Doni Helms was born in Albany, Georgia. At age six, Doni and his two younger brothers became products of a broken home when their parents determined that divorce was the only choice they had left. The boys were nurtured and raised by a single, working Mother who was the “most loving and caring person alive and the strongest woman who ever breathed.” Although their family lived in what would have been considered poverty, the Helms boys never felt that they missed out on much of anything.
At age 10, Doni became a member of the Boy Scouts of America and rapidly progressed up through the ranks, earning 50+ merit badges and numerous awards including the much coveted Organizers Pin, and the ultimate rank of Eagle. In 1967 Doni earned the newly introduced Computers merit badge and was hooked by technology in all its forms.
Since the early 70s, he has worked professionally in the technology industry as a computer operator, programmer, systems analyst, trainer, and consultant to Fortune 500 companies. Doni founded several technology and training organizations, and has authored hundreds of technical articles, white papers and training materials for the likes of IBM, Univac and Microsoft, and a whole host of IT industry publications.
Doni has earned dozens of professional certifications and teaches advanced technology classes, specializing in the exciting and emerging fields of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. He regularly conducts training sessions for the United States Department of Defense, as well as several universities on both coasts.
Doni is also an accomplished singer, songwriter, and producer and has a passion for the joy that music brings which is evident in his performances. You can check out his latest project and listen to some of the productions on the Music page.
In addition to his many technical publications, Doni is a fiction author as well. His book, titled Tales From 3:16 Depot Street, is a collection of short stories about growing up in the Deep South. Although most of the characters’ names were changed to “protect the innocent,” they are all based upon the real, and in most cases, guilty characters that Doni grew up with.
Tales From 3:16 Depot Street is available for order at thousands of media outlets including Amazon.com. Doni also has his newest venture; Cyber Talk For Boomers which includes the web site: CyberTalkForBoomers.com, an upcoming podcast stream, and a series of books designed to help seasoned individuals safely and securely navigate the digital landscape.
In his spare time, Doni enjoys making several vintages of wine and spirits. He is particularly proud of his Brotha Mead recipe, his Muscadine Wine and his personal Limoncello label.
Doni now lives in Marietta, Georgia with his high-school sweetheart and wife of fifty-plus years, Susan. Granny Sue and Gampa have the smartest, most well-behaved, extremely beautiful and handsome, nearly perfect grandchildren ever.
Starting back in the late 1960s, Doni began his lifelong crusade to earn as many professional certifications as possible in order to advance his understanding of Information Technologies, computer systems, and cybersecurity. Now Doni enjoys teaching those skills to others.