James Ham

James T. Ham is a senior executive global leader who retired from U.S. Federal Service in 2023 with 34 years of combined service to the US Navy, Peace Corps and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Building upon his experience as a returned Peace Corps volunteer (1996–1998, Guinea), he has strategically directed international volunteer programs in a variety of sectors, including public health, education, small enterprise development, and agriculture. He oversaw all aspects of strategy development, administration, and policy and program implementation to advance the Peace Corps mission. Additionally, he has led crisis management activities to the Ebola virus disease response in West Africa and multiple evacuation missions on the African continent.

Mr. Ham founded Koba Leadership, an executive leadership coaching firm, and has led programs in Africa, Europe and the Caribbean while serving as the country director for the Peace Corps in South Africa, Uganda and Cameroon; in addition, he has directed public health initiatives for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Guinea, Cote D’Ivoire and Zambia.

James is passionate about servant leadership and public service. During his time as a student at North Carolina Central University, he was the co-founder of the African American Future Educators Association (AAFEA), which recruited student volunteers to address the gap in SAT ranking for African American students in Durham public schools. Mr. Ham graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in education and continued his vision for a career in international service.

He has been consistently recognized for his dedication to international volunteerism and the embodiment of core leadership principles. He is a proud veteran, serving honorably in the United States US Navy.

He is bilingual (English and French), holds a Master of Arts in International Education from American University, and is currently a doctoral candidate in the Executive Leadership Program at the University of Charleston, WV. Mr. Ham is an alumnus of leadership programs with the University of Denver International Career Advancement Program (2004), the Harvard University Senior Executive Fellows Program (2018), the African American Federal Executives Program (2019), and the American University Key Executive Leadership Program (2020).

He holds memberships with the Chief of Staff Association (CSA), life member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) since 2023, Black Professionals in International Affairs, the Atlanta Councils on International Relations (ACIR) and the National Association of Foreign Student Advisors (NASA). His global career, achievements and academic accomplishments position him as a skilled internationalist to advise our students and staff in the NCCU Promise tenant of “Global Relevance.”