Senior Risk Management Specialist, Risk Management Agency
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

James was raised on a family farming operation outside of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His interest in farming continued during high school where he served as president of the FFA chapter for two years. He further nurtured his passion for agriculture as a student worker within the department of agriculture at Southern University. During that tenure, he gained additional knowledge on decision making within a farming operation.

A 1974 graduate of Southern University, James holds a degree in animal husbandry with a minor in agronomy. He continued studies in agriculture at North Dakota State University.

James begain his career with U.S.D.A. in 1972 as a student trainee with NRCS (formally the soil conservation service). He began full time employment as a soil conservationist in 1974 in Fargo, North Dakota. Additionally, he served as one of the state's civil rights advisors.

He transferred to RMA in Oklahoma City as an underwriter in 1978 and has worked throughout the region gaining a working knowledge of the region's agriculture environment. He has held the lead on the development of several crops within the region and has provided the regional response to inquiries for a number of them. James served on the civil rights advisory council for several years and most recently holds the position of regional outreach and RME coordinators. These opportunities have enabled him to forge a relationship with outside regional personnel, community-based organizations and outreach partners to assist the agency's target outreach groups.