Jim is responsible for launching innovative diplomacy initiatives at the U.S. Department of State, building new partnerships for the secretary, and managing the Department’s major corporate relationships. Jim previously served as the Director for Partnerships and Innovation on the National Security Council at the White House in 2012, where he authored the Building Partnerships Best Practices Guide. He is the former Deputy Special Representative for Global Partnerships at the Department of State, and the former Acting Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID's) Global Development Alliance. Jim has 25 years of government experience, previously serving as a USAID Food for Peace Officer, Program Officer and as a Contracting Officer at both USAID and at the U.S. Department of Energy. He has extensively used his acquisition and assistance experience to create new public-private partnership models. Jim is a frequent speaker on public-private partnerships and has taught partnership and acquisition courses throughout Africa, Latin America and Europe. Jim was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar and completed his Master of Arts in Political Studies at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He lives with his husband and three sons in Washington, D.C.