Lara Jordan James ’80
Lara Jordan James is chief marketing and communications officer for Facing History & Ourselves, an international educational non-profit whose mission is to use lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate. At Facing History, Lara has built a team of skilled marketing and communications professionals who have raised Facing History’s public profile, which in turn has driven dramatic growth in its educator network, more than doubling it to over 400,000 educators in 2023. Before joining Facing History, Lara was vice president of Brand Marketing for MassMutual, most recently leading their brand and advertising relaunch. Prior to MassMutual, Lara was vice president of Brand Marketing at Capital One where she managed the successful extension of their brand beyond the credit card vertical. A seasoned marketing communications veteran, Lara's work has received national and global accolades. Black Enterprise magazine has recognized her three times, including in 2017 as a Top Woman in Advertising and Marketing. At CA, Lara spent most of her time in the PAC as a violinist. She was elected student representative to the Board of Trustees, and then later served as Board member from 1993-2000. Lara has a BA from Oberlin College.