James A. Kent

CURRICULUM VITAE

837 Steele Street
Denver, Colorado 80206
(970) 927-4424

EDUCATION

J.D. 1968 University of Denver, Administration of Justice which emphasized the introduction of sociologic concepts into the practice of law.
M.A. 1961 Kent State University, Ohio: Sociology
B.A. 1959 Salem College, West Virginia: Human Relations
1963 16 hours of graduate work in Business Administration, University of Denver

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Co-founder, The Center for Social Ecology and Public Policy, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering productive harmony between human and physical environments. President, JKA Group (1989 to present) Offices in Aspen, Colorado, Ashland, Oregon, and Kapa'au, Hawaii. Specialists in Social Culture Analysis, Human Geographic Issue Management Systems, and Cultural Based Strategic Planning and Action.
CEO, Natural Borders, LLC (2002 to present) Offices in Ashland, Oregon. A Human Geographic Mapping company that produces cultural maps for policy makers, corporate executives, governments so that growth and development can take place by enhancing the lives of the people of culture and place.
Senior Fellow for Culture and Ecology, Center for the New West (1993 to present) Action think tank addressing the social, cultural, and economic issues of the western United States.
Social Ecology Instructor, National Training Center, Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior, Phoenix, Arizona (1995 to present) Teach courses in social ecology, social impact assessment, community based stewardship, and the social and economic structure of natural resource partnerships.
Board Member, Aspen Institute Community Forum (1996 to present) This community forum was formed to bring the resources of the Aspen Institute to address community issues in Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley.
Executive Director, Foundation for Urban and Neighborhood Development (FUND) (1967 to 1993) Currently Chairperson of the Board. A non-profit social justice organization that has pioneered new and innovative strategies to empower communities and individuals to become self-sustaining.
Director, Department of Applied Social Science, Department of Health and Hospitals, Denver, Colorado (1965 to 1968) Managed the social science development of the Neighborhood Health Centers, Children and Youth and the Maternal and Child Health programs as part of the War on Poverty.
Assistant Professor, Training Center for Delinquent Control, University of Denver (1962 to 1964) Responsible for integrated theory development among the Colleges of Law, Sociology, Social Work, Psychology and Education. These Centers were instrumental in the early conceptual stages of forming the War on Poverty.

CREATIVE ENDEAVORS

My work has been distinguished by the creation of concepts out of the geographic environment within which issues exist. Rather than applying external solutions, internal processes are sought through the participation of the people. The trademarked processes are: The Discovery Process and the Kent Issue Management System. Some of the changes in society that have occurred as a result of this approach are as follows: Created over 40 new careers during the War on Poverty and worked with 300 institutions of higher education to develop Associate of Arts accrediting programs for career pathways to empower people to change their lives from poverty to participation.

From 1965 to 1969 worked with pediatricians and the University of Colorado to create the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Program. Pediatric Nurse Practitioners are now an integral part of national and international health delivery systems.

Participated in the development of experiential based higher education programs for active professionals who did not want to leave their careers to earn B.A., M.A. or Ph.D. degrees. The Antioch program and Union Graduate Consortium are two of the best known.

Assisted in creating the concept of alternative schools within public school systems. The Open Living School in Jefferson County, Colorado was one of the first such schools. It was begun in 1969 and still exists today. Charter schools are a spin off of these early experiments.

Formed a major theory called The Discovery Process™, based on experiential learning using one's own environment as the core unit of growth. It distinguishes the informal systems from the formal systems of community. This process has been used throughout the globe with governments, corporations, communities, and citizens to bring about change while maintaining the integrity of both internal and external culture.

Introduced Socially Responsive management to the United States Forest Service between 1976 and 1981. This program won me the 75th Anniversary Gifford Pinchot Award for outstanding service by a citizen to the field of natural resource management.

In 1971 pioneered a social impact management model for the application of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. The first application of this model was the Meadow Mountain Environmental Assessment (Beaver Creek Ski Area). The process of issue management and citizen involvement was so successful that the Beaver Creek Ski Area was approved at the Environmental Assessment level and never went to an Environmental Impact Statement. The key to this success was to use Section 101 of NEPA to scope the issues in the informal systems, resolve the emerging issues with citizen participation, and mitigate the remaining few unresolved issues.

In order to address large-scale system change, the Kent Issue Management System™ was introduced in a major project in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1979. The system is designed to find issues at the emerging level, involve the citizens in solving the issues, and answer the questions: what can citizens do for themselves?; what can government facilitate and turn over to the citizens?; and, what does government have to regulate? This system, sponsored by the City and County of Honolulu, served the island of O'ahu with a population base of 850,000 people.

CONCEPTS AND PRODUCTS RESULTING FROM THE CREATIVE ENDEAVORS

Human Geographic Mapping, a process in which cultural boundaries of social systems are mapped and become the primary planning and action unit for managing change
In 1998 the Bureau of Land Management licensed our Human Geographic Issue Management System to digitize maps covering the western United States in a five year Cooperative Agreement.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) development to include human geographic mapping and the Kent Issue Management System in a project conducted in Washoe County, Nevada between 1991 and 1993.
Defining and applying the concept of Cultural Attachment to Place as a critical ecological consideration to understand the management of intrusion as a change process within a community.
Created the concept of Bio-social Ecosystems in 1991 with Dr. Dan Baharav, which introduced social ecology as an equal partner with the physical ecosystem.
Developed a process with southwest Native Americans and rural communities to mitigate depletable oil and coal reserve losses through discussions and agreements with the extractive companies. The companies agreed to replace the non-renewable resources with funding and support for renewable resources. This led to the development of the concept of diversity being key to the future permanence and well-being of the people.

Selected Papers and Publications

2001

Using Social Ecology to Meet the Productive Harmony Intent of the National Environmental Policy Act, Hastings West-Northwest Journal of Environmental Law and Policy, University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
The Grand Valley: A Community Vision for the Year 2020, The Valley Vision 20/20 Steering Committee, Grand Junction, Colorado

2000

Preparing for Change in the High Desert of Central Oregon: Using Human Geographic Boundaries to Create Partnerships: A Report to the Central Oregon Initiative of the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, Bend/Prineville, Oregon.
Using Social Ecology to Meet the Productive Harmony Intent of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Aspen, CO.
Environmental Justice Risks in the Petroleum Industry: William and Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review, William and Mary School of Law.

1999

Report to HEI Power Corp: A Strategic Assessment and Implementation Plan to Secure Cabras 1 & 2 Through Privatization, Honolulu, HEI Power Corp. Guam.
Community Description Southern Bradshaws: Phase One in the Development of Collaborative Partnerships, The Phoenix Field Office, Bureau of Land Management.
Methods for the Development of Human Geographic Bopundaries and Their Use, Cooperative Agreement Report, U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management.
Briefing Notebook for the Office of the Regional Environmental Coordinator: United States Marine Corps, Camp Pendleton, California.

1998

"Community Story: The Power of Local Identity, and the Function of Information Flow." Community Cultural Profiling Guide: Understanding a Community's Sense of Place. Washington, DC: Office of Sustainable Ecosystems and Communities, Office of Policy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (with Carolyn Hunka and Kevin Preister).
"Community Plan for Makua Beach Amphibious Training: Preliminary Community Description." Honolulu, HI: International Archaeological Research Institute, Inc. and the Corps of Engineers, Pacific Ocean Division (with the Institute for Sustainable Development).
"Guidelines for Community Interaction." Honolulu, HI: Belt Collins Hawaii for the Marine Corps Base Hawaii (with the Institute for Sustainable Development).
"Decision Support Document: Community Resources Summary and Recommendations Marine Corps Amphibious Training at Makua Beach." Honolulu, HI: Belt Collins Hawaii for the Marine Corps Base Hawaii (with the Institute for Sustainable Development).

1997

"Social Ecology: A New Pathway to Watershed Restoration." Watershed Restoration: Principles and Practices, by Jack E. Williams, Michael P. Dombeck and Christopher A. Wood (eds.), Bethesda, MD: American Fisheries Society (with Kevin Preister).
"Field Report: Strategic Review of the Tanguisson Power Plant Operations, Barrigada, Guam." Honolulu, HI: HEI Power Corporation Guam.

1996

"Social Ecology in Ecosystem Restoration." The Role of Restoration in Ecosystem Management, David L. Pearson & Charles V. Klimas (eds.), pp. 199-207, Madison, WI: Society for Ecological Restoration (with Kevin Preister).

1995

Larsh, Ed B., as told by James Kent. "Mack and the Boys as Consultants." Doc's Lab: Myth and Legends of Cannery Row. Monterey, CA: PBL Press.
"Cultural Attachment: Assessment of Impacts to Living Culture." (In the George Washington and Thomas Jefferson National Forests, VA and WV). Woodward-Clyde Consultants, APCo 765 kv Transmission Line EIS.

1994

"Thinking beyond Our Borders: A Bio-social Ecosystem Approach to Resource Management on Public Land." Anchorage, AK: National Military Fish and Wildlife (with Dan Baharov and Diane Drigot).

1993

"Seven Cultural Descriptors Used in Social Assessment and Issue Management."
Issue Management Handbook. Washoe County, NV: Washoe County Issue Management System.

1992

"Habitat Continuum, Corridors and Human Diversity." Blacksburg, VA: Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Society for Conservation Biology (with Dan Baharov).

1991

"Eco-Mapping: Planning and Management of Bio-Social Ecosystems." Boulder, CO: Thorn Ecological Institute (with Dan Baharov).
"Achieving Productive Harmony in the Pacific through a Human-Geographic Approach to Environmental Impact Assessment." Honolulu, HI: XVII Pacific Science Conference (with Diane Drigot).

1989

"Delineation of Human Geographic Units and Their Working Definitions." Aspen, CO: United States Department of Agriculture, Small Business Innovative Research Project (with Carolyn Hunka and Anthony Quinkert).

1988

"Powerful Corporations Undone in a Paradox of Prosperity." Environmental Management News, 3.8: 11 (with Carolyn Hunka and C. Harvey Smith).

1986

"Aquino Mobilizes the People with an Absence of Anger." The Los Angeles Times 1 Sept. 1986.

1985

"Foresters on the Threshold: The Beginning or the End of an Era?" Denver, CO: Center for the New West.

1984

"Two-way Informal Communication with Citizens Pays Off in Disaster Mitigation." The Western Planner (May).
Pre-Crisis Management: How to Manage Issues before They Manage You. Denver, CO: SRM International (with Gary Severson).

1983

"Environmental Continuity: A Social Geographical Approach to Structural Change in Lowering Health Care Cost through Elderly Participation." Health Care Strategic Management 1.2 (with Sue Kent).
"The Social Responsibility of Engineers. Part One: To the Public - Which Comes First - the People or the Project?" Colorado Engineering 1.11 (August): 14-15.
"Social Risk Management: A Successful Project Development Approach," The Military Engineer 75.487 (May-June).

1981

"The Issue-centered Approach to Social Impacts: From Assessment to Management." Madison, WI: Social Impact Assessment (November-December) (with Kevin Preister).
"A Social Impact Management System for Honolulu: Final Phase Two Report." Honolulu, HI: FUND Pacific Associates (with John Ryan).

Between 1961 and 1980 there were over 60 articles published on empowerment, social justice, and ecological economies, training of the indigenous poor, and poverty programs in health, education, head start, law, social justice and natural caretaking systems.