James Faison was born in Fayetteville North Carolina, at the age of one, his family moved to New York City.  By the age of fifteen, things in his life were not going in the right direction.  As a result, he joined the Job Corps and relocated to Tillamook, Oregon.  It was a positive experience that led him into the construction field in skills such as concrete, heavy equipment and job scheduling.  After leaving the Job Corps, James relocated to Portland, Oregon.  In Portland, James landed a great job with the Port of Portland that gave him a tremendous amount of insight into the construction field, while working in the maintenance department at the Airport.

After leaving the Port, James decided to go into buying, remodeling, and selling houses. The housing market slow down helped James into the most recent phase of his construction career as a general contractor, specializing in concrete work of all types.

James credits much of his success to working for great Mentoring Programs such as the Port of Portland Mentor Protégé Program.  He has received a tremendous amount of help from other organizations such as PDBG, NAMC, and OAME. He gives thanks to Dave Anderson for his mentorship, and positive working experiences with Howard S. Wright/Balfour Beatty, Colas Construction, Stacy and Witbeck, Skanska and Mortenson.

James Faison is an avid advocate of minority and disadvantaged businesses. He has spent his career engaged in associations and organizations in both Oregon and Washington. In Oregon he is involved in organizations such as NAMC Oregon (National Association of Minority Contractors of Oregon), PBDG (Professional Business Development Group), and OAME (Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs). In Washington he is on the board of Tabor-100 and NWMBA (Northwest Minority Builders Alliance).