Alana James

Alana James provides primary oversight of Wake Downtown, including the management of the administrative team, support of faculty leadership who oversee the anchor programs, and coordination of essential building services. She is also responsible for aligning and identifying strategies for Wake Downtown to effectively promote, support, and lead sustainable community engagement efforts. In 2017, she became Wake Downtown’s inaugural Associate Director of Community Engagement. In that role she worked to develop co-curricular opportunities with peer institutions and to provide entry points for community members to access partnership, mentorship, and other resources. Prior to this, she served as the Director of Community-Based Collaborations at The United Way of Forsyth County for seven years. Alana graduated from Wake Forest in 2009 and received her MA in Management from the Schools of Business in 2010. An Ohio native, she fell in love with Winston-Salem as a student while volunteering and serving at community organizations as a member of Alpha Phi Omega, and has been a proud member of the community ever since.