A volunteer community, not a hierarchy
Pereira Tech Talks has no shareholders, no boss, and no formal hierarchy. We are a volunteer-run community headquartered in Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia. This page exists so that anyone — newcomer, contributor, sponsor, or media — can understand how decisions actually get made.
The short version: we optimize for transparency over authority. We are happy to explain any decision, and we change our minds when better arguments arrive.
Decision-making bodies
There is no board. Decisions are made by the smallest group of people accountable for the outcome.
Founding organizers
The small group that has carried the community since 2014. They steward the long-term mission of Pereira Tech Talks, hold institutional memory, and intervene only when there is a conflict the active organizers cannot resolve or when a decision crosses years (the brand, the annual conference, partnerships with other communities).
Active organizers
The people who currently run the operational machine. They make day-to-day decisions: the next meetup’s theme, venue, food, sponsors, communication. New active organizers are invited by the existing organizers based on demonstrated contribution and shared values.
Vertical leads
The people responsible for each program (Speaker School, La Biblioteca del Mañana, AI Channel, Monthly Meetups). They define the cadence, content, and direction of their program in conversation with the active organizers. Vertical leads are accountable for their program’s health.
Conduct team
A subset of active organizers responsible for reviewing and acting on Code of Conduct reports. Their composition rotates to avoid burnout and bias. Decisions are made by the team; escalations beyond their authority go to the founding organizers.
What gets decided where
| Decision | Who decides |
|---|---|
| Theme, venue, food for next meetup | Active organizers |
| Sponsor for an individual meetup | Active organizers + sponsor liaison |
| Direction of a program (Speaker School curriculum, La Biblioteca del Mañana reading list, AI Channel content, meetup cadence) | Vertical lead + active organizers |
| Annual calendar | Founding + active organizers + vertical leads |
| Pereira Tech Day theme, date, brand, partners | Founding + active organizers + vertical leads |
| Annual sponsor agreements | Founding + active organizers + sponsor liaisons |
| Code of Conduct enforcement | Conduct team (escalations to founding organizers) |
| Inviting a new active organizer | Existing active organizers + founding organizers |
| Naming/replacing a vertical lead | Founding + active organizers |
| Changes to this governance page | Founding organizers (after public discussion) |
| Changes to the Code of Conduct | Founding organizers (after public discussion) |
| Open-source repository changes (site, content) | Anyone via PR · merged by active organizers with commit access |
How we communicate decisions
- Operational decisions (next meetup, theme, sponsors) are communicated via the channels: Meetup.com, social media, the blog.
- Strategic decisions (annual plan, Pereira Tech Day, partnerships) are announced via the blog and the newsletter, and visible in the public content collections on this site.
- Conduct decisions are communicated privately to the parties involved. Patterns and outcomes that affect the broader community may be summarized publicly without identifying individuals.
If you ever want to know why something was decided, ask. We will answer.
Conflict resolution
When two organizers disagree and cannot resolve it, the founding organizers are the tiebreakers. When two founding organizers disagree, they resolve it by talking it through to consensus — that is the model that has worked for a decade.
When a member of the community disagrees with a decision, the path is:
- Raise it with any active organizer at a meetup or via the contact form.
- If it is not addressed satisfactorily, raise it with the founding organizers (
hello@pereiratechtalks.org, subject “Governance question”). - If it relates to the Code of Conduct, follow the reporting process documented in Code of Conduct.
Sponsorship and money
We are a non-profit community. Sponsorship money goes only to:
- Venue, food, and supplies for events.
- Travel and accommodation for invited (non-local) speakers.
- Speaker School scholarships.
- Open-source tools, hosting, and infrastructure for the community.
- Production of Pereira Tech Day (venues, AV, swag, food).
Organizers do not receive compensation from the community. Speakers do not pay to speak and we do not pay speakers, except for travel and accommodation when explicitly agreed for invited international speakers.
Annual financial summaries are published in the year-in-review blog post.
How this governance page changes
This page is not frozen. As the community grows, the model will evolve. Material changes are proposed in writing, discussed publicly via the blog or a meetup, and merged by the founding organizers. Minor clarifications can be edited directly.
You can see the full revision history of this page in the open-source repository.
Contact
- Governance questions:
hello@pereiratechtalks.org(subject “Governance question”). - Code of Conduct:
conduct@pereiratechtalks.org. - Contact form: contact us.