Jordan O. James

Jordan O. James, ABD/PhD, is a Native American urban planner, consultant, and teaching scholar with the University of New Mexico’s School of Architecture + Planning, as well as a Senior Planner with the City of Albuquerque’s Urban Design & Development Division. An enrolled member of the Grand Portage Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Jordan’s scholarship and research focus on integrating Indigenous philosophical traditions of knowledge and sense-making into transformational lifelong adult learning pedagogies. Recognizing the rapidly shifting social demographics in the U.S., Jordan emphasizes that past skills and cultural norms no longer fully serve communities in navigating evolving identities and perceptions. His work advocates for utilizing Indigenous methodologies to address these diverse social needs, fostering human-centered solutions to contemporary urban and social challenges. In connection with many others who share a similar story, Jordan’s academic path was profoundly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the lasting personal effects of Long-COVID, altering his pursuit of a tenure-track career and PhD. However, this experience has reinforced his professional and academic commitment to transforming urban life and reshaping built environments that reflect and serve diverse social realities in the urban spaces that he calls home. Jordan holds both a Master of Community & Regional Planning and a Bachelor of Media Arts from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, where he lives with his wife and three daughters.