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Speaking
Keynotes, panels, and workshops on applied AI, civic technology, and building teams that ship.
What Organizers Say
"Best reviewed speaker we've ever had." — Peter Misek, CEO, Framework VC
"Highest rated speech of the entire conference" — every attendee rating a 4 or 5. — American Society for Crime Lab Directors
"Both intentionally silly and yet so wonderful… leaving inspired about how certain tools have democratized access to AI." — Juliana Echeverri, Director of Customer Success, Laurel
Signature Topics
- Creating Cultures of Curiosity — How organizations — and people — build the habits of mind that make AI and innovation energizing rather than threatening. The crowd-pleaser: equally resonant for student audiences and corporate all-hands, and the one people quote back to you weeks later. For: general audiences, students, HR & culture leaders, all-hands and keynote events.
- Emerging Technology & Innovation — What successful organizations actually do differently when it comes to innovation: how they experiment, how they fail productively, and how they build the organizational muscle for sustained creative output. Drawn from NASA, civic tech, and enterprise at scale. For: innovation teams, R&D leaders, executive audiences, academic institutions.
- AI in Software Development — What AI means for engineering teams, development velocity, and technical decision-making. From copilots to agents: the productivity gains, the new risks, and how technology leaders should think about team structure, tooling, and what it means to write software going forward. For: CTOs, VPs of Engineering, software teams, technology leaders.
- AI as Internal Business Strategy — A deeper conversation about the workflows and challenges inside your organization, grounded in real-world analogs from other industries. Surfaces where automation creates genuine leverage — and where it quietly hides significant risk in ways that aren't obvious until it's too late. Includes a playbook for building the capability to keep improving as the technology evolves. For: executive teams, operations leaders, chief strategy officers.
- AI & Your External Ecosystem — An outsider's read on the AI trends, headwinds, and tailwinds reshaping your industry — delivered without the internal assumptions that distort how incumbents see their own space. Strategic questions, then calibrated to the particular risks and opportunities AI presents in your sector. For: CEOs, strategy teams, investors, board members.
- AI Corporate Policy & Risk — How to think about AI risk at the organizational level: governance frameworks, liability exposure, and the questions boards should be asking before deploying. Drawn from co-authoring NASA's Responsible AI Policy, advising at the DoD, DOJ, and White House, and supporting venture capital and private equity firms through AI adoption. For: boards, C-suite, legal & compliance teams, policy audiences.
Interested in having James speak at your event? Get in touch →
Formats
- Keynote — 30–60 minutes, tailored to your audience and theme
- Executive Workshop — Half or full day, hands-on AI strategy session for leadership teams
- Panel — Moderator or panelist on AI, civic tech, or digital transformation
- Executive Program Faculty — Recurring curriculum for leadership development programs
Selected Engagements
- CFS | Canadian Fintech Summit — "Imagining Fintech Futures with AI", Guest Speaker, 2024
"Best reviewed speaker we've ever had." — Peter Misek, CEO, Framework VC & CFS
- CDO Magazine New York Leadership Summit — "Life in the Fast Lane: Balancing Innovation with AI Risk & Governance", Panel, 2025 — with data & AI leaders from JPMorgan Chase, Dow Jones, and QBE
- NASA State of AI Conference — "Generative AI for Aeronautics Research", 2023
- Generative AI Week USA — Keynote, Austin, 2025 — on the faculty with leaders from PepsiCo, Sony, JPMorgan Chase, and the U.S. State Department
- Generative AI Week — "AI as an Innovation Catalyst", Keynote, 2024
- American Society for Crime Lab Directors — "AI is the Easy Part", Keynote, 2024
Highest rated speech of the entire conference — every rating a 4 or 5.
"Informative, entertaining and sticky. Thank you!"
- NYU Innovation Summit — "What History Can Teach Us About Innovation", Keynote, 2024
"Both intentionally silly and yet so wonderful… leaving inspired about how certain tools have democratized access to AI." — Juliana Echeverri, Director of Customer Success, Laurel
- e-Business Events Aruba — "Inspire to Succeed", International Keynote, 2025
- Digital Summit Minneapolis 2026 — Keynote (upcoming)
- Digital Summit Minneapolis 2025 — Fireside chat with Steve Krull, CEO of Be Found Online — Watch clip 1 ↗ · Watch clip 2 ↗
- IEEE Systems & Information Engineering Design Conference — Keynote: "Curiosity in the Age of AI", 2024
- NASA Convergent Aeronautics Solutions Expo — "Dreaming with AI", Plenary Speaker, 2023
- Cloud4Good Social Impact Leaders Conference — Keynote, 2025
- National Association of State Chief Administrators — "The Impact of AI on State Digital Operations", 2023
- Fortune Brands, Edison Labs — "Digital Futures of the Everyday Consumer", Guest Speaker, 2023
- National Association of Forensic Science Boards — Plenary Speaker, 2024
- Northern Startup Center T&E Summit — "Thinking Sideways: Curiosity in the Age of AI", Keynote, 2025
- Presidential Innovation Fellows — "Human Capital Constraints of Organizational Innovation", 2022
- Envoy Executive Programs — Executive Training & Adjunct Speaker on AI (2024–present)
- NASA's Ecosystemic Futures Podcast — Co-Host (2023–present)
- South Carolina State Executive Committee — Guest Speaker, 2024
- Northern Startup Center T&E Summit — "Cybersecurity Isn't Optional: Real Talk on Cyber Threats and Smart Protection", Panel, 2025
- NYU AI Nexus Summit — "Accessible Education Through Scale and AI", 2017
- UVA Batten Lecture Series — "Using Policy to Improve Technology", Panel Moderator & Guest Speaker, 2016
- Accenture FinTech Innovation Lab Asia Pacific — "Relative Identity at Scale", 2015
Book James
Interested in having James speak at your event? Get in touch →