Bryan Bardin

The Full Story

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I've spent my life collecting a pretty unusual set of tools. I taught preschoolers science, led organizational strategic planning for corporate and non-profits, ran video production operations, and spearheaded system design — plus I have a studio filled with arts, crafts, and robots. They may not belong together on a résumé, but they all scratch the same itch: you walk into a room, there's no playbook, and something needs to get done. And I get it done.

I grew up in St. Pete, went to UF, spent seven years in New York, and then came home. I'm a fourth-generation Presbyterian, a volunteer leader in my community, and I'm happiest when I'm making something better than I found it.

A Steady Hand

People look to me when the path forward isn't clear. At Seacoast Bank, that's meant leading the integration of nine community banks — running the program structure, getting acquirer and target aligned, and hitting close dates that aren't negotiable.

The same instinct shows up outside work. I co-chaired the Pastor Nominating Committee at First Presbyterian — fourteen months of discernment, candidate review, and congregational communication that ended in a unanimous nomination.

Most of the time, leadership isn't about having the answer. It's staying calm and curious enough to keep the room together until the answer becomes obvious. My managers describe me as confident but approachable — comfortable in front of a board committee, and just as comfortable listening.

Creative by Default

Creativity isn't something I can really turn off. The same instinct that has me trying things in the studio is what made me good at running complex programs at work. The medium changes. The process doesn't: try something, see what breaks, adjust, try again.

In the off hours, that looks like 3D printing, woodworking, photography, and art projects that take over the whole studio. It's also looked like directing photography for a concert video and building a digital-first consultancy a few years before everyone needed one. That consultancy served breweries and a regional library through a year that didn't go how anyone planned.

A Maker's Mindset

Technology has had my attention since elementary school when I took apart my grandfather's computer. Thankfully for all involved, I put it back together with only a few parts to spare.

These days I build web applications for fun. The site you're currently reading is a Laravel app I designed and built. I 3D print functional parts and I built and operate a photobooth that blends hardware, software, and event production. The impulse is always the same: figure out how something works, then put it to use.

Rooted in Community

I was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida, and I'm a fourth-generation member of First Presbyterian Church. My faith and my community aren't separate from the rest of my life. They're the foundation.

I have served as a Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA). At First Pres specifically, I co-chaired the Pastor Nominating Committee and back up our technical production team. Outside the church, I've worked with organizations supporting migrant farmworkers, served meals to people experiencing homelessness, and helped run supply drives for families in need.

I studied Psychology at the University of Florida with a focus on Suicidology, volunteered at the Alachua County Crisis Center, and spent years on summer camp staff. These roles helped teach me how much of the real work happens beyond the job description.

Personal Interests

When I'm not building strategy decks or leading acquisition programs, I'm often still building something, just with different tools. My studio is home to woodworking projects, epoxy resin pours, linocut prints, and alcohol ink experiments. The workbench hosts a 3D printer and a laser cutter.

When I do slow down, it's usually with my golden retriever, Buckley, or around a table with family and friends. I'm fortunate to live near parents, siblings, and a growing crew of nieces and a nephew who are all far more interesting than I was at their age.

Website Manager (Volunteer)

Volunteer
2020 – Present

Russell Island - Property Owners Association, Foundation, and Yacht Club

Russell Island, MI

Built and manage the unified web presence (russellisland.org) for a small island community of approximately 100 cottages in the St. Clair River, serving three distinct organizations: the Russell Island Property Owners Association, the Russell Island Foundation, and the Russell Island Yacht Club. Built and maintain the site, coordinate with leadership across all three boards, and adjust content strategy as priorities shift.

  • Designed and built russellisland.org — one portal serving three independent entities, with a restricted members-only section for the Property Owners Association.
  • Serve as the ongoing digital point of contact, with six years of continuity across three rotating volunteer boards.

Founder & Operator, Photobooth

Creative
2013 – Present

St. Pete Based Photobooth

St. Petersburg, FL

Built a professional photobooth operation. The original motivation was undercutting the rental market for my sister's wedding (didn't make that deadline, sorry sis). It grew into an ongoing operation serving nonprofits, schools, corporate clients, and private events.

  • Produced photobooths for clients including a local primary school, The Junior League, The Foundation for International Missions, plus numerous weddings, nonprofit galas, and corporate events.
  • Built and refined the booth rig across multiple generations: Sony mirrorless body, DNP dye-sub printer, Mac-based software, and custom branding workflows.
  • Building a custom client portal (photobooth.bry.bar) for event management, intake questionnaires, and guest photo galleries on a Laravel/MariaDB/Cloudflare R2 stack.

Co-Chair, Pastor Nominating Committee

Ministry
2023 – 2024

First Presbyterian Church of St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg, FL

Co-chaired the seven-member committee that led First Presbyterian's pastoral search, from initial discernment through nomination. Ran committee operations, congregational communication, and adherence to the PC(USA) process across roughly 14 months.

  • Authored and managed the Ministry Discernment Profile (MDP), the congregation's foundational search document used for algorithmic candidate matching and self-referrals through the denomination's Church Leadership Connection (CLC) platform
  • Led the review of 100+ candidate profiles, collectively evaluating hundreds of sermons and conducting a dozen interviews across multiple rounds — Zoom, in-person, and weekend-long campus and city visits
  • Partnered with Presbytery leadership on formal committee training, process compliance, and CLC onboarding — one of the first committees to use the denomination's newly released Internet-based matching system
  • Managed committee continuity through a mid-process member departure, coordinating with the Nominating Committee to present a replacement for congregational vote
  • Maintained regular congregational communications through worship updates, the church newsletter, and a dedicated webpage — balancing transparency with the confidentiality required by the search process
  • Culminated in a unanimous committee vote to nominate a candidate who was subsequently elected by the congregation

Founder & Principal Consultant

Creative
2016 – 2024

Troublemaker Technology Solutions

Pleasantville, NY → St. Petersburg, FL

Founded and ran a digital consulting practice doing web development, digital marketing, and multimedia production. Clients included small businesses, nonprofits, breweries, and a regional library. Expanded into video production and digital-community strategy through a multi-year engagement with connect.faith, a digital worshiping community.

  • Designed and built websites for 15+ clients across the full lifecycle: requirements, deployment, and ongoing support.
  • Held two roles at connect.faith: volunteer Director of Programming and paid consultant. Built the programming model and served as primary director of photography and lead video editor.
  • Built and operated a custom photobooth — hardware, software, and event production.

Director of Programming

Volunteer
2019 – 2023

connect.faith (Digital Worshiping Community)

Virtual but Based in New York

Founding Director of Programming for a geographically distributed digital worshiping community. Designed the programming model for a congregation with no physical campus. Began as a volunteer leadership role and transitioned to paid consulting. Owned programming strategy, content production, and community engagement across digital platforms.

  • Built the programming framework — content cadence, format, and engagement structure for a distributed congregation.
  • Director of photography and lead video editor for worship content and community media.
  • Built community-engagement structures that worked for a fully remote congregation. When churches nationwide pivoted to digital worship in 2020, the same playbook scaled.

Films on Purpose

Volunteer
2016

Founding Member

Pleasantville, NY

Co-founded a community-run documentary film series screening environmental and social-issue films at venues including the Jacob Burns Film Center and local libraries in Westchester County, NY. Led initial strategy, branding, website development, marketing, and event logistics through the organization's launch before relocating to Florida. Films on Purpose continues to run a regular screening calendar with post-film panel discussions, supported in part by a grant from the Westchester Community Foundation.

  • Built the brand identity, web presence (filmsonpurpose.org), and marketing strategy at launch. The series is still using all three a decade later.
  • Helped build a volunteer-run model that has outlasted the founding team.

Technical Director, Les Misérables Worship Service

Creative
2015

Pleasantville Presbyterian Church

Pleasantville, NY

Conceived and led a two-performance worship service built around the music and themes of Les Misérables. The production combined theatrical staging, set design, and liturgy. Managed a production team of approximately 10 adult volunteers and a youth cast and crew of 25–30.

  • Led set design, A/V production, and talent coordination across both performances.
  • Co-drafted the script and order of worship, working the musical's themes of grace, justice, and redemption into a PC(USA) service.
  • Directed rehearsals and brought youth performers — many with no prior stage experience — into the production.

Director of Christian Education

Ministry
2010 – 2016

Pleasantville Presbyterian Church

Pleasantville, NY

Sole staff leader for all children's, youth, and young adult ministries at a 250-member PC(USA) congregation in Westchester County, NY. Managed the full scope of the ministry area — program design and delivery, volunteer recruitment and management, budget oversight, communications, and technology.

  • Designed and delivered programming for children's Sunday school (20–40 participants) and youth group (20–50 participants), managing an annual budget of approximately $10K and a volunteer team of 30.
  • Created the Challenge to Change mission trip program from scratch — a multi-year partnership with Cedarkirk Camp & Conference Center in Florida.
  • Produced a worship service built around Les Misérables, including set design, scripting, A/V production, and youth performance coordination.
  • Led the rollout of visual worship elements including projection system design and installation.
  • Provided first-line IT support for the church including PCs, Windows Server, Asterisk PBX, and network infrastructure.

B.S. Psychology

Education
2005 – 2010

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a focus on Suicidology. Teaching assistant for Psychology of Suicide. Active volunteer with the Crisis Center at the Alachua County Department of Health.

Eagle Scout

Credentials
2004

Boy Scouts of America

St. Petersburg, FL

Eagle Scout, Troop 263, St. Petersburg, Florida. Eagle Scout project completed at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve — designed and built squirrel shelters from fallen trees milled into boards on-site.

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