Downtown Investment Authority

Ric Anderson joined the Downtown Investment Authority in February 2023 after a 40-year career as a news reporter, editor and manager.

In his role as Marketing and Communications Specialist, he works to keep the community updated on the DIA’s progress while also raising awareness about the organization’s role and vision. Through engagement with community members, the DIA’s business partners, the media and all stakeholders involved in creating a robust Downtown Jacksonville, his goals include broadening the understanding of the value that a vibrant Downtown brings to the entire Northeast Florida region and promoting Downtown’s potential as a dynamic place to live, work and play.

Ric got his first job in a newsroom during high school at his hometown newspaper in Kansas. After graduating from the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at The University of Kansas, he worked as a news and sports reporter, a news columnist and an editor for publications in Kansas and Nevada. He came to Jacksonville from Las Vegas, where he spent 11 years as a news and opinion editor at the Las Vegas Sun.

Ric likes to run, explore new restaurants and read classic detective fiction, ideally on a beach. He and his wife, Chris, live in Avondale and enjoy doing home restoration projects together.