We are a registered B-Corp social enterprise.
This ensures we add value to generate income to keep us sustainable and constantly innovating.
OUR VALUE PROPOSITION
We are good people who are passionate about systems change – even if that means taking the harder road to achieve meaningful and sustainable impact for the communities we support.
We’re founded on the principle that testing doing good with innovative approaches and tools has a better shot at making lasting change than the status quo.
We started in 2018. Now we operate in more than 100 communities across Canada. We started with 1 product: the HelpSeeker end-user app. Today, we have a growing portfolio of 10 product and service offerings, with more in the works.
Our work is authentic, innovative, and most importantly, effective.
We choose to support communities willing to brave deep systems change alongside us, who share our dedication to making the world a better place. Our projects are diverse, but focused on resolving complex social issues like addictions, mental health, community safety, homelessness, domestic violence, and poverty.
OUR Team
And we have a very good team that’s growing quickly.
President & Co-Founder
Dr. Alina Turner
Alina is recognized as a leading researcher and thinker on social issues with proven implementation results. Her work on system planning is recognized as a leading practice and often called upon as a model across communities. Her drive and passion for this work is grounded in her lived experience of the social issues she continues to challenge in her professional work. Alina is a Fellow at The School of Public Policy, University of Calgary and serves on the Board of Directors for A Way Home Canada and the Alberta Rural Development Rural Advisory Board on housing and homelessness.
Alina co-founded HelpSeeker as a spin-off social enterprise dedicated to connecting people with the help they need, fast. The back-end of HelpSeeker provides service providers and decision-makers with real-time analytics to inform strategy and decision-making. HelpSeeker is fast becoming a system mapping tool across Canadian communities, essential to mapping and analyzing over 100,000 social and health resources nationally.
Working with the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness and A Way Home Canada, Turner Strategies established the Systems Planning Collective - dedicated to building capacity nationally to implement systems approaches to prevent and end homelessness.
Alina has worked at an executive leadership level at both management and board of directors levels for the past 10 years. During her tenure as VP Strategy at the Calgary Homeless Foundation, Alina led the implementation of Canada’s first Homelessness Management Information System (HMIS) and designed Calgary’s Housing First System of Care. She oversaw $35 million in annual investments across 40 programs in Calgary, their performance management and quality assurance. Prior to this, Alina worked at the Poverty Reduction Initiative of the United Way of Calgary & Area, and a variety of front-line immigrant and homeless-serving agencies.
Executive VP & Co-Founder
Travis Turner
Travis has spent the last 15 years as a school administrator, learning leader, and classroom teacher with the Calgary Board of Education. He has a Master’s degree in educational policy, organizational analysis and leadership. His graduate work examined the role of technology innovation in school policy and teaching practice.
Travis co-founded HelpSeeker with Alina as a social enterprise focused on bringing emerging technologies to bear on real-world challenges. The app is dedicated to connecting those in need with the right services and programs, at the right time. This work has not only included working closely with developers but also with community leaders to assist in the process of system mapping to ensure effective program access.
In addition to his leadership experience, Travis has significant front line experience working with at-risk children and youth. He led a cross-disciplinary team specializing in working with youth with severe mental health concerns delivered in partnership between the school board, health services, and family supports. In this program, Travis developed individualized case plans and system advocacy strategies for vulnerable youth working closely with counsellors, psychiatrists, family support workers, occupational therapists, social workers, system specialists and behaviour support workers.
Business Development
VP, Innovation
Matt Parker
Janet has over 15 years experience in Office Administration focused in Oil & Gas and purchasing. With her diverse administration experience she brings a flare for systems development and organization. Janet is originally from St. John's NL where she received her diploma in Business Marketing. Her career has brought her to Alberta since 2013.
Data & Research
Policy and Research Analyst
Camilo Escamilla
Camilo is a political scientist with a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the University of Calgary. He has more than 5 years of experience in social research and policy analysis in diverse topics such as immigration, development, gender, integration, among others. He is currently the co-chair of Immigrant Advisory Table (IAT) of the City of Calgary and a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Colombian – Canadian Professionals of Alberta (ACCPA).
VP, Research & Data
Chantal Hansen
Chantal brings 15 years’ experience in the field of health and human services with a focus on the collection, interpretation, and visualization of data to inform policy and programming. She has expertise in developing and implementing databases, online database governance, privacy regulation and practices, and using data to make better decisions.
Chantal’s special interest is Geography: understanding where things are found, why they are there, and how they develop and change over time. She utilizes Geographic Information Science (GIS) technology, as its spatial focus embraces the idea of interconnectedness.
Data Analyst
Dee Wang
Data Scientist
Rupal Gandhi
Sales & Marketing
Manager, Strategic Partnerships
Jenny Cull
Marketing Officer
Josie Cassidy
Josie joined HelpSeeker in May 2019 with work experience as a dietitian and educator, in long-term care, hospital, elementary school, and post-secondary settings in Ontario and Alberta. She is proud to be a part of this inspiring team of passionate innovators making waves and creating change in communities across Canada! Josie contributes to marketing and digital communication efforts, including our social media presence.
BAA Creative Director
Kim Harper
VP, Sales & Marketing
Valerie Sergienko
Valerie joined the HelpSeeker team in fall of 2020. Having worked as a marketing executive at multiple startups, she brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, agility, creativity, and ingenuity to the table. Her marketing experience within the private sector combined with her drive and passion for helping people are invaluable in supporting HelpSeeker’s vision of forging a sustainable business model that applies startup agility and innovation to the irradiation of the inequities within Canada’s social safety net.
Systems Mapping
Systems Mapping Specialist / Helpdesk Lead
Danielle Gillard
Prior to working at HelpSeeker Danielle spent 10 years in early childhood where she owned and operated a successful childcare business with a focus on developing minds and social skills. Danielle has completed her Medical Office Assistant/Unit Clerk Certificate and has also received a certificate in Accounting. She has learned through volunteering her time and skills that she is most fulfilled where she is able to be of use and help to others.
Systems Mapping Analyst
Janet Burke
Janet has over 15 years experience in Office Administration focused in Oil & Gas and purchasing. With her diverse administration experience she brings a flare for systems development and organization. Janet is originally from St. John's NL where she received her diploma in Business Marketing. Her career has brought her to Alberta since 2013.
Systems Mapping Analyst
Melissa Wilkinson
Melissa joined HelpSeeker in the Summer of 2020. She brings Administration knowledge from years of managing offices and staff in 24/7 Flood & Fire Mitigation (Disaster Relief). Throughout her career, she helped hundreds of people in various communities across all provinces get through devastating times. During her school years she made a difference within the community by volunteering at multiple functions and local school events. Mellissa is thrilled to be part of our growing organization.
In her free time she enjoys spending time outdoors, camping with her family and friends.
VP, Systems Mapping
Nicole Croft
Systems Mapping Analyst
Ryan T. Mallon
Systems Mapping Analyst
Ryan Reeve
Systems Mapping
Systems Planning Specialist
Jennifer Legate
VP, Systems Planning
Jesse Donaldson
Over the last decade, Jesse has dedicated her career to creating social change within and across public, private and charitable sectors.
As the Government of Canada’s technical advisor for Point-in-Time Homeless Counts, Jesse supported more than 60 communities, between 2016 – 2018, to create enumeration strategies that met their unique, local needs. She has also co-authored several important publications on homelessness, including the first State of Homelessness in Canada, and a seminal study on youth homelessness in the Greater Toronto Region.
In the private sector, she’s created and implemented social purpose programs for companies like Starbucks, Petro-Canada, and Home Depot, to effect change in areas such as education, youth, food insecurity, mental health, employment, and caregiving.
Systems Planning Specialist
Jillian Mah
Jillian is a deep listener, a mindful designer, and a forward thinker. She holds a degree in Information Design from Mount Royal University and has experience working on consulting, information strategy, research, and creative innovation teams.
Jillian is passionate about working towards systems change through designing experiences that are meaningful, educational, and empowering. She is intentionally curious, and recognizes that information design is not only about solutions, but also an act that requires awareness, intent, learning, and wonder.
Systems Planning Specialist
Jonn Kmech
VP, Indigenous Transforma on & Diversity
Monique Fry
Monique is from the Xwchíyò:m First Nation on her grandfather’s side and from the shíshálh Nation on her grandmother’s side. Both Nations are located on territories that are currently known as the province of BC. She holds a Blackfoot name gifted by Elder Dr. Reg Crowshoe, which in English translates to “where the water meets the west shore spirit”.
Monique has 12+ years experience in cross-cultural communication and stakeholder relations with a focus on successful engagement and partnerships with Indigenous communities. She brings both a lived experience perspective as a First Nations woman as well as career and academic experience holding an MA in Communication and Culture from the University of Calgary.
Monique is recognized as a Cultural Mediator, and holds relationships with diverse Elders and Knowledge Keepers from across Turtle Island. Her work in Calgary has included the intersection of understanding and tackling poverty, homelessness, health, human rights, education, justice and employment of Indigenous peoples. One of her strengths is in relationship building and connections to community leaders, as well as those in non-profit, corporate and government.
Systems Mapping
Manager, Financial Reporting
Angie Kuemper, CPA, CA
Angie describes herself as a reliable, energetic, and resourceful professional utilizing over ten years of post-qualification experience coupled with a passion and aptitude for creating and maintaining relationships. As the Manager of Financial Reporting, Angie supports HelpSeeker's accounting, tax and finance functions. Angie holds a Bachelor of Commerce Accounting degree from the University of Calgary and got her Chartered Accountant designation in 2007. Her experience spans across various fields; ranging from public to non-profit audit, accounting, corporate tax and personal finance. Over her career she has also held board of director positions with various non-profits. Angie is in continuous pursuit of the coveted Mom of the Year award with the enthusiastic support of her young triplet sons! She is most fulfilled in forward thinking environments where she is part of a team of individuals that care about social impact and progress.
