Dan James joined BPA’s leadership team as deputy administrator in June 2016. James will be responsible for leadership, strategic planning, financial management, legal and regulatory affairs as well as public affairs and intergovernmental affairs oversight. He will oversee and provide direction and guidance for program execution and administration to executive vice presidents, vice presidents and managers in Corporate Strategy, Finance, General Counsel, Communications, Intergovernmental Affairs, the Ombudsman, and Compliance, Audit and Risk.

James comes to BPA from PNGC Power, where he served as vice president of public affairs and marketing since 2007. PNGC Power is one of BPA’s largest customers with member utilities spread across BPA’s service territory.

Prior to his PNGC experience, James worked as a federal affairs representative at Pacific Northwest Waterways Association in Vancouver, Wash., and as a senior government relations specialist at Ball Janik LLP in Portland, Ore., and Washington, D.C.

He is also a member of the National Preference Customer Committee of the National Electric Cooperative Association and is a senior fellow of the Oregon chapter of the American Leadership Forum.

James grew up in the western Montana town of Kalispell. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore., in 1987 and remains a faithful follower of the Pacific University football team. He also earned a utility management certificate from Willamette University in Portland in 2015. And he has served on boards for such community organizations as United Way of Columbia-Willamette, Pacific University, Oregon Wave Energy Trust and the Pacific Youth Choir.

He lives in Northeast Portland with his wife and two teenage daughters.