She then became the general manager of the California and Hawaiian Sugar Refining Co. in San Francisco (1905-1906), before serving as the corporate secretary of the J.B. Castle companies in Honolulu from 1906 to 1908.

Her next positions included executive secretary of the United States Housing Corporation within the Department of Labor (1918) and general manager of the Government Hotels for women from 1919 to 1920.

[2] James began her 37-year tenure in national planning and parks in 1921; she served first as the executive secretary of the American Civic Association.

She also served as the secretary-treasurer of the Joint Commission on the National Capital and as a consultant to the Defense Housing Coordinator in the office of Emergency Management (1941).

[5] James's notable works include: As author As editor James also was associate editor of Federal Affairs in National Municipal Review and the New Washington and Civic Art section of the American Magazine of Art; and contributed a number of entries to the Encyclopædia Britannica.