James Miles built his career at the crossroads of education, the arts, and community leadership — spending nearly 20 years teaching in New York City public schools before stepping into executive roles leading organizations like MENTOR Washington and Arts Corps, and now serving as Executive Director of Third Stone, which runs Seattle's iconic Bumbershoot festival. He also teaches as an Assistant Professor at Seattle University and sits on the Seattle Arts Commission and the SXSW EDU advisory board, showing how one path can open doors across a lot of different worlds. Originally from Chicago, James believes the arts are a powerful tool for challenging educational inequity — and his TED Talk and international work as an artist and educator prove that staying true to your creative roots can take you further than you might expect.