Jay Benfield · Professional Background
CreativeTechnologist
Thirty years of battle-tested nerdery and technical leadership. I make awesome stuff that solves tough problems.
At a glance
The timeline.
Discovered a love for web development while working an impossible sales job.
Launched a dial-up Internet Service Provider for a telephone company.
Started my first web development studio.
Joined the nonprofit behind some of the most visited faith-based sites on Earth.
Relocated to Virginia for a position with the Federal government.
Traded my government cubicle for a gig with a software company.
Started a software consultancy and brought several solutions to market.
Developed a patient privacy monitoring solution for a top hospital system.
Started a healthcare practice at a cybersecurity consulting firm.
Joined the InfoSec team of a top hospital system.
01 · Start here
Telecom
1996–2001
In 1996, I worked for a local Internet Service Provider doing outside sales in rural West Michigan—going storefront-to-storefront and office-to-office in an attempt to sell dial-up accounts and websites.
The experience was like Marty McFly taking the DeLorean back to 1955 in hopes of peddling iPhone cases to Hill Valley residents.
When I wasn’t selling anything—which was most of the time—I taught myself HTML, the Linux command line, and a graphics application. I absolutely loved it. By the time a website project came in, my boss gave me the opportunity to build it for some extra cash. Eager to avoid the awkward conversations and blank stares of my sales gig, I pounced. This led to me transitioning from my cringeworthy sales job to a technical role.
The next year, my best friend and I launched a dial-up ISP for a telephone company. This do-or-die, Mountain Dew–fueled crash course in routers, remote access servers, and a pile of Linux-based services is responsible for setting my Ludicrous Speed career in motion.
Once up and running, I remained on staff as System Administrator, managing all of the infrastructure and services, providing technical support, developing websites, and implementing networks for area businesses—including a state bank and school system.
Focus areas
02 · Make it work
Small & medium-sized business
1998–Present
In 1998, I started my first web studio and went on to found or co-found several companies.
I understand the challenges and complexities of small business. But beyond my own experience, I also worked very closely with—and learned from—the many businesses I built websites for.
I have delivered hundreds of web projects for clients throughout the US and beyond: creative agencies, newspapers, schools, banks, retailers, radio stations, systems integrators, recording studios, realtors, events, photographers, medical practices, startups, manufacturers, artists, musicians, engineers, nonprofits, a search engine, and more.
Focus areas
03 · Serve people
Faith-based & nonprofit
1998–Present
In 2002, I went to work for a nonprofit behind some of the most visited religious websites on Earth—including Bible Gateway, Gospelcom.net, Cross Search, and others.
In this role I provided technical consultation and support to an alliance of 400 faith-based organizations internationally. I also served in a product management role, owning the roadmap and strategy for a massive commercial Content Management System and managing external development teams.
In addition to my extensive project-based work with small business, I delivered websites and various technical solutions for churches, ministries, and other nonprofits. I’ve also donated considerable time to such organizations in a volunteer capacity.
Focus areas
04 · Scale up
Public sector
2004–2021
In 2004, I relocated to Virginia for a contract position with a gigantic Federal agency, where I led enterprise projects related to internet gateways, secure wireless, network services, disaster recovery, and network management.
I also developed bespoke applications and scripts to automate infrastructure tasks across WAN and data center environments.
Midway through my tenure, I served as the Principal Network Management Systems Architect. In this capacity, I designed, deployed, and managed network monitoring capabilities and network services for a global network consisting of over 250,000 users across 5,000 sites. I also authored multiple papers, including Department-level standards and extensive system design documentation.
I left my government cubicle in 2013 for a position with a software company. I started as a pre-sales engineer working with Federal law enforcement agencies and ultimately moved into a Senior Manager role over multiple engineering teams that supported Federal civilian customers. I also did considerable public speaking, developed solutions with other technology partners, and did a fair amount of technical writing.
In 2018, I jumped ship to start an independent software vendor and consultancy that brought commercial apps to market, adopted by a number of Federal agencies and universities.
Focus areas
05 · Protect data
Healthcare
2018–Present
Not long after my leap of faith, I had the opportunity to work on a very unique project that, unbeknownst to 2018-me, would significantly change the direction of my career.
I led the development of a patient privacy monitoring solution for one of the nation’s top academic medical centers. The Privacy Platform sliced and diced data from clinical applications to provide visibility into the behavior of clinical staff with Protected Health Information, identify inappropriate or malicious access to patient data, and satisfy HIPAA requirements. The project was a huge success and got a lot of press.
I went on to work with a leading cybersecurity consulting firm, where I started a healthcare practice delivering patient privacy capabilities to other healthcare organizations.
In 2021, I had an opportunity to go to work full time for the aforementioned academic medical center, pioneering a SecDevOps Team and owning the solution I’d built as a consultant. Today, I serve as the Director of Security Development Operations. I lead teams of cybersecurity practitioners, developers, and data analytics engineers that defend the enterprise and create technical solutions to solve unique operational challenges.
Focus areas
What’s next?