James was born in Kaplan, Louisiana and holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Louisiana State University. He also studied architecture in Sienna, Italy. James graduated with honors and was the recipient of the AIA Baton Rouge’s OJ Baker Memorial Award for the annual design competition for third year students, the Louisiana Forestry Foundation Award for Excellence of Architectural Design with wood, the Historic American Building Survey’s Distinguished Charles E Peterson prize, and the highest honor bestowed by the College of Architecture, the 1993 recipient of the Alpha Rho Chi medal. James is a licensed architect in Arizona, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Illinois. He holds a National Council of Architectural Registration Boards certificate as well as residential and commercial general contracting licenses in Arizona. James is a past recipient of the AIA’s Young Architect Award, as well as past president of both the AIA Rio Salado chapter and AIA Arizona. He has received 12 presidential commendations for his involvement in the American Institute of architects and is involved in the local community. James serves as a board member of the Rio Salado Architecture Foundation. He has designed and managed educational, religious, recreational, retail, and residential works and has built work in 18 states.