Who we are

PEI Developers is simply an informal group of software developers, web designers, and other techies.

We meet monthly, and organize hackathons on occasion. Some time back, our co-organizers drafted a mission statement. Here it is…

At PEI Developers, we value:

Inclusion. You are welcome here. We offer a friendly atmosphere regardless of gender, race, LGBT, and so on. We aren’t a youth centre, but we welcome talented young people who are engaged in software development.

Openness. We celebrate the principles of Open Data. Open-source is a given.

Individuals. We encourage the development of the individual software developer (as opposed to a business incubator). We mentor on development, presentation skills, project management and more. Our group ranges widely in experience, but we all share a common passion for software.

Community. We want to interact with existing organizations to build a “tech scene” on PEI. We’ll work with government, industry, schools, youth: you name it. We’re opinionated, independent, and eager to help

History

Founded in 2012 by Dustin Sparks. The group spent many of its first years huddled around the big table in the old Queen Street Commons. During that time, the group had a small but dedicated core group of members.

After the closure of our original venue, the group spent some time bouncing around various venues. We have held events at the Charlottetown Yacht Club, Murphy’s Community Centre, Charlottetown Legion, and Samuel’s Coffee House, to name a few. In 2016 the group found a new home at the Startup Zone.

The group has grown considerably over the years. In the beginning, there were 6-10 members at every meetup; if 15 showed up, we would try and squeeze in. Recent years have seen a substantial growth where some events have seen upwards of 50 people.

Part of the growth is attributed to the various events held by the group through the years. This include Hackathons, participation in Global Day of Code Retreat as well as our summer social.

The growth of the group has been recognized in many different areas. There have been new groups popping up in PEI either directly from our group (Open Data Book Club) or our work has influenced their creation (UI/UX). We’re very proud! We aspire to contribute to the growth of the PEI tech community.

Sponsors

Our main sponsors are currently:

• Forestry
• Silver Orange
• Binary Star

We thank them for their generous support! Without them, we wouldn’t have a home for our meetups.

Elders

The elders are those who are willing to help organize the events. Anyone is welcome to be an elder, all you have to do is ask.

Current Elders

Evan Porter - Evan Porter has been working in the IT field for over a decade. He has extensive experience using Java / Groovy and JavaScript professionally and likes Python and Clojure for fun. Attending PEI Devs since December 2012, he became an Elder in March 2016. Evan feels old and hates writing in third person. Only Bob Dole should refer to himself in the third person.

Matt Duffy - An avid sports fan, Matt spends most of his free time running in marathons and playing on his block's cricket team. You will find Matt in his down time using the PEI Devs slack channel as his personal Rubber Duck.

Michael Berger - Michael is a full stack developer that hates talking about himself. As the picture suggests, he likes a wide range of activities, most unrelated to software development. Michael has been a long time lurker, short time elder.

Michael Gauthier - Mike has been a professional developer at silverorange since 2002 and hasn't gotten tired of it yet. Anything web or mobile is sure to interest Mike. He began assisting the group in 2016. ⚔

Nolan Phillips - My name is Nolan and I like to pary.

Elders on Sabbatical (semi-retired)

Our semi-retired elders still participate and continue to wear the elder hat. But not currently active in organizing. Our semi-retired elders are acting in an adviser role as needed.

Sean Whalley - Sean has been part of the group since the 2nd meetup. He has helped organize many events over the years. Sean is stepped back from an elder role in early 2017 while continuing to be an adviser to the other elders. With 2 small kids and 4 years of elder-hood under his belt, it was time to step back refocus on family and career.

Michael Easter - An early co-organizer of the group, Michael has given several presentations, performed 'cat-herding' logistics, and sponsored the rare MeetUp. An advocate of Open Data, he founded and sponsors the PEI Open Data Book Club as a side-project within the PEI Devs umbrella. Outside of tech hobbies, Michael enjoys running and dabbling with guitar and piano.

Elders Emeritus (retired)

These folks put in a lot of effort to make the group what it is today. Because of other obligations in life they are no longer able to help in the role of cat-herder anymore.

Dustin Sparks - Founder of the PEI Developers group. Dustin carried the group for the first year and helped mold it into what it is today. Dustin stepped back from a leadership role in 2015 to focus on his business and family

Derek Campbell - One of the original members of the group. Derek was an active elder in 2013-2015 where he helped spread the group across the island, bring the group through Summerside and beyond.

Bob Shand - Another original member of the group. Bob was an early speaker at many events and helped run many of our most successful events. Much of the growth of the group can be attributed to Bob's work with Hackathons. Bob left the elder group after an employment change. You will now find Bob hosting Security B-Side conferences.

Ryan Palmer - Original Member of the group. Ryan taught the group early about tinkering with gadgets and Continuous Integration. Ryan was always a positive influence on the group until an employment opportunity took his talents to Toronto.

Steven Baker - He lived in Summerside for 2-3 years and was a co-organizer for some meetups and esp. the August 2013 hackathon. He was also a sponsor on occasion. Steven now lives in Sweden.