James Cross was appointed to the Board in 2017. He was the founder of Port of Los Angeles High School and served as its executive director from 2005 to 2015.

Previously, he operated Cross America Inc., a financial services company, and served as director of operations for the Academic Financial Services Association. Mr. Cross also served as financial manager of California State University, Dominguez Hills during its transition from a college to its
accreditation as a university.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in Sociology from California State University, Long Beach and his master’s from California State University, Dominguez Hills. He pursued further studies in Organizational Communication at the University of Southern California.