James co-founded AchieveMission to help nonprofit organizations to scale and sustain their social impact by strengthening leadership and human capital management capabilities. As CEO, he leads the organization’s mission, strategy and organizational development.

James has been scaling organizations, consulting, and building technology to enhance human capital management for more than 20 years. Previously, as COO & VP Programs, he built Taproot Foundation’s nonprofit consulting practice into one of the largest capacity building organizations in the country, growing it more than 40% per year with steadily increasing quality and lowering costs, and ultimately overseeing more than 1,000 consulting engagements in strategy, marketing, IT and human capital management for nonprofits nationwide.

James’ writing on leadership and human capital management has appeared in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Independent Sector Quarterly, and Bridgespan Leadership Matters. He has supported several cross-sector collaborations on leadership and high performance including as an Ambassador at the Leap of Reason Ambassador Community, an Advisory Board member of the Talent Philanthropy Project, a founding contributor to #Equityinthecenter, as well as leadership roles with the White House Forum on Nonprofit Leadership, the Initiative for Nonprofit Talent and Leadership and the Annie E. Casey Social Sector Talent Pipeline Strategy & Learning Lab.

Earlier, James held senior roles at several high growth software companies that support superior human capital management in the areas of learning and development, online community, and knowledge management; three were successfully sold or taken public.

James began his career as a strategy consultant with JSA International/A.T. Kearney. He earned his MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management and his BA cum laude from Georgetown University.