GRWebDev: Grand Rapids Web Development Group

03/28/2026

✨🪴 We're so thrilled to adorn our tables with lovely plants from V&V Nursery this weekend at Django Girls+ Grand Rapids! 🪴✨

03/18/2026

🌟 The weather may be cold, but there's hot coffee and warm conversation at Coffee with Creators! 🌟

Join us tomorrow morning at The Factory for caffeine, treats, and good humans. 😎 Come as you are anytime between 8am and 9am ET... there's a seat for you at the table!

RSVP on Meetup:

✨☕️ **Kickstart your morning at Coffee with Creators!** ☕️✨ Coffee with Creators is the casual, early-morning meetup for anyone interested in technology, design, and busin

02/16/2026

You may have heard of the Elixir language. But have you or your team actually used it in a client project?

Next week at GRWebDev, Torey Heinz from Vianet will present a practical case for Elixir as a noteworthy option in modern web development. If you’ve been wondering whether Elixir belongs in your stack, or you’re hearing about it for the first time, this presentation will give you a high-level overview of the language and practical examples to consider.

📍 Start Garden + Bamboo Grand Rapids, 2 Fulton St. West, Grand Rapids, MI
🗓️ Monday, February 23rd, 2026
⌚ 6:00 pm ET

RSVP on Meetup or Eventbrite:

Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/grwebdev/events/313265613/
Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/grwebdev-presents-real-world-elixir-a-practical-introduction-tickets-1982618811235

🎉 A huge thank you to our sponsors LaFleur Marketing, West Michigan Tech Talent, and of course Start Garden for making this event possible! 🎉

Curious about Elixir? Join us this month to learn why Discord, Pinterest, and other large corporations love it. You will too.

01/26/2026

How a team operates is just as important as the code they write. This month at GRWebDev powered by LaFleur Marketing, we’re shifting the focus to the humans behind the software.

Join Array of Engineers’ Nora Bylsma and a panel of industry pros as they share "cautionary tales" and real-world management strategies that go beyond the textbook. We’ll kick things off at 6pm TONIGHT, Monday January 26th at Start Garden.

RSVP online:

Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/grwebdev/events/312628653/
Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/grwebdev-presents-methodology-melee-how-we-build-digital-products-tickets-1979259579683

Success isn’t just the product; it’s the team that builds it. Join us this month as we unpack the human side of developing digital products.

01/20/2026

Behind every product is a team navigating priorities, deadlines, tradeoffs, and the very human realities of collaboration. Methodologies come and go, but how often do they actually match the messy, high-pressure environments we work in every day?

Mark your calendars for next week, Monday January 26th, as we step back from the buzzwords and join a thoughtful conversation about what works in project management; and what doesn’t. Nora Bylsma, Carlus Henry, Chris Ruiter, Kate Mora Woods, and Melissa Bugai will explore the intricate dynamics of what really happens between planning and production and shed light on the challenges and decisions that shape the software we ship.

📍 Start Garden, 2 Fulton St. West, Grand Rapids, MI
🗓️ Monday, January 26th 2026
⌚ 6:00 pm ET

RSVP on Meetup or Eventbrite:

https://www.meetup.com/grwebdev/events/312628653/
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/grwebdev-presents-methodology-melee-how-we-build-digital-products-tickets-1979259579683

🎉 A huge THANK YOU to our sponsors LaFleur Marketing, West Michigan Tech Talent, and of course Start Garden for making this event possible! 🎉

Success isn’t just the product; it’s the team that builds it. Join us this month as we unpack the human side of developing digital products.

01/05/2026

Behind every digital product is a team of humans designing, building, testing, and deploying. Keeping track of all of this activity is a science all of its own, and choosing the most effective strategy is a complex - and sometimes controversial - prospect.

Is Agile the only way to survive, or is it just "Waterfall in disguise"? Do sprints truly help us ship, or can they lead to burnout? And what happens when the "Best Practices" we learned in a book meet the reality of a 4pm Friday deployment?

Join us at Start Garden on Monday, Jan 26th as we break down the heavy hitters of project management methodologies. Array of Engineers' Nora Bylsma will lead a discussion with a panel of industry pros to investigate the "human" side of building software.

RSVP online:

Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/grwebdev/events/312628653/
Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/grwebdev-presents-methodology-melee-how-we-build-digital-products-tickets-1979259579683

Success isn’t just the product; it’s the team that builds it. Join us this month as we unpack the human side of developing digital products.

11/24/2025

🎉 TONIGHT! 🎉 Join us at LaFleur Marketing for our annual year end wrap up panel led by Lydia Kauffman. After a year of turbulence, we're going to rewind, recalibrate, and reboot our minds as we focus on mental wellness. We'll kick things off at 6pm with food, refreshments, and the company of good humans... RSVP on Meetup and Eventbrite!

https://www.meetup.com/grwebdev/events/311854782/
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rebooting-our-minds-a-panel-discussion-tickets-1918870506339

Another year of LLMs, layoffs & uncertainty. Let’s come together as a community, recalibrate and recharge at our year end panel discussion.

11/17/2025

It's been a rollercoaster of a year. And while constant change can be an exciting aspect of working with technology, the significant shifts we're seeing now are having a tremendous impact on our businesses, our professional lives, and even our wellbeing.

This month at GRWebDev, Lydia Kauffman will help us pause and reflect on our mental health as we wrap up 2025. Join us at LaFleur Marketing for an evening with Omar Flores, Chérie Elahl, Emily VanDyke, and Anna Geurkink as they discuss how we, as humans, can better navigate these turbulent waters.

We'll kick things off next Monday, November 24th at 6pm ET... RSVP on Meetup or Eventbrite!

https://www.meetup.com/grwebdev/events/311854782/
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rebooting-our-minds-a-panel-discussion-tickets-1918870506339

🎉 Shout out to West Michigan Tech Talent, Start Garden, Payload, and of course LaFleur Marketing for making this event possible! 🎉

Another year of LLMs, layoffs & uncertainty. Let’s come together as a community, recalibrate and recharge at our year end panel discussion.

11/05/2025

For many of us, it's been quite a year: seismic industry shifts, employment disruptions, and so much more. In the midst of the chaos, how do we find sanity and clarity?

This month at GRWebDev, Lydia Kauffman will lead us through an open and honest conversation as we examine our collective well-being in the face of a swiftly changing industry. Join us at 6pm ET on Monday November 24th at LaFleur Marketing for food, refreshment, and human connection.

RSVP on Meetup or Eventbrite:

https://www.meetup.com/grwebdev/events/311854782/
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rebooting-our-minds-a-panel-discussion-tickets-1918870506339

**GRWebDev Powered by LaFleur presents** **Rebooting Our Minds: A Panel Discussion** LaFleur Marketing (549 Ottawa Ave NW # 201, Grand Rapids, MI 49503) Monday, November 24

10/29/2025

💻 Ready to inspire the next generation of problem solvers? 💻

{Mi}Code Experience is coming December 8th through the 17th! This program connects volunteer mentors with 3rd - 5th grade classrooms across West Michigan for an Hour of Code activity. Do mentors need to be seasoned programmers with 10+ years of experience? Not at all: if you have a passion for technology and a desire to pass on this spark to others, {Mi}Code Experience is the perfect opportunity to do so. 😎

Learn more about the program: https://www.westmichigantechtalent.com/mi-code-experience

Register as a mentor: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094CAAA72AA0F5CE9-59465529-micode #/

Please review the available slots below and click on the button to sign up. Each educator listing includes whether the session will be held virtually, in-person, or is open to both options. Please be aware of this before selecting your slot. Thank you for helping make the 2025 (Mi)Code Experience po...

10/27/2025

Ready to make your resume stand out and target the perfect tech job? Join us TONIGHT at 6pm at Grand Valley State University's Eberhard Center for a presentation from Nathan Baker. Nate will guide you through the use of AI tools to land your next position. RSVP on Meetup.Com.

https://www.meetup.com/grwebdev/events/311342619/

**GRWebDev Powered by LaFleur presents Nathan Baker** **Hacking the Career Fair: Using AI to Personalize Your Job Search** GVSU L.V. Eberhard Center Room #215 (301 Fulton S