build a global community of Indigenous mappers.” 

DeRoy is an award-winning Anishinaabe entrepreneur and the co-founder of the Firelight Group which provides community-based research and technical support to Indigenous peoples.  

He founded the Indigenous Mapping Collective in 2014 alongside technology partners Google, Esri Canada, Mapbox, NASA and the Canadian Space Agency, an annual workshop which aims to build a global community of Indigenous mappers who tell their own stories of place and space. Since 2014, the Indigenous Mapping Collective has held annual workshops, training over 2,500 Indigenous community mappers on emerging geospatial tools and technologies.

More than 3,000 Indigenous communities in Canada have been added to Google Maps and Google Earth thanks to his work in founding the collective.  

“We are so proud of Steve and all of his achievements,” said Maureen Adamson, Fleming College president. “His work has helped thousands of Indigenous people mark their place and space in this world, on their terms. We are proud of Steve’s accomplishments and look forward to the next phase of his journey.” 

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