Georgian College

EXTRAORDINARY EXPERIENCE: MAKING THE WORLD MORE ACCESSIBLE ONE GOOGLE MAP AT A TIME MIKE PEGG Developmental Services Worker, 1997 Throughout his career, Mike Pegg has successfully bridged his appreciation for computers with his desire to help those with developmental needs. He started by helping an early internet provider navigate through the kinks in its system before catching Google's attention. Now, as Group Product Marketing Manager at the tech giant, he spends his time making the world accessible through Google Maps and having many of Canada's remote corners represented on Google Street View. He also led the company's industry- leading, three-day technology conference, Google I/O this year. It is an annual developer conference which also showcases non-profits that use Google products to improve access for people living with disabilities. "The question was how could I marry all this (desire to help those with disabilities and a connection to computers) together," he said. "Everything kind of came together at Georgian." He credits the small community environment of the Orillia Campus for allowing him to participate in student and technology committees where he found his ideas welcomed while working in a collaborative setting. One of Mike's recent collaborations was with the Rick Hansen Foundation to develop an access rating tool for restaurants and tourist attractions linked to Google Maps. "I think Google is uniquely positioned to help people" he says. Everything kind of came together at Georgian. Mike Pegg on his desire to help people with a focus on technology 2014 PREMIER'S AWARD NOMINEE GEORGIANVIEW 2014 14 ALUMNI HAVING EXTRAORDINARY EXPERIENCES

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