Jimmy Harris :

Life Story:

I was born in Pell City, AL. I grew up in the country and was only the second from my family to graduate high school. I received my first computer when I was 11 years old, not understanding that my hobby of tinkering with computers would one day turn into a career. I spent most of my early years either outside, playing in the dirt, or trying to make my computer function enough to explore the birth of the World Wide Web. In high school, I was an avid skater, a member of the Poetry Club, and Set Manager for the renowned Pell City Drama Club. I also represented the John Pope Eden Career Technical School in the Alabama State Electronics Tournament (I did not place). After High School, I attended the University of Alabama – Birmingham, majoring in Philosophy with a double minor in History and Political Science. My decision to pursue the arts turned out to be futile. While bartending, a patron recruited me and the opportunity eventually allowed me to become the Technology Manager at Northwestern Mutual of Alabama. I have since been a Web Development Team Lead, Cloud Architect, Chief Product Owner, Chief Technology Officer, and an Information Security Architect. I have worked in Enterprise, Startups, and in some in-between. I currently hold certifications as an AWS Certified Cloud Architect, a Registered Scrum Master, and a Registered Scrum Product Owner. I am pursuing an AWS DevOps Professional certification.