James “Jim” Cook, Board Director, led interactions at MITRE with elected officials in the executive branch and Congress. He also promoted development of new corporate strategic partnerships with the private sector, academia, and other non-profits, associations, and foundations to address public interest challenges at the federal, state, and municipal levels. And he provided executive leadership for MITRE’s technology transition activities.  He championed an initiative to help the federal government recruit neurodistinct people into cybersecurity jobs.  James previously served as Vice President and Director of the Center for Enterprise Modernization (CEM), a federally funded research and development center MITRE operates for the departments of the Treasury and Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) where he worked with federal agencies and external partners to transform agency missions through new business models and technology. He is an active leader in the innovation community. He was a founding member of the American Council for Technology (ACT), and Industry Advisory Council (IAC) Institute for Innovation, which he currently chairs. He also was appointed to represent MITRE on the the Virginia Chamber of Commerce Board of Trustees, and he also represented MITRE on the Chambers’ Innovation and Technology Executive Committee.  He also sits on the DMV Regional Congress and the steering committee for the Potomac Quantum Innovation Center. He holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Maryland, College Park.