James Kent

.Jim Kent is a social ecologist with more than 30 years of experience in crafting empowered collaborations among corporations, communities and governments. Jim is known for his innovations in place-based strategies involving change in local communities. He writes a policy column for the International Right of Way Association's Magazine under the banner of "Social Ecology: Leveraging the Science of Community." His columns discuss elements of a transparent system on how companies can prevent disruption and ambush from community members in their project endeavors by resolving community issues "up front." The JKA Group, that he heads, assists project personnel to understand, integrate and align with community traditions, beliefs and issues early in the project decision making process.

As author, trainer, lecturer and policy consultant he has pioneered the development of institutional informal change processes in the United States and throughout the Pacific Rim countries. He has participated in creating a broad spectrum of programs for: local, state and national governments, the Philippine government of Corazon Aquino, opened the door in South China for wireless communication development, the City and County of Honolulu, the United States Forest Service, Washoe County (Nevada), the Marine Corps, American Heritage Rivers, and many corporate clients. Jim holds a Masters Degree in Sociology from Kent State University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Denver.

His creative interpretation of Section 101 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) has brought him national recognition. The many years of his applied work with the productive harmony clause of Section 101 led to a breakthrough in the use of NEPA as a dynamic interactive process rather than solely a regulatory procedure as provided for in its Section 102. As a result, he received the Gifford Pinchot 75th Anniversary Award in 1981 for introducing "socially responsive management" to the United States Forest Service (USFS). Under this program the western United States has been mapped into six scales of Human Geographic Units similar to watershed and biological units. These human units are used to understand the social, cultural, political and economic context within which technical studies, development projects, and improved resource management decisions are evaluated and implemented through an enhancement, rather than extractive, process.

JKA Group is the recipient of a 30 year agreement with the United States Department of the Interior - Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to adopt his Human Geographic Issue Management System™ for use by the BLM, its partners, and other federal agencies. The BLM agreement applies action based social and cultural methodology to increase effective public participation, citizen ownership and collaboration in building the capacity for community-based partnerships.

His informal change processes are used throughout the Pacific Rim countries.

JAMES A. KENT
837 Steele Street
Denver, CO 80206
970-618-9240
jkent@jkagroup.com

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Global community organizer with extensive experience in successfully implementing economic redesign by providing technical assistance to individual and family enterprise start-ups in rural areas. Expert in community-involved issue management and corporate responsibility. International social ecologist who has presented at hundreds of universities, policy forums, and conferences. Authentic caretaker and communicator deeply concerned about community health and well being. Key areas of expertise include:

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

JKA Group, Basalt, CO - 1988 to Present

World renowned experts in global-social culture analysis, human geographic issue management systems, and culture-based strategic planning, implementation and education.

President
Aligned public policy outcomes with responsive mix of citizen and agency interests.

CENTER FOR SOCIAL ECOLOGY AND PUBLIC POLICY, Ashland, OR - 2003 to Present

Non-profit specializing in creation of public policy through direct participation of citizens.

Co-Founder and Senior Analyst

Analyzed and interpreted impact of emerging trends on empowerment of individual citizens.
Avoided consumption of pole and wire raw materials for telecommunication infrastructure across China and India by analyzing social networks, distributing cell phones to cultural leaders, and leveraging resulting demand for mobile technology.
Saved Oregon tax dollars by analyzing emerging trends in recreational activity and aligning long term recreation department development plans.
Increased affordable housing for Japanese community in Hawai`i by listening to elders and designing project to include shaded outdoor gathering places.

NATURAL BORDERS, Kona, Hawaii - 1998 to Present

Production company that prints proprietary geographic maps depicting people and land as one unit.

Co-Founder and President

Revolutionized government decision making by creating system to recognize geographic boundaries of cultural social systems in addition to administrative borders.

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