ARDC is pleased to welcome Schuyler Erle N0GIS to our team, as he takes the reins as our new Director of Technology. He’s got a history in open source, ham radio / wireless tech, and engineering management, and he’s worked in both corporate and nonprofit environments, all together making him uniquely qualified for this important role.

Schuyler has been involved in open source software development since the late ’90s. In the early 2000s, Schuyler helped establish NoCat.net, a rural community wireless network cooperative in Sonoma County, California, providing high-speed Internet access for the first time ever to members in the coastal hills. Schuyler also led software projects to distribute the first open source wireless captive portal, as well as interactive line-of-sight evaluation tools for point-to-point microwave networking.

This last project impressed on Schuyler the importance of geographic analysis for community development. In 2005, he co-authored Mapping Hacks, published by O’Reilly Media, which promoted the growing field of Free / Open Source geographic information systems. In 2006, Schuyler helped found the OpenLayers project, the first F/OSS dynamic map client available on the Web, which is still widely used and under active development today.

Schuyler got his amateur ticket in 2011 and currently holds a General license. For several years, he was an active participant in the City of San Francisco’s Auxiliary Communications Service, which provides the city with amateur radio communications capacity in times of need.

More recently, Schuyler has served as a software engineering leader at a number of early- to mid-stage Silicon Valley tech startups, but he’s excited to get back to his real passions of Open Source innovation and technical community development.

Schuyler describes himself as “humbled and honored” to be joining ARDC, citing “the proud history of 44Net as a foundational part of the Internet,” as well as “the substantial ability of ARDC to support the work of the amateur radio community.”

“I think amateur radio has a huge role to play in our society in the 21st Century, and I think ARDC has a critical part in that story,” Schuyler says. “Now, as much as ever, I think it’s vital for us to continue leaning into the ‘service’ aspect of the Amateur Radio Service.”

Schuyler also makes no bones about the fact that he’s delighted to have the excuse to rebuild his ham shack in his new home in Portland, Oregon, so he can get back to HF operation. He’s also excited about dusting off some neglected digital mode projects, and is already studying for his Extra exam.

And we make no bones about how happy we are to have him on the team. Welcome aboard, Schuyler!