I am Evan Sepa.
GIS Professional and Advocate of Awesome.
I enjoy problem solving of all kinds, to keep my mind sharp and constantly learn. In my career this means applying many different technologies enabling users to get complete answers quickly. I strive to be a disruptor and change advocate, because we can all do so much better.
I am Evan Sepa.
GIS Professional and Advocate of Awesome.
I enjoy problem solving of all kinds, to keep my mind sharp and constantly learn. In my career this means applying many different technologies enabling users to get complete answers quickly. I strive to be a disruptor and change advocate, because we can all do so much better.
This is me
I am lucky to have found a career that I am passionate about. Somewhere along the way I found a stubborness to never settle for less, when more is only hindered by fears. It's all about doing things for the right reasons and following through.
GIS Guy
Geographic Information Systems is central to my career. I love the endless potential and employing technology to serve people better.
Jack of All Trades
I'm always expanding my skill sets; from coding to web development and graphic design, it all makes me a well rounded implementator.
Unsatisfied
I like to stay hungry with the desire to improve. As soon as a hurdle is overcome, I look to raise the hurdle or find more.
I've been everywhere
Take a look at the journey of my career.
May 2023
I'm very proud of the work conducted by my student turned full time protege Laura Bernardi. I took more of an advisory role on the street tree solution that was awarded the 'BeSpatial 2023 People's Choice Best App' and the merits largely go to Laura. However I am ecstatic of the recognition we received from our peers and so happy to have a coworker that strives for awesomeness as much as I try to.
May 2019
I greatly improved the process of managing Orangeville's Heritage Records. This included a Bootstrapped webpage that dynamically pulls from ArcGIS REST services to provide one page summaries of any Heritage Building in the database. This presentation method is very repeatable and has already been reused in a few other applications at the Town. This is a great application that can be repeated for any town/city big or small. Contact me if your interested in setting up Bootstrapped ArcGIS pages for your organization.
Go to the Project
June 2018
I put together a planning centric web application using ESRI's Web App Builder and information-rich html pages. In practice this means you can get ample information right from the map application, and through numerous links available in popups you are directed to html pages with more comprehensive information. This is a great application that can be repeated for any town/city big or small. Contact me if your interested in setting this up for your organization.
Go to the Project
May 2018
I was the first GIS staff at the Town of Orangeville and we started from scratch. We recieved recognition for the rapid development and implementation of GIS with the Best Public Sector GIS award. We have made significant improvements to a number of processes and greatly increased access to data and information with a library of GIS maps and apps in just two years. It took place at the University of Toronto campus where I graduated a decade earlier (hence the attire).
Go to the Project
May 2016 - Present
I decided to come to Orangeville so that I can make significant changes to the productivity of town operations, and increase public access to functional informational tools. I feel I am best suited to this scenario as I can have a big influence and impact on all levels of operations, and provide excellent resources for the Town's staff, residents and visitors. I have created Data Orangeville to house all the GIS tools and resources I build.
Go to the Project
March 2015
I submitted the "Bin They Go" app for a Hackathon at the City of Guelph. It used waste/recycling information available through their Open Data site. I was very proud of this application because it is a complete solution that makes it simple for staff to update and maintain. This is important for uptake, and its proven effectiveness is that the City decided to implement this solution for regular use. Contact me if your interested in setting this up for your organization.
Go to the Project
Nov 2014 - May 2016
York Region was a great place to develop a number of my skills. Having a large group of GIS colleagues with diverse skillsets is an amazing asset. I developed and implemented many large enterprise tools, and worked on significant projects spanning many departments. Overall, my experiences here gave me more clarity in what I desire for my life, and more confidence in tackling new challenges.
Oct 2014
Being an early adopter of the ArcGIS Online platform at the Town of North Frontenac, I was able to make strides while larger organizations were slower to the game. As a result, I was asked to speak at the ESRI User Conference in Ottawa to showcase the many applications that we had deployed to improve municipal and public resources. This included a campsite map with integrated booking, municipal cemetery web maps with detailed info and photos, and many other reference maps, like a digital 10 year road plan, all of which were exceptional and unique digital and interactive resources to have at that time.
Go to the Project
April 2014
I put some work on display at the URISA Conference in Guelph. I showcased what GIS looks like in a Town of <2000 people. Also, my significant involvement in collaborations with our upper tier (County of Frontenac) led to the County winning the URISA Gold Award in Best Public Sector GIS.
Go to the Project
March 2014
I won first prize in the 2014 GISCI Map Contest! I put a lot of time in and aquired a lot new knowledge about what goes into making a great map. Maybe even better than the award was besting the amazing Jonah Adkins (just this once), who is a fantasitc GIS practitioner and someone I regularly look up to in creating awesomeness.
Go to the Project
Feb 2014
After deciding that more formal schooling just wasnt for me, I looked elsewhere to advance my career. The GIS Professional certification is one of the most attractive accolades a GISer could have, the prerequisites are stringent and meaningful, including proof of continued participation and contributions to the GIS field. In 2014 I acquired my GISP certification and intend to maintain it indefinitely.
2010-2013
Seeking career development I entered a GIS master's program which I pursued while working at North Frontenac. Somewhere along the way my interest waned, and after completing all of my course work I made the difficult decision to leave a thesis I had no passion for.
Jan 2009 - Nov 2014
Fresh out of university, I joined a municipality that previously had no GIS, and minimal IT in general. I was able to develop the GIS foundations on my own terms but also had the opportunity to exercise many other skills like web development and organizing field work. I may have brought greater technology implementation to this rural area, but the people there taught me about balanced living and enjoying family and the outdoors in the best way, not just on the weekends. In this position I gained significant confidence in my abilities and judgement.
2008
I started out University with the goal of becoming a Chartered Accountant after realizing my aptituded for numbers and analysis. Later on I came across GIS and understood then that this is a fun and interesting technology that will be prevailent in the future, and I wanted in. I rearranged my destiny and after 5 years at the University of Toronto I ended up with an HBSc with degrees in GIS (maj), Economics (maj) and Statistics (min).
What I've Done
I've completed a wide array of projects that have excercised many different skills. Take a look.
2019
Sepa-Rated Solutions
I started my own company to provide specific solutions to municipalities. It's time to further share the awesome that I have been developing for many years.
* Looking for town/city clients, big or small.
Sepa-Rated Solutions2018
Heritage Buildings in Orangeville
This web map and supporting bootstrap pages provide the public with a stellar tool to access heritage building information from the Town. This app is a showcase of the data that is managed in partnership with the Heritage Orangeville Committee.
* This can be repeated for any town/city big or small. Contact me now!
Heritage Buildings in Orangeville
2017
Data Orangeville
I created and maintain Data Orangeville, the Town of Orangeville's central source for getting data-driven answers. It houses many of the Town's data-driven maps and apps led by GIS, including PIP. It also features Open Data and tracks successful GIS projects.
* This can be repeated for any town/city big or small. Contact me now!
Data Orangeville2017
Planning Information Portal (PIP)
I created an awesome planning based web application using ESRI's Web App Builder and some supporting html pages. This means you can get ample information right from the web map but also can follow links to access specific comprehensive details of any given property on the related webpages.
* This can be repeated for any town/city big or small. Contact me now!
Planning Information Portal (PIP)Esri Canada Article
2015
Bin They Go
I created a waste sorting web app for the Guelph Hackathon using their own open data. This allows users to type in any item and see which bin it belong in. The best part is the ease in which any staff can make updates to the list of items. While it didn't win anything, they chose to implement this app over all others.
* This can be repeated for any town/city big or small. Contact me now!
Bin They Go2014
1st Place GISCI Map Contest
I won 1st place with this submission to the 2014 Map Contest held by the GISCI. I used a retro palette in this unique design of a 11x17 hardcopy map of the 2013 National Bridge Inventory, complete with charts and fun facts.
Bridges Across America MapURISA Contest Page
2013
Volunteer Work
I created a simple AGOL web app of the Rideau Canal Lockstations for Ken Watson's awesome Rideau Canal Info website.
Also, I created a simple AGOL web app of museums across Ottawa for the Historical Society of Ottawa website.
* This can be repeated for anyone. Contact me now!
Rideau Lockstations 1 Rideau Lockstations 2 Ottawa Museum's2013
Ontario / Toronto Plaques
I created a custom google web map that shows historical plaques around Toronto. This web map was made for Alan Brown's Toronto Plaques website.
* The content I created has been retired, I hope to replace it in the future.
2013
County GIS Website
In my position at the Township of North Frontenac, a lower tier of the County of Frontenac, I offered my coding skills and proposed a new website for the County's online mapping site. In collaboration with the County I created this public facing site which offers a number of their GIS assets.
Frontenac Maps2011
NF Parklands Map
The North Frontenac Park Lands Online Campsite Map has been well recieved by campers in the program. This online web map allows campers to browse campsites and boat launches, and measure an approximate canoe route to get an idea of travel distances. All of the mapping references on the NFPL website come with a video tutorial to help less experienced users better utilize them.
NF Park Lands Campsites
2010
North Frontenac Wall Map
I have produced two large Wall Maps available to the public. These 36''x44'' wall maps contain significant data including points of interest, campsites, fish stocking information, and land classes. The 2 variations of this map include a 'lots and concessions' and 'topographic' base. This is the first detailed and publicly available map from the municipality, we provided it at the cost to print its.
2010
North Frontenac Municipal Website
I created and maintained 2 versions of the North Frontenac Municipal website which evolved greatly with my own web skills. This modern accessible website had a responsive design, searchable file archives, and interactive visualizations for exceptional service to the public. There was an emphasis on maps with deep integration of ArcGIS Online. This site was exceptional and even superior to its predecessor due to the loss of inhouse expertise.
* The site I created has since been replaced.
