CALEA Commissioner James F. Wright has been the Deputy City Manager for the City of Hartford, CT, since April 1999. Born in Salisbury, NC, Jim was an active member of the high school choir, class president in 1963, and an honor student who received a college scholarship to Johnson C. Smith University. He possesses Masters Degrees in both Guidance Education and Media Education from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State (NC A&T) University, where he built and operated the first radio station and hired and trained the student staff. Mentors in his early college career lead Jim toward government and community activism. He also has advanced training in the Executive Development Program from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the Senior Executive Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Jim has over 20 years experience in municipal government at the executive and senior management level.

He began his public career in Greensboro, NC, in 1978, where he was the Director of Human Relations, and from 1986-1991, Assistant City Manager. He has held positions as City Coordinator in Minneapolis, MN, 1991-1994, Director of Personnel and Training for the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, and the Executive Director of the National Forum for Black Public Administrators, in Washington, DC, 1994-1996. From 1996-1999, Jim served as the President of Wright & Associates, a management development and training consulting group in Mitchellville, MD.

He is most proud of his accomplishments when he worked for the City of Greensboro, NC. He was instrumental in working with community groups and developing support for expansion of the Coliseum, a new golf course, and a cultural center which serve the community to this day. As a member of the city’s Human Relations Department, Jim was instrumental in the city passing the first local ordinances concerning anti-discrimination and development of the first Minority Women's Business Enterprise Program.

Jim has been a CALEA Commissioner since 1994, and is currently serving his third term. He serves on the Corporate Affairs Committee and Agency Review Committee D. Jim's professional affiliations include the International City/County Managers Association, the National Forum for Black Public administrators, and the American Society for Public Administrators. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Bowie State University Development Fund, and the University of Maryland Foundation, Inc.

Jim’s personal mission is to reach out and mentor promising people in their personal and professional growth as was done for him. In the future, Jim would like to be involved in a non profit organization that helps youth.

For relaxation Jim plays golf and tinkers with music videos and tapes, and their related sound systems. His wife Shelia is in charge of employment operations for the National Academy of Sciences.