[1] James graduated from West Linn High School in 1999.

[2] She obtained a degree in communications from Santa Clara University 2003 and earned her master's degree in divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary in 2007.

[3] James was a minister for Menlo Park Presbyterian Church from 2007 to 2010, an interfaith chaplain for Endicott College from 2012 to 2015, and an associate pastor for Westminster Presbyterian Church from 2016 to 2017.

[3] Starting in 2015, she was an adjunct professor for the University of Dubuque.

[3][4] In 2017, James co-founded and directed the Loras College Peace Institute.