The ITEN WIRED Team
Jim is a native of Pensacola and is a graduate of Tate High School and the University of West Florida, where he received his degree in finance. He moved to Charlotte, NC in 1997 with a goal of furthering his career in banking, but later developed a passion for information technology. Upon graduating from ECPI College of Technology, he officially entered the world of IT in 2001. After working several years as a network engineer, he and his family relocated back to Pensacola in 2007. He joined AppRiver the following year and later became the company’s first community relations specialist in 2018. He is currently the Community & Public Relations Director for the Center for Cybersecurity at the University of West Florida.
Because he believes the Cyber Coast can become a major hub for technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship, Jim is currently serving as an advisor to the board of directors for IT Gulf Coast and has actively participated in the planning of the annual ITEN WIRED Summit since 2012. He has served as director of the summit’s planning team since 2013.
His leisure activities include disc golf, fishing, and kayaking.
Join us on the #CyberCoast
ITEN WIRED: GROWING THE CYBER COAST
ITEN (Innovation, Technology, Entrepreneurship, Network) WIRED Summit is the Southeast’s premier cybersecurity and IT conference to connect, collaborate and build community with industry leaders, entrepreneurs and educators on innovation, technology and entrepreneurship topics.
The three-day event highlights the area’s cybersecurity, information technology and entrepreneurial communities and explores emerging technology and innovators in start-up tech, artificial intelligence, robotics, and emerging technologies on the national scene.
The summit, which began as an economic development initiative in 2008 by the Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce, is now hosted by IT Gulf Coast.
ITEN WIRED is a not-for-profit, technology-focused conference. Proceeds from the event are used to support IT Gulf Coast's local STEM initiatives, including endowments to the University of West Florida and Pensacola State College.
The next ITEN WIRED Summit will take place on October 18-20, 2023.
Meet the Team
The ITEN WIRED planning team is composed of volunteers from IT Gulf Coast and other members of our local IT, tech and entrepreneurial community.
Jim Rhodes
Community and Public Relations Director
UWF Center for Cybersecurity
Director
Jay Smith
Managing Partner
Data Revolution
Sponsorship Chair
Sean O'Brien
Program Director
GDIT
Programming Chair
Amelia Dixon
Enterprise Architect
Navy Federal Credit Union
Logistics Chair
Marie Perry
Cyber Security Analyst
Navy Federal
Chair of IT Gulf Coast
Carson Wilber
Penetration Tester
IBM X-Force Red
Marketing Chair / Secretary of ITGC
Patrick Rooney
Director
Co:Lab Pensacola
Sponsorship / Programming
Paris Harman
Intern/Grad Student
Navy Federal/Embry-Riddle
Public Relations
Harry Huelsbeck
Manager, Cybersecurity
Northrup Grumman
Programming
Stephen Hopkins
Senior Cybersecurity Engineer
Cyber Justice League
Programming
Michelle Sims
Lead Employer Engagement Specialist
Public Consulting Group
Programming
Emily Cone
Account Manager
TEKsystems
Programming