James is the founder and executive director of the W. Haywood Burns Institute. Since 2001, he has spearheaded a national movement to address racial and ethnic disparities in the administration of the youth justice system. He has trained thousands of human services professionals and community members on a vision of well-being as the most effective way to achieve community safety. In 2016, he was recognized for his “profound contribution to human rights,” by the American Education Research Association Human Rights Award Committee.

His expertise extends into the international justice arena: James assisted the African National Congress in the administration of the juvenile justice system in South Africa and consulted with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund. He has worked with government officials and activists on the human rights of children and restorative justice in Cambodia, Kenya, Brazil, New Zealand and China.

James has appeared on numerous national television shows, conducted several radio interviews and written blogs for the Huffington Post. He has authored sections of published anthologies on school discipline, youth justice history, and health.  In 2016 he was invited to be the Langeloth Fellow at the Mesa Refuge where he worked on his forthcoming book.