One of her students was the playwright John Patrick Shanley, who has stated in interviews that Sister James was a major influence in his life.
She has taught religion at the Notre Dame School, St. Raymond Academy, and the College of Mount Saint Vincent.
Outside of the Bronx, she served as the Assistant Principal at St. Augustine's College in Nassau, Bahamas, and also taught in Pennsylvania.
[6][7][8] When Doubt was preparing to open on the Broadway stage, she coached actress Heather Goldenhersh on how to play the role of a nun based on herself.
She coached the production team as well as actress Amy Adams, who was portraying her, in how things worked within the Sisters of Charity, in particular at the time the story is set in the 1960s.