Kay Coles James

Kay Coles James (born June 1, 1949) is an American public official who served as secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia from January 2022 to August 2023, and as the director for the United States Office of Personnel Management under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005.[1] Previous to the OPM appointment, she served as Virginia secretary of health and human resources under then-Governor George Allen and was the dean of Regent University's government school. She is the president and founder of the Gloucester Institute, a leadership training center for young African Americans.

Kay Coles James
Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia
In office
January 15, 2022 – August 29, 2023
Acting: January 15, 2022 – March 2, 2022
GovernorGlenn Youngkin
Preceded byKelly Thomasson
Succeeded byKelly Gee (acting)
President of the Heritage Foundation
In office
January 1, 2018 – December 2021
Preceded byEdwin Feulner
Succeeded byKevin Roberts
Director of United States Office of Personnel Management
In office
July 11, 2001 – January 31, 2005
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byJanice Lachance
Succeeded byLinda M. Springer
6th Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Resources
In office
January 15, 1994 – March 12, 1996
GovernorGeorge Allen
Preceded byHoward Cullum
Succeeded byRobert Metcalf
Personal details
Born
Madeline Kay Coles

(1949-06-01) June 1, 1949
Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseCharles E. James Sr.
EducationHampton University (BS)

On December 19, 2017, she was named president of the Heritage Foundation, an influential conservative think tank.[2] She is the first African-American and the first woman to hold that position.[3] On March 22, 2021, she announced she was resigning from the foundation.[4]

Early life and education

James' mother was on government welfare for at least some of James' youth. She was raised in the inner city of Richmond, Virginia. James attended John Marshall High School in Richmond.[5] She is a graduate of Hampton University.

Career

James served on School Board for Fairfax County, Virginia and the Virginia Board of Education, and on the board of the conservative evangelical Focus on the Family.[6] She was senior vice president of the Family Research Council, a conservative, Christian right group and lobbying organization.[7] She has also served as Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer for One to One Partnership, a national umbrella organization for mentoring programs.[8]

She was appointed by President Ronald Reagan and reappointed by President George H. W. Bush as member of the National Commission on Children, an advisory body on children issues.[9] She served under President George H. W. Bush as Associate Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and as Assistant Secretary for public affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

In the mid-1990s, James served as dean of the Robertson School of Government at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia.[10] She also served as Convention Secretary for the 1996 Republican National Convention, which nominated Bob Dole for president.

Office of Personnel Management
James in 2001

James served as the director for the United States Office of Personnel Management from 2001 to 2005 in the George W. Bush administration.[10] Paul Krugman noted that Regent University boasted of 150 graduates working in the Bush administration and criticized James' tenure as the federal government's chief personnel officer when many of these hires occurred.[11] Charlie Savage, a journalist with The Boston Globe, wrote that previous to James, "veteran civil servants screened applicants and recommended whom to hire, usually picking top students from elite schools." Noting that Regent University is ranked a "tier four" school by U.S. News & World Report, the lowest score and essentially a tie for 136th place, Savage said James' changes resulted in lawyers with more conservative credentials, less prior experience in civil rights law and the decline of the average ranking of the law school attended by the applicants.[10] In addition to Savage, other journalists made similar comments.[12][13][14]

On November 4, 2009, Governor-elect Bob McDonnell of Virginia named her one of the co-chairs of his transition committee[15] and subsequently appointed her as a member of Virginia Commonwealth University's governing body, the Board of Visitors.[16]

The Heritage Foundation
Further information: The Heritage Foundation

On December 19, 2017, The Heritage Foundation, an influential conservative Washington, D.C.-based public policy research institute, announced that James would be its sixth president.[17] She has served as a member of the Board of Trustees since 2005.[18]

In 2018, she was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as one of two members of the Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission.[19]

In March 2019, she was appointed to the Advanced Technology External Advisory Council (ATEAC), which was set up by Google to advise on the ethical implications of Artificial Intelligence.[20] Her appointment proved controversial, with some employees of Google protesting.[21] On April 5, 2019, it was reported that Google had disbanded the ATEAC after more than 2,380 employees at Google signed a petition asking that James be removed from it. The petition signers stated that "James' positions on transgender and immigrant rights should have disqualified her from weighing in on AI ethics."[22]

James resigned from the Heritage Foundation in 2021.[4]

Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia

James later served as co-chair of Governor-elect Youngkin's transition steering committee and was appointed by Youngkin as secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia in January 2022.[23] She resigned in August 2023 to assume a leadership position for Youngkin's "Spirit of Virginia" PAC.[24]

Personal life

James is the mother of three grown children[25] and the wife of Charles E. James, Sr., who was the deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs from 2001 to 2009 during the George W. Bush administration.[26]

Honors and awards

In 2004, James was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.[27]

James was named one of the Library of Virginia's Virginia Women in History in 2018.[28][29]

James is the recipient of several honorary degrees, including a Doctor of Laws Degree from Pepperdine University.[30] James is the recipient the University of Virginia's Publius Award for Public Service, and the Spirit of Democracy Award for Public Policy Leadership from the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation.[31]

As a 1994 graduation speaker at Hampton University, James said, "[The United States is] experiencing cultural AIDS. We as a country have been the victims of an immune system that has broken down. It's gone."[32]

Books
  • James, Kay; Jacquelline Cobb, Fuller (1993). Never Forget. Zondervan. ISBN 978-0310482000.
  • James, Kay; Jacquelline Cobb, Fuller (1995). Kay James. ISBN 0-310-49631-4. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  • James, Kay; Kuo, David (1995). Transforming America: From the Inside Out. Zondervan. ISBN 0-310-48440-5.
  • James, Kay (2001). What I Wish I'd Known Before I Got Married. Multnomah Publishers. ISBN 1-57673-781-0.

References
  1. "Kay Coles James". nndb.com.
  2. McCaskill, Nolan (December 19, 2017). "Heritage Foundation taps Kay Coles James to be next president". Politico. Retrieved 2017-12-19.
  3. Scott, Eugene. "Powerful pro-Trump think tank names first black female president". The Washington Post. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  4. "Kay James, prominent Black conservative voice, resigns from Heritage Foundation". reuters.com. Reuters. 2021-03-22. Retrieved 2021-05-22.
  5. Fadulu, Lola (December 15, 2018). "The First Black Woman to Lead the Heritage Foundation". The Atlantic.
  6. "FCPS Resolution commending Kay Coles James (PDF)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-10-07. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  7. "Kay James". U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Retrieved 2017-02-03.
  8. "MENTOR promotes, advocates and is a resource for mentoring".
  9. "Kay James: Executive Profile". Business Week. Archived from the original on September 28, 2012.
  10. Savage, Charlie (April 8, 2007). "Scandal puts spotlight on Christian law school". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
  11. Krugman, Paul (April 13, 2007). "For God's Sake". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
  12. Moyers, Bill (May 11, 2007). "Bill Moyers Journal Transcript". PBS. Retrieved 2007-12-12.
  13. Lithwick, Dahlia (April 8, 2007). "Justice's Holy Hires". Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
  14. Cohen, Andrew (April 9, 2007). "The Gutting Of The Justice Department". CBS News. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
  15. "Governor-Elect • Bob McDonnell Transition". Archived from the original on 2009-11-08. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
  16. "Governor names five to VCU's board of visitors | Richmond Times-Dispatch". www2.timesdispatch.com. Archived from the original on 21 July 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  17. "The Heritage Foundation Names Kay Coles James New President". The Heritage Foundation.
  18. "Board of Trustees". The Heritage Foundation.
  19. www.whitehouse.gov
  20. "An external advisory council to help advance the responsible development of AI". Google blogs. 26 March 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  21. "Inside the Google employee backlash against the Heritage Foundation". The Verge. April 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  22. Birnbaum, Emily (2019-04-04). "Google disbands AI ethics board following pushback". TheHill. Retrieved 2019-04-05.
  23. "Youngkin appoints Kay Coles James as secretary of the commonwealth". The Roanoke Times. January 7, 2022.
  24. "Va. Lottery's Gee tapped as next secretary of commonwealth". Virginia Business. August 29, 2023.
  25. "U.S. Office of Government Ethics -". usoge.gov. Archived from the original on 2006-09-25. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
  26. "www.linkedin/in/cejsr". Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  27. Incorporated, Prime. "National Academy of Public Administration". National Academy of Public Administration. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
  28. "Virginia Women in History 2018 Kay Coles James". www.lva.virginia.gov. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  29. "Kay Coles James". Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  30. "Kay Coles James: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  31. "The Gloucester Institute". The Gloucester Institute. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  32. Smith, Tammie (February 6, 2002). "Kay Coles James". Richmond Times Dispatch. Archived from the original on December 14, 2006. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
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