Kingsport, Tennessee · Northeast Tennessee

Analysis, AI, and digital systems for people who need the real answer.

I've spent more than twenty years behind the scenes of systems people usually notice only when they stop working. Today I combine source-driven intelligence research, practical AI, and hands-on digital operations to help law firms, local organizations, publishers, and technical teams turn messy problems into clear, usable answers.

Send Me the Problem View Resume Tri-Cities AI Lab

OSINT AI Systems Web Ops Strategy

Dustin Lifford is an intelligence analyst, AI consultant, and digital strategist based in Kingsport, Tennessee. His work sits at the intersection of OSINT, applied AI, web infrastructure, and automation. He helps organizations turn messy information into practical decisions, whether that means investigating corporate structures, building AI-assisted workflows, fixing web systems, or translating technical problems into plain English.

He is an Intelligence Analyst with Barrister Intelligence, supporting law firms and litigation teams through corporate structure research, forensic intelligence reporting, asset tracing, and OSINT investigations. He is also the founder of Tri-Cities AI Lab, a regional consulting practice focused on practical AI for local businesses.

Before that, Dustin spent more than 20 years in web development, technical SEO, analytics, WordPress infrastructure, digital operations, and custom software development, including director-level roles at Six Rivers Media.

Career, in one line

The tools changed. The job did not.

Technical support, web development, newsroom infrastructure, intelligence analysis. Different titles, same underlying work.

01 / Where it started

Technical support

Troubleshooting Apple systems for real people with real deadlines. The job was always the same: find out what actually broke, not what someone assumed broke.

02 / Web and digital work

Building and running systems

WordPress development, SEO, and digital consulting, then director-level programming and development work, translating business problems into working software.

03 / Newsroom infrastructure

Regional news, 2012 to 2025

Roughly thirteen years keeping regional news sites online across The Net, The Net360, and Six Rivers Media, through multiple CMS and platform eras, for outlets across Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.

The recurring job has always been the same one: trace a failure back to its source, separate fact from assumption, understand the system well enough to explain it in plain English, and leave something the next person can actually use. Today that shows up as intelligence analysis and practical AI work, but it is the same habit of mind.

Investigate. Build. Operate.

01 / Investigate

OSINT, source validation, and litigation support

Open-source intelligence, corporate structure research, litigation support, evidence review, and digital-footprint analysis, sourced carefully and reported clearly.

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02 / Build

Practical AI, automation, and internal tools

AI workflows, document intelligence, custom internal tools, and integrations built around how your operation actually works, not how a demo says it should.

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03 / Operate

Web systems, SEO/AEO, and publishing infrastructure

Web systems, WordPress, technical SEO and AEO, analytics, publishing systems, and technical infrastructure: sites that load fast, track correctly, and get found.

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InputMessy information

ProcessResearch + verification

BuildAI and workflow systems

OperateWeb and digital infrastructure

OutputUseful decisions

Who this is for

They have a real problem and need a real answer.

Not a sales deck, and not a discovery call that leads to another discovery call. People bring a specific, often messy problem, and leave with a clear answer, a working system, or both.

Attorneys and litigation teams

Bring corporate structures, asset trails, digital footprints, or a claim that needs source-backed verification. They receive a sourced research memo or report that holds up under scrutiny.

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Local businesses and organizations

Bring a website, workflow, or reporting problem, or interest in AI without the generic slop. They receive a working system built around how they actually operate, not a demo.

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Publishers, agencies, and technical teams

Bring a platform problem: WordPress, tracking, redirects, schema, performance, or a messy migration. They receive a second set of eyes that finds what is actually wrong.

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Proof, not promises

Three stretches of real work that show the same pattern: understand the system, then leave it better than it was found.

Past · Director & Senior Developer

Thirteen years keeping regional news systems running

The Net360 & Six Rivers Media · 2012 to 2025

Situation: Regional news properties across Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia needed their web infrastructure kept running through repeated platform changes, ad-tech shifts, and CMS migrations.

Responsibility: Director- and senior-developer-level web development, WordPress infrastructure, technical SEO, analytics, and ad operations across the portfolio, including timesnews.net, johnsoncitypress.com, erwinrecord.net, and thetomahawk.com.

What changed: Sites stayed online and functional across multiple platform eras instead of accumulating the kind of technical debt that eventually takes a newsroom's site down during a breaking story.

What it proves: Long-haul systems work under real deadline pressure, not just clean greenfield builds.

Past Work · Multiple Roles

Digital systems for the place I live

Northeast Tennessee & Southwest Virginia

Situation: Local government, a community college, a regional utility, and a city-owned nature park each needed a public-facing web presence that had to work for residents, not just look good in a pitch deck.

Responsibility: Design and development for the City of Kingsport's municipal site, Mountain Empire Community College's web presence, customer-facing platform support for BrightRidge, and the public site for Bays Mountain Park & Planetarium.

What changed: Residents, students, and visitors got public records, admissions information, customer tools, and park programs in a system built to hold up under everyday public use.

What it proves: This work is rooted in Northeast Tennessee, not a portfolio of anonymous logos.

kingsporttn.gov mecc.edu brightridge.com baysmountain.com

Current · Intelligence & AI

Intelligence, legal research, and practical AI

Barrister Intelligence & Tri-Cities AI Lab · 2024 to Present

Situation: Law firms need OSINT and litigation-support research that holds up under scrutiny; local businesses want AI that is useful without the generic slop.

Responsibility: Intelligence Analyst work for Barrister Intelligence (corporate structure research, forensic reporting, asset tracing) alongside founding and building Tri-Cities AI Lab, a regional AI consulting practice with its own AI Without the Slop campaign.

What changed: Attorneys get sourced research they can act on, and local businesses get AI workflows built around how they actually work.

What it proves: The same investigative habit of mind now runs current intelligence and AI work, not just past web projects.

barristerintelligence.com tricitiesailab.com

Current client work

Sites built and maintained through Tri-Cities AI Lab.

A working sample of recent client sites, from law firms to local service businesses.

Spurrell, Studer & Matney Law Group

Law Firm Custom build

Full law firm site for a Johnson City practice: five practice areas, attorney bios, case results, a legal blog, and a case evaluation form.

A Stitch of Grace

E-Commerce WooCommerce

Online boutique selling apparel, DTF transfers, and embroidered goods, with custom product options and category logic.

Barrister Intelligence

Professional Services WordPress

Intelligence firm serving law firms nationwide. Service pages for intelligence reports, witness location, and corporate structure research.

Built to client specifications.

Templeton Strategic Group

Professional Services WordPress

Licensed criminal defense investigation firm. Attorney testimonials, services, pricing, and team pages.

Built to client specifications.

Berger Law Firm

Law Firm WordPress

Atlanta personal injury firm focused on premises liability, with case results, publications, and endorsement pages.

Built to client specifications.

Hudson Stoneworks & Masonry

Contractor WordPress

Tri-Cities masonry contractor site with service pages, before-and-after sliders, and a project gallery.

Built to client specifications.

Sexton Specialty Lawn Services

Contractor WordPress

Lawn care and landscaping site built around a free estimate request funnel, with gallery and review prompts.

Built to client specifications.

Albatross Logistics and Consulting

Professional Services WordPress

Consulting firm of retired federal agents, featured in a Financial Times investigation. Bilingual English and Spanish site.

Built to client specifications.

Shipley Law Firm

Law Firm WordPress

Homepage, attorney bios, and a Meta lead-generation funnel built for a direct law firm client.

Medication Management Center

Healthcare WordPress

Kingsport medication therapy management practice led by Dr. Billie J. Minton, Pharm.D. Team bios, services, and patient testimonials.

Built to client specifications.

PC Virus Tech

Local Services WordPress

Rogersville computer repair and IT services company. Service pages for repair, virus removal, networking, security cameras, and data backup.

The Swing Lab

Recreation WooCommerce

Indoor golf simulator business in Kingsport. Simulator and course details, events, and session packages booked and sold online.

Dr. Wolfe Energetic Healthcare and Dentistry

Healthcare WooCommerce

Johnson City holistic dental practice site with an online product store, patient forms, and an extensive content library.

Resume

Career path focused on analysis, development, digital operations, troubleshooting, and systems that hold up under real-world pressure.

Oct 2025 to Present

Intelligence Analyst · Barrister Intelligence

Supports law firms and litigation teams through OSINT research, corporate structure analysis, forensic intelligence reporting, asset tracing, and litigation support deliverables.

2024 to Present

Founder · Tri-Cities AI Lab

Founded a regional AI and digital consulting practice helping small and mid-sized businesses adopt practical AI tools. Full-stack build, AI consulting services, and the AI Without the Slop campaign.

Jun 2023 to Oct 2025

Director of Web Development and Services · Six Rivers Media

Oversaw web infrastructure, digital operations, technical strategy, troubleshooting, site performance, analytics, advertising technology, and development support across regional media properties.

Apr 2021 to Oct 2025

Senior Developer · Six Rivers Media

Built and maintained web systems, WordPress infrastructure, digital products, analytics implementations, SEO improvements, and operational tooling.

Jan 2013 to Apr 2021

Director of Programming and Development · The Net360

Led front-end and back-end web application development, custom programming, site builds, design implementation, and client technical support.

Aug 2011 to Jan 2014

Owner · WordPress Blog Man

Provided website design, WordPress development, SEO, social media marketing, customer service, and digital consulting for clients.

Jan 2009 to Aug 2011

Technical Support · Apple Computers

Provided technology support with an emphasis on troubleshooting, customer service, Apple systems, and practical problem resolution.

Capability groups

A practical blend of intelligence research, AI implementation, web development, SEO, and infrastructure support. Full history in the resume above.

Intelligence & Research

OSINT
Corporate Structure Research
Asset Tracing
Litigation Support
Source Verification

AI & Automation

AI Consulting
Document Intelligence
Workflow Automation
Python
Process Mapping

Web & Development

WordPress
PHP
HTML5 / CSS3 / JavaScript
MySQL
Custom CMS Development

SEO & Analytics

Technical SEO
AEO
Google Analytics
Google Ads
Web Analytics

Publishing & Media Systems

Newsroom CMS Infrastructure
Ad Operations
Performance Troubleshooting
Plugin Development

Digital Operations

Project Management
Email Marketing
Customer Service
Technical Troubleshooting

Start Here

Four Field Notes worth reading first.

Writing on intelligence, AI, web systems, and digital strategy. How things actually work, not how they're marketed. Curated, not just the newest.

Field Notes

Thirteen Years Behind the CMS of Local News

I ran the websites for Northeast Tennessee's newspapers from 2012 to 2025. This is what it looked like from the server side.

Read →

Field Notes

The Weird Advantage of Being a Generalist

The advice is always to specialize, pick a lane, become the expert. Here is the case for staying a generalist instead.

Read →

OSINT & Research

Screenshots Are Not Evidence

A screenshot proves one thing: that someone, somewhere, made an image that looks like that. It does not prove the rest.

Read →

Web & Technology

The Day the Internet Stopped Being a Library

A man in Kingsport asked ChatGPT for a lawyer instead of Google. After 20 years building websites, here is what that call means.

Read →

All Field Notes →

Off the clock

Outside of work, Dustin hikes the Appalachian Mountains, smokes various meats, grills, and cooks on the Blackstone, spends time with his family and granddaughter Rosie, and leans into his lifelong habit of being a nerd.

Contact

Send me the messy version.

Tell me what is broken, confusing, scattered, or not working. I can usually help you figure out whether the problem is research, workflow, AI, website infrastructure, SEO, analytics, or something sitting between them.

Web issue, AI workflow, research problem, or messy system. Send the context and I will tell you where I would start.

Send the messy version Connect on LinkedIn 423-967-5584