James is the Founder and CEO of Valet. As CEO, he is currently focused on how to best organize for the future. He is Lighting Certified (LC) by the National Council on Qualifications for the Lighting Professions and has over 10 years experience leading Valet.
James has lived all over the US, but grew up in the Mountain West where he developed a love for sports and the outdoors. He was an academic and athletic All-American college baseball player at Arkansas and Southern Miss while earning a BA in Philosophy. His senior year at USM, he was elected Team Captain and played in the College World Series for the first time in school history. James was drafted in the 12th round and played professional baseball in the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds organizations.
While earning his MS in Geography, James was assistant-editor for the Southeastern Geographer, drilled ice cores for climate research on the McCall Glacier in the Brooks Range of Alaska, and climbed all 58 14,000’ peaks in CO for thesis research. He Co-Founded Valet in 2013 while writing and defending his master’s thesis.
James is passionate about philosophy, reading, fitness, nutrition, music, and mountaineering. To keep the fires burning, he has a growing list of mountaineering accomplishments, including the Grand Teton and every state highpoint in the contiguous US from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. His next objectives include: Denali, CA 14ers, PNW volcanoes, CO 13ers, and the highest peaks in Europe and Canada.
James has been a member of EO Nashville since March of 2020. He is married to his college sweetheart, Ashley, and they have two boys, Oliver (7) and Walden (4).