Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bucks County Appoints James Harris to CEO Position
JAMISON, PA – July 22, 2022 – Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bucks County is thrilled to announce the appointment of James Harris to the position of Chief Executive Officer. He brings a wealth of experience across a broad range of competencies to this pivotal role.
James was born in Camden, New Jersey. After high school graduation, he enlisted in the Army, where he served as a Military Policeman for 6 years and after an honorable discharge attended and graduated from Seton Hall University with a degree in Behavioral Science and an MBA in Business Management from Rosemont College in Philadelphia, PA. After years of for-profit corporate work at companies such as Coca-Cola, Glaxo Smith-Kline, and Bristol Myers- Squibb, he decided to make the switch to public service. James went on to become the Chief Operating Officer for school organizations: Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation, Dayton City Schools in Dayton Ohio, and Business Operations Manager for Breakthrough Charter Network, located in Cleveland Ohio. He also worked in the New England area supporting school turnaround efforts with Project Grad USA. After a very brief stint with the Philadelphia School District, James was recruited to be the School Superintendent for the Daniel Boone Area School District in Berks County, PA which then led him to his most recent role, as the School Superintendent of the Woodland Hills School District in Pittsburgh, PA. James has also been in the classroom and where he worked as an adjunct instructor at the University of Evansville School of Business in Evansville, IN and Holy Family University in Philadelphia, PA within the Department of Education where he taught leadership techniques to future Principals. James has presented at numerous conferences and was a speaker at the National Juvenile Justice Conference in 2020. He was the opening speaker at last year’s 2021 PA Conference on Juvenile Justice. James was the winner of the 2019 Champion of Children’s Award presented by the Allegheny County Juvenile Court. James was also awarded Educator of the Year in Ohio by the Learn Fresh Organization for his work with inner city middle school students utilizing a board-game based on NBA / WNBA player shooting averages to teach statistics. James has served on numerous boards and committees; he is currently serving on the leadership boards of three organizations: Auberle (Family and Youth Support), Pittsburgh Musical Theatre Company and the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank.
Complementary to the work being done within education, he has created four unique business concepts: three restaurants, (North Main St Annex Café, Taste a Wine and Dessert House and Serendipity Bistro) and one art gallery (Noella) a portmanteau of his children’s names, Noah and Ella.
James has a philosophy of leadership which is largely a reflection of his philosophy of living. He believes that each day we are both educators and learners; that the interaction between education and learning is an intricate one. Moreover, he believes that if we are active and practice participatory citizenship, our lives truly becoming enriched by these experiences.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bucks County (BBBSBC) is a premier mentoring non-profit chapter of the national organization, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. BBBSBC has provided over 50 years of service, within our professionally supported mentoring programs, to the youth of Bucks County.
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