This paper examines levers or drivers that have influenced the direction of educational development in Canada over the last 40 years and also tries to predict what will be the impact of some current levers on changing the work of developers in the next 20 years. Reflecting on those years, it is apparent our work in the 1980s was very focused on the individual and gradually shifted to become more organizational and sector focused, particularly as the work of developers moved from the periphery to the center of our institutions. The challenge of the next 20 years will be responding to the breadth of areas we are being drawn into in the academy yet, the diversity of our work is one of the strengths of our profession.