A three person conversation on developing and sharing best practices on professional development and success of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, kick started the Graduate and Postdoctoral Development Network (GPDN) in January 2013. The first formal name of the association, Consortium of Canadian Graduate Student Professional Development Administrators (CCGSPDA) was introduced at the CAGS conference in Toronto 2016. Presently GPDN consists of 150 professionals supporting graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from 39 institutions across Canada.