James Herndon is currently a member of the city board of education. He was first elected in 2020 and has been in office for one term.

James is a lifetime educator with 18 years of teaching experience. He was previously the Director of the debate team at Emory University. He also was a high school English teacher at Chattahoochee High School in Fulton County. He has served as a financial advisor at Edward Jones since 2019.

James and his wife Mandi have lived in Decatur since 2008. They are the parents of two daughters in the City Schools of Decatur. James holds a bachelor's degree from Mercer University in communication and media studies, philosophy. He also holds master's degree from the University of Alabama in business communications, public speaking, rhetoric, education theory.