James Gadsby

James Gadsby is Executive Director of the Wuerffel Foundation, focused on inspiring greater community service and unity in the world. He also serves as Chief Operating Officer and Development 
Director at Desire Street Ministries, a nonprofit serving inner-city ministry leaders across the South, whose mission is to help revitalize under-resourced neighborhoods through spiritual and community 
development.
 

Prior to his nonprofit work, James spent over twenty years in private industry at The Home Depot, where he was Director of Information Technology and CIO of the Home Services business. Among his 
professional accomplishments, James led the company’s enterprise technology initiative for entry into the Québec and Argentina markets and helped manage the SAP retail transformation for The Home 
Depot Canada. 
 

James earned his Bachelor of Science in Finance at the University of Florida, his MBA at Georgia State University and his Master of Biblical and Theological Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. 
While at UF, he met his wife, Dr. Elizabeth Deibler Gadsby, where they served together in many student organization leadership roles. He was active in Florida Blue Key and served as Associate Producer for Gator Growl and SG Elections Commission Chair, among various other positions. James isa past president of the University of Florida Alumni Association Board of Directors and he and Elizabeth are past co-presidents of the Atlanta Gator Club®. He also served on the Industry Advisory Board for UF’s Wertheim College of Engineering CISE department. He speaks publicly on topics ranging from leadership, technology, service and gratitude.

After 25+ years in Atlanta, the Gadsbys now live back in Gainesville, Florida, where they are active at Greenhouse Church and in the local community. They enjoyed serving as volunteer leaders in Atlanta with Passion City Church, Passion Conferences, the AJC Peachtree Road Race and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. 

Previously, James also served on the Boards of Directors for the Georgia Chapter of Americas’ SAP User Group, the Atlanta Gator Club, and North Georgia Walk to Emmaus. He is an Eagle Scout and 
enjoys family, travel, golf and philanthropy in numerous ministry and civic organizations. James is an avid Florida Gator fan and is most grateful for God’s immeasurable grace in their lives

Breakout Session Title: "Change Management through Tech Transformations"