City Selects Trudi Nichols as Director of
Innovation and Technology

The City of Pensacola has selected Trudi Nichols as the Director of Innovation and Technology, a new position charged with developing and implementing a strategic vision in all areas of technology for the city. Nichols’ first day in the new role will be Monday, May 4, with City Council confirmation scheduled for the Thursday, April 23 City Council meeting.

Nichols joined the City of Pensacola five years ago as the city’s Webmaster before being promoted to her current role of Technology Resources Assistant Manager. Prior to joining the city, she held management positions in Information Technology at the State of Washington and the Washington Schools Risk Management Pool, also serving as a SharePoint/Web Developer for Argo Group in San Antonio, Texas.

Nichols said she is beyond excited to have been selected the role and have the opportunity to continue her career with the City of Pensacola.

“I have always been in love with the city,” Nichols said. “From the minute I walked in and met my coworkers here, I’ve just believed that we can do great things. I’m really inspired by the mayor and his vision, where we’re going and who we have in the leadership positions. I really believe we can make positive changes with our technology, and I’m just so excited to be a part of that change.”

Nichols attended Western Governors University, where she earned a Master of Business Administration in leadership and strategy, a Bachelor of Science in marketing management and a Bachelor of Science in IT management. She is also a Microsoft Certified Professional and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. 

As the city’s Director of Innovation and Technology, Nichols will oversee the Technology Resources Department. In addition to developing and implementing a strategic vision in all areas of technology for the city, Nichols will be tasked with facilitating the integration of digital tools and best practices into usable tools for the employees and citizens.

Nichols said she is looking forward to implementing changes to improve both internal and external processes at the city, including more automation and the conversion of paper forms to online forms.

“From the external perspective, it would be taking current paper-based processes and putting them online,” Nichols said. “I want to see routing that can be easily changed to streamline approvals for different things right now that people have to wait for – that would make that turnaround much quicker.”

A selection committee made up of the following members interviewed four internal candidates and three external candidates of more than 70 qualified applicants: City Administrator Keith Wilkins, Deputy City Administrator Kerrith Fiddler, Deputy City Administrator Dick Barker, Risk Manager Ryan Fitzgerald and Human Resources Director Ted Kirchharr.

“I am incredibly pleased with the selection of Trudi Nichols for this new role,” Mayor Grover Robinson said. “I am confident that she will continue to serve city employees and residents well with her expertise and enthusiasm, and I look forward to seeing new technology improvements and initiatives for the City of Pensacola under her leadership.”