James Hooks is a leadership philosopher, coach, and people development executive, serving as Senior Director and Head of Learning and Development at Roblox. He previously led teams at Airbnb, Facebook, Twitter, and a variety of management consulting firms. His doctoral research was on the Meaning Making of African American Leaders in Technology Organizations. He also holds a master’s degree in organizational leadership, from University of Massachusetts, where his thesis was on Guiding Leadership Through Technologies in the Development of Transformative Organizational Cultures. Other academic achievements and work include Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business in Corporate Innovation and Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Chapman University.He previously served as Co-Founder and Vice Chair of Urban City Fresh in Atlanta, a 501(c)3 nonprofit focused on food education, and mentored with Big Brothers Big Sisters in Orange County and Los Angeles.