James White is the Executive Vice President of The Center For Social Impact for the YMCA of The North, a leading nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. He is responsible for leading the team of leaders who execute and lead the Center For Social Impact. Prior to joining the Y, White was the Senior Vice President of Organizational Relations for the YMCA of The Triangle. James continues to serve as a Senior Fellow for the Sagamore Institute. White holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from East Carolina University. He has served as a member of the Friends Board for the North Carolina Museum of Science. He has also served as a member of the Triangle Martin Luther King Committee. He was also appointed by the Gov to be the Chairman of the Dr. Martin Luther King Commission for North Carolina.
Why the “Y”
My career with the Y has always been an expression of my purpose statement. “Developing influential leaders for lasting cultural change.” Through out my adult life I have learned that real change begins internally and yet is expressed externally. When I begin working with the team from the Equity Innovation Center, I met Y Professionals who were committed to changing how people see themselves and how they see the world. It has been wonderful to discover that while people need training in a variety of areas, the Y of the North provides transformative experiences that will lead to change.
For the past few years our world has been challenged by what it means to be a healthy community. We are journeyed through what it means to be socially distant, we have experienced moments when we have had to be quarantined in our homes separated from family members. We have experienced what feels like a momentary emphasis on what it means to care about systems of inequity. We are also aware of our neighbors who in the midst of unpredictable environmental changes remain unhoused. These challenges will require a response.
I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to be with an organization that continues to respond to the challenging moments in our world by being a movement that provides for every person the opportunity to have a healthy, spirit, mind and body. That is what our world desperately needs now.