Kathalee W. James was born in Savannah, Georgia, on May 22, 1947. She lived and attended school in the city until she moved to Michigan in 1964. In April of 1969, Kathalee graduated from Oakland University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. Kathalee has a passion for the city of Pontiac that goes back to her involvement in the city as a young adult. She was a member of one of Pontiac’s first civil rights youth groups, the Pontiac Organization of Black Youth.  Prior to coming to Pontiac, she was also a member of the Savannah Chapter of the NAACP and she attended the 1964 March on Washington with this group and was active in the sit-ins that led to the desegregation of downtown Savannah.

Kathalee James retired in 2008 from General Motors, where she worked as a Production Supervisor and later as a Senior Quality Engineer for 31 years. Through her career at General Motors, Kathalee developed an expertise in the areas of quality process, continuous improvement, and problem solving. She is also the former Secretary of the City of Pontiac Historic District Commission. She currently serves as Acting Pastor for the late Pastor Matthew Moses Scott of Eastside Church of God. She is the Founder and President of Friends of the Pontiac Parks Association where she continues to advocate for cleaner, better equipped, safer parks for all Pontiac residents to enjoy, serves on the Board of Directors for the Pontiac Community Foundation and The Village of Oakland Woods, and is a member of the Pontiac Sun Time Bank. Kathalee continues to reside in the city she’s called home for more than 5 decades. She is the proud mother of two adult daughters, Kathleen and Kristian, and the proud grandmother of 4 wonderful grandchildren.

Kathalee celebrates the following awards and accomplishments: