James grew up in the Midwestern part of the United States. He obtained degrees in business administration and system sciences from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. After briefly working in the private sector, he began pursuing a graduate degree in international business management from the University of South Carolina. In the course of his studies, primarily while living in Northeastern China, he became increasingly interested in the economic systems of developing economies as well as the role creative entrepreneurs play in their societies. Soon after obtaining his Master’s degree, James began work as an advisor to poverty alleviation programs in Western Africa. His first task was to improve the efficiency and long term viability of a group of vocational training schools in Ghana. Later he worked on a range of agricultural improvement programs. Eventually, his background in finance and business led to work in the burgeoning field of micro-finance, where he was focused on improving the organizational structure and financial stability of a local micro-finance program. James then moved to the former Soviet Central Asia. He was instrumental in re-organizing a disparate group of non-profit micro-lending programs in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan into cohesive organizations. His initiatives in Tajikistan to improve the efficiency, organization and management of local micro-lending projects were instrumental in the creation of the sustainable lending organization now known as OXUS Tajikistan. James later worked in Afghanistan, where he was responsible for the initial startup phases of OXUS Afghanistan. James has been fortunate to work in various regions for a sufficient duration of time to see the real long terms impacts of a vast range of poverty alleviation and economic development initiatives. He has seen the long term impacts of properly funded and structured institutions versus those of improperly funded, poorly structured institutions. He is aware of the benefits that a well-managed and implemented program can have on a community, as well as the complete lack of benefits a poorly implemented program can have. James was involved with the initial development of Insaan Group, and he has been with Insaan since its creation. He is passionate about supporting well managed and well organized institutions (both for-profit and not-for-profit) that have a sustainable social impact on the societies in which they operate.