Board Member

James is currently the Mayor of the City of Irondale, the 55th largest city in Alabama. He was elected the first African-American Mayor of Irondale on August 25, 2020. As Mayor, he is an ambassador and administrator for the City of Irondale. As a visionary leader, he believes that cities should attempt to do things so big that without the help of a sovereign God, they are doomed to fail.

He earned a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in May 2020. While pursuing his MPA, he was also inducted into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi and Pi Alpha Alpha and the International Honor Society of Public Affairs and Administrators. He is working on a doctorate at the University of North Alabama, Executive Doctor of Business Administration Program (EBDA).

James has received several awards since becoming the Mayor. He completed the 2021 Intensive Economic Development Training Course through the Government & Economic Development Institute, Auburn University. He was one of five Mayors selected to participate in the Mayor Design Summit hosted by Design Alabama in 2022. He was also a YW Allies Honoree given by the YWCA Central Alabama to men working towards eliminating racism and empowering women.

James is the Jefferson County Mayors Association's Vice President and Treasurer for the Alabama Conference of Black Mayors.

James was also a graduate of Leadership Birmingham class of 2010. He has received several public service awards and has attended two of the country's most prestigious universities to study community and economic development. He received a certificate from Harvard University Divinity School Summer Leadership Institute for completing their Faith-Based Community Development Program. He also earned a certificate from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton Business School for completing its Economic Development Program through the International Council of Shopping Centers. He was 1 out of 35 individuals selected after a competitive application process that included close to 100 applicants from 27 states to participate in the first-ever Government Finance Officers Association Leadership Academy in 2019 at the College of Charleston. He is also the Treasurer for the Alabama Conference of Black Mayors.

James and his wife, Kimberly, have been married and residents of the Stoneridge and Old Overton Trail communities, Irondale neighborhoods, for 33 years. They attend the Church of the Highlands Grants Mill Campus. They have two children: Jade (29), a graduate of Columbia University's Master of Fine Arts Writing Program, who works at PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York, and Christian (24), a graduate of Accounting at Birmingham Southern College, who plays professional basketball in Tbilisi, Georgia.