In February 1999, Jim became the new director of the Florida Atlantic University/Florida International University Joint Center for Environmental and Urban Problems in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The mission of the Joint Center is "to work with policy makers and the public in their pursuit of options for managing growth while preserving natural systems, promoting a strong economy and planning liveable communities."

Jim is a 1974 graduate of the George Washington University Law School where he specialized in environmental and land-use law. Before coming to Florida, he worked for the National Atmospheric and Oceanographic Administration in coastal zone management.

He first joined the Florida Department of Community Affairs in 1983 as its director of Resource Planning and Management. In that position, Jim helped draft and gain passage of Florida's landmark Growth Management Act.

In 1987, Jim left DCA to head 1000 Friends of Florida, a nonprofit, public interest group that works to promote sensible planning, economic development, and environmental preservation. Jim was lured back to DCA in 1995 by the late Governor Lawton Chiles, who called him a "seasoned leader on growth management issues with nearly two decades of experience under his belt."

Jim is a member of the Miami River Commission, the Legislative Committee on Intergovernmental Coordination and a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.