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Jim Rhodes

Biography

Jim Rhodes is the Community and Public Relations Director for the Center for Cybersecurity. In his role, he develops and implements strategies to elevate its local, regional, and national profile and visibility. This includes leading initiatives to engage with organizations with which the Center has common interests and goals, as well as efforts aimed at enhancing relationships with businesses, professional organizations, and community leaders.

Jim is a native of Pensacola and is a graduate of the University of West Florida, where he received his degree in finance. He moved to Charlotte, NC in 1997 with the goal of furthering his career in banking, but later developed a passion for technology. Upon graduating from ECPI College of Technology, he officially entered the world of IT and cybersecurity in 2001. After working several years as a network engineer, he and his family relocated back to Pensacola in 2007, where he worked for Gulf Breeze-based AppRiver as manager of their mobile solutions team and later as the company's first community relations specialist, where he worked to build partnerships with local organizations and elevate the visibility of the area's technology community.

Jim believes the Gulf Coast I-10 corridor has the potential to become a major hub for technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship. He is a former board member of Innovation Coast and served 6 years as chair of IT Gulf Coast. He has served as the director of the annual ITEN WIRED | TechNet CyberCoast Summit on Pensacola Beach since 2013.

His leisure activities include golf, disc golf, fishing, and kayaking.

LinkedIn

Education

A.S. Information Technology/Networking
ECPI College of Technology

B.A. Finance
University of West Florida

A.S. Business Administration
Pensacola Junior College

CompTIA Network+, CompTIA A+, Microsoft Certified Professional

Community Leadership

  • Conference Director, ITEN WIRED | TechNet CyberCoast Summit (2013-present) https://itenwired.com
  • Chairman, Information Technology Association of the Gulf Coast (IT Gulf Coast) (2014-2016, 2019) (2024) https://itgulfcoast.org
  • Board member, Information Technology Association of the Gulf Coast (IT Gulf Coast) (2013-2016, 2019-2020, 2024-present)
  • Board member, Innovation Coast (December 2014-December 2018)