James T. Driggers, Ed.S.

James Driggers, a.k.a. Jim, was born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama. After graduating high school in 1972, he entered the U.S. Navy as a means of earning his GI Bill benefits. His intensions were to return home at the end of his initial enlistment and pursue a career in the field of education.

Mr. Driggers quickly discovered that the Navy offered far more opportunity for both personal and professional growth than he imagined. He made the decision to remain on active duty, but continued to pursue his goal of becoming a professional educator.

Mr. Driggers’ education-related tours of duty began with an assignment to Instructor Duty where he was tasked with conducting a major revision of a sixteen-week course of instruction, as well as developing an entirely new two-week course. It was during this tour of duty that he received his designation as a Master Training Specialist. Additionally, he served as the Force Master Chief for the U.S. Training Forces, Atlantic, responsible for all instruction within the Atlantic Fleet.
The accomplishment he considers his most noteworthy to date was his assignment as Program Manager for the Enlisted Leadership Continuum. During this tour of duty, he led a team that wrote four entirely new leadership courses, each two weeks in duration, aimed at the ranks of E5, E6, E7, and E9. These courses are still taught today with a throughput in excess of 25,000 per year.

His civilian training experience includes two years as an instructor with the Electronic Computer Programmers Institute (ECPI) where he was responsible for teaching adult learners topics ranging from basic mathematical skills and electronic theory to digital logic and microprocessor circuits. Additionally, upon retiring from the U.S. Navy with over 28 years of service, he entered the teaching profession where he taught mathematics in the Norfolk Public School system at the Middle school level to sixth and seventh graders.

After two years in public education, Mr. Driggers realized the extent to which he missed the military way of life and began to look for an opportunity to become part of the military training establishment. This search led to his selection as a Training Specialist with the Navy/Marine Corps Training Command as a counter-drug instructor and curriculum manager. Almost immediately, he was selected for the position of Curriculum and Instructional Services Officer (CISO) for the entire command. Currently, he is a Training Specialist with the Naval Personnel Development Command (NPDC) working in the Innovations and Analysis branch. NPDC is the organization responsible for all training throughout the entire U.S. Navy.
Mr. Driggers earned a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Education from Southern Illinois University, a Master of Science in Elementary Education from Old Dominion University, and an Educational Specialist Certificate of Advanced Studies from The George Washington University.

He is married to his wife of nearly 23 years, Brenda. They have one child, who can do no wrong, Ms. Stephanie Clair Driggers.

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