I was born and raised in Toledo Ohio, and the son of the late Bishop William James and Annette James, and I watched my father pastor for over 48 years at St. James Church and James Temple Church in Toledo, Ohio, along with many other churches throughout Ohio to include Fremont, Sandusky, Port Clinton, and Lima Ohio. I was the churches’ lap baby, and was lovingly raised up in the church, from the time I was six weeks old. I truly lived the African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child.”
At a young age, I discovered that my life purpose was to give back to the community, and although I was not sure that it was to be a minister, I was sure it was helping people live a life completely fulfilled (much like I saw my parents accomplish). I the youngest sibling of eight children, two of which are now pastors.
In pursuit of a call to build people, after I graduated from St. Francis High School (Toledo, OH), I enrolled in Oral Roberts (Tulsa, OK), to study Finance while also developing myself spiritually as a business leader.
I graduated from Oral Roberts University with a BA in finance and:
- During my summer breaks, I became a missionary, serving the Skid Row community (a 50 block area in Downtown Los Angeles, CA) and leading a team of missionaries, to minister and cause transformation in the lives of prostitutes, gang members; and,
- While at Oral Roberts University, I was the Vice President of the Honor Society, and I graduated a year early form Oral Roberts.
- Through my experiences at Oral Roberts University, I realized that ministry was my life, and I became a missionary in Cameroon, assisting the community by building schools, orphanages, and being with the locals as a street minister;
- Realized that I needed to be proficient in French to really minister to the heart of the people of Cameroon, and for this reason, I left Cameroon and moved to France – in hopes of learning the language so that one day I could return to Africa and truly express my love for the people of Cameroon effectively as a missionary. I was in France for years and learned the language. And, then my life was disrupted along with my plans to return to Cameroon, when I learned that my father died unexpectantly while in France.
I moved home to assist my siblings with caring for my mother, who was having a very difficult time newly widowed. Although my plans were altered by the death of my father, I still wanted to give back, wherever I was planted. I started founded a program, which provided tax preparation services for free to free senior citizens and low-income individuals. This program was facilitated through a non-profit organization and assisted hundreds of people, in dire economic times.
To take the program further, I partnered with this group the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which was available to taxpayers who generally make $56,000 or less, persons with disabilities and taxpayers who speak limited English. The IRS also offers a free Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) Program for all taxpayers, particularly those who are age 60 and older. VITA and TCE volunteers are IRS-certified and these sites are open from February through April. This allowed me to expand my reach and capacity to serve the community.
During this time, I was a young man, who loved children, and I could see that we as a community were losing our youth to the streets. For this reason, I became a CASA worker, hoping to provide mentorship to youth before the streets took root in their lives. A Casa worker is a Court Appointed Special Advocates volunteer, and a sworn officer of the court appointed by a juvenile court judge to advocate for children who are living in foster care as a result of abuse or neglect. The Casa Worker, alleviates the burden on state caseworkers, who are often times very busy and usually have an overload of cases. (Learn more here.)
I wanted to go a step further in transforming the life our youth in Toledo, Ohio, and provide an opportunity to impact their education. For this reason, I started (from the ground up) and founded Victory Learning Academy School for at risk youth. The school has changed ownership since then and is now Maritime Academy. From these endeavors, I was never paid, and that was okay with me because I was doing it from the heart, to continue my father’s legacy. I was hurting (after the death of father) and I just wanted to give back.
I developed and served as a consultant to a drug rehab program, which latter grew to be the largest drug rehab program in North West Ohio. Currently, I am in the process of obtaining my license to start a similar nonprofit drug rehabilitation program in Tulsa.
I was able to serve during this time for free and provide for myself through my real estate endeavors in Toledo, Ohio. However, in 2009, the real estate industry was hit hard by our country’s economic collapse, and I, like many Americans, lost everything. I was completely broken, and wanted desperately to make it, and I studied industries to try to glean which industry was recession proof. For this reason, I enrolled in Kent State University (Kent, Ohio), where I obtained my Masters degree in Engineering.
After graduating from Kent State University, I moved back to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where I first developed my first love of serving.
While in Tulsa, I found it difficult to find work, and I began working at a call center, making minimum wage to try to make ends meet. This was not working out like I planned, and I essentially became homeless, living in my car while working at the call center. Even with my education, I could not land a good paying job, and I was astonished at the disproportionate rate my peers were landing jobs although had neither the education, or experience that I had.
I had to change my paradigm to break out of this cycle. I enrolled in Landmark education (Dallas, TX), a professional growth and development company, that assists people in creating with integrity the life they love, essentially revealing the person’s blind spots that operate as a barrier and hold them back in life. I discovered integrity and impact and learned that I was responsible for my life and that I was not at the effect of my circumstances. I volunteered for five years and became their most effective coach and teacher. I would drive from Tulsa, OK to Dallas, TX, anywhere from four – five nights a week to serve as an unpaid leader. Because the course changed my life, I have introduced the course to over 500 people, and this resulted in Landmark Education deciding to hold seminars in Tulsa, OK area. So many lives were transformed, drug abuse gone, marriages stayed together.
Read the Tulsa Inequality indicators that the city puts out each year. It showed that low income areas in Tulsa had a 15-year life expectancy gap because of lack of quality food and being in a food desert. Most families in food deserts grocery shop at the gas station. Met with Devon Douglas (chief resilience officer for Tulsa) and mapped out a plan on how to meet this need and bridge the gap of inequality in these low economic communities. I, along with others, formed Eco Farms. The project garnered a grant from Tulsa Development Economic Development to build a grocery store in the largest food desert in Tulsa. In March of 2019, I conferred with the group and we agreed to go our separate ways, in order that I may focus my time and resources on building a drug rehab. And, although I am no longer a part of that project, it is beautiful and rewarding to seem the plan come full circle.
“This month, a deal was reached with ECO Farms, a local company that focuses on indoor vertical farming to solve food deserts. Two company executives, Jim Bloom and Adam James, said that while this is their first try at a grocery store, they’re intent on making healthy food a reality in District 1 — not a luxury. We’re attending to this as a human right, not a geographic privilege.”
Adam James
This group became the EcoAlliance Group.
Been a Master Mason, one of the first African Americans accepted in my old lodge, where we serve the community through fundraising initiatives and lead many local food drives.
In fall of 2018, I was falsely arrested for DUI, and although many urged me to sue the City of Tulsa for racial profiling, I was free from the “effect” of racism and I chose not to pursue a case against the City. I was cleared of the DUI charges, and many local media outlets ran the story. Now standing the public attention – I wanted to change the narrative, and partner with a nonprofit to bridge the gap and relationship between law enforcement and the communities that they serve. I did this so that Tulsa can have faith in law enforcement. I turned down a lot of lawyers trying to make this happen.
During the flood in Tulsa, I offered my houses for free for any family that was displaced.
I started a company for families that could not go to banks for traditional financing. I buy the house, renovate it, and thereafter, I lease option back to them and report all payments to the credit bureau to assist them in rebuilding their credit. I only take families that can’t be financed. Its mandatory that they take a financial literacy class and undergo credit counseling to re-establish and build their credit. Many families are now homeowners, who otherwise, would not have the opportunity to be such.
In 2015, I assisted a family involved in a tragic accident, where the little boy was crushed by car. I pushed the car away and tried to save him. I contributed to the family financially to assist with funeral expenses and the family made me a pallbearer.
Professional Experience
- Founder & CFO, Integrity Investment Group – 2015 – Present
- Partner, Horticulture Product Development – 2022 – Present
- Founder, Student Loan Solver – 2018 – 2020
- Co-Founder, EcoAlliance Group – 2018 – 2019
- Financial Consultant, Merrill Lynch – 2004 – 2006
- Founder, Maritime Academy School for At-Risk Youth – 2002 – 2006
- Tax Preparer, VITA – 2002 – 2005
- Sales Manager, KeyBank – 2003 – 2004
Educational Background
- B.S. Finance – Oral Roberts University
- M.S. Financial Engineering – Kent State University