Business Profile – DICK JAMES
Dick James, Senior Member, Dick James & Associates, LLC (DJ & A), manages a consulting company that advises and develops non-profit organizations in underserved communities in Southern California. Since 1985, DJ & A has done well addressing the need to consult and coordinate activities helping to keep young people engaged in positive activities and away from civil offenses. His worked has meaningfully expanded services for the youth by helping to build capacity to extend productive activities with a number of grassroots nonprofit organizations such as the Hollenbeck Police & Business Association, theHollenbeckYouthCenter and the Inner-City Games in theBoyleHeights and otherEast Los Angeles communities.
Before establishing DJ & A, in the position of West Coast Director of Sales for Fugazy Travel Corporation, Mr. James quite successfully collaborated to acquire the “RMS Queen Mary” fromEngland toLong BeachCalifornia as a retired ocean liner that sailed theNorth Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967. The ship is now part of the world’s historic places, berthed permanently in Long Beach as a museum ship and hotel. Also as momentous was his team work in securing Michelangelo’s “Pietà” from Rome for the historic two six-month seasons of the 1964/1965 New York World’s Fair. Pietà is Michelangelo’s most famous carved artwork as a sculptor when he was 24 years old in 1499, he made the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the Crucifixion.
As Regional Director of Sales for the Stardust and Desert Inn Hotels, Mr. James generated extremely flourishing travel and convention hotel packages. He was a widely sought after professional in the hospitality industry, and it was for this reason he served as the Director of Sales for many notable hotels like the Shelter Island Half Moon Inn inSan Diego, plus the famousLas Vegasdestinations places that included the Flamingo Hotel, Stardust Hotel, and Desert Inn. His incredible hotel career concluded with a seventeen year stint with the world renowned HotelDelCoronadoinSan Diego. As can be expected, upon retiring from this work a number of special requests were made of Mr. James to package travel and convention activities inSouthern Californiathrough his own company.
Today, Mr. James is an equal partner in DJ & A with Mike McClure. Their extensive work focuses on local and national programs in technology and transportation to demonstrate how to improve the quality of life for people residing and working in the city and county of Los Angeles. As an example, DJ & A helped the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Corporation (HENAAC) receive a long-term contract funded by the U.S. Department of Defense to bring Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) School Support Initiative Program to Los Angeles’ Boyle Heights community.
By encouraging the community residents ofBoyleHeightsto take action for promoting STEM opportunities individuals gain greater self-empowerment. Consequently, this 80,000+ populated community is benefiting from students and families who take this knowledge with them into their everyday lives and the greaterLos Angelesarea receives an increased number of people interested in pursuing STEM college and career pathways.