Executive Director, National Basketball Social Justice Coalition
James is the inaugural executive director of the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition. Formed jointly by the NBA, the NBPA, and the NBCA in 2020, the Coalition is a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization leading the NBA family’s efforts to advance social justice at the national, state, and local levels.
James joined the NBA from Arnold Ventures where he was a vice president overseeing a team managing a $90 million grant portfolio on criminal justice reform. Prior to Arnold, he served as the inaugural director of the Thurgood Marshall Institute at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
Previously, James served eight years in the administration of President Barack H. Obama, where he was a senior official at the United States Department of Justice—holding roles as Counselor to the Attorney General of the United States and as Senior Counselor and Director of Policy & Planning in the Civil Rights Division.
During the 2008 presidential election, James was a campaign staffer with Obama For America. He began his career as a litigation associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, LLP. James received an A.B. from Princeton University and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. He sits on the boards of Community Change, Vera Action, and the John Jay College Foundation.
A first-generation immigrant born in England to Caribbean parents, James lives in the District of Columbia with his wife, Maya Martin Cadogan, a non-profit executive and proud sixth-generation Washingtonian, and their son.