James comes from an international development background having lived for a decade in Vanuatu, working in the food security space with the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), as well as the education sector with Vanuatu's Little Stars Summer School (VLSSS). Before joining HRMI he worked in community development with Aotearoa Resettled Community Coalition (ARCC), working towards better settlement and integration outcomes for the resettled (former refugee) community. He has an undergraduate degree in Mathematics from Oxford University and an MSc Sustainable Development from the University of London.