Meet James A. Knapp: Senior Director of Development

We had the good fortune of connecting with James Knapp and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi James, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The most important factor in my eyes is always authenticity and self-awareness. You must be true to yourself and others to remain credible while always understanding yourself and your gaps as well as your strengths.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
What I feel sets me apart from others is the humility to understand that I don’t know everything, and I can always learn from any person or situation. I am a lifelong learner of many things but mainly things that are outside what I already know well. The opportunities that I was afforded to open doors for me were a combination of chance and hard work. And it was at the intersection of those two when things worked in my favor. I respect those who have gone out on a limb for me early in my career until now. It’s those individuals that had the faith in me, to push me, to allow me to be myself, and to show my true leadership. It wasn’t always easy, but I always looked at it as an opportunity to learn and grow. I see any feedback as a way to grow; regardless how harsh it may be and who it is coming from. Some lessons I’ve learned are that you need to be authentic, confident to never get too low during the lows but to also have the humility to never get to high on the highs. Self-awareness is the one thing that I wouldn’t know how to teach, but I believe that I have been inherently blessed with it. As I think of my brand and my story, I know that I am an authentic leader who cares about others while still executing my own life plans. I believe that my way of thinking is Excellence and with a Purpose. This involves caring more about others, having authenticity and the self-awareness that perfection isn’t going to always happen, but we can still strive to be excellent without losing sight of the purpose of your goals with proper intentionality.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love the new CHICA, as well as the Mandolin! They have done an amazing job with both establishments and the atmosphere is great for going there anytime. I also love the FAENA! The intentionality still astounds me greatly because of how much was put into the creation and execution of what has become the FAENA. The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shout out to my Father and Mother- My parents are instrumental in establishing my character and my work ethic. They have always been selfless and taught me that leadership comes in many forms but is never at the expense of treating anyone poorly. I look forward to continuing this same process with my son and instilling these same values, ethics and integrity in him.

Instagram: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-a-knapp/