THE DIGITAL REPOSITORY FOR THE BLACK EXPERIENCE
"Life's Too Short To Interact With Difficult People"
Corporate lawyer James Posey was born in 1948 in Beaumont, Texas. He enrolled at Lamar University before leaving to join the United States Air Force, where he served as a combat crewmember. Following his military service, he earned his B.A. degree in American history in 1972 from the University of Kansas. Posey went on to obtain his J.D. degree in 1975 from the University of Kansas School of Law.
Posey first worked in Atlantic Richfield’s (ARCO) land department in Dallas, Texas. The next year, ARCO transferred him to Denver, Colorado. He later left ARCO and joined Worldwide Energy Corporation, a small oil and gas company. When ARCO began developing its Kuparuk River Field in Alaska, Posey was recruited and rehired to go to work there for the company. He worked for ARCO for more than fifteen years, retiring in 1996 to serve as Commissioner at Alaska Public Utilities Commission for the State of Alaska until July 1999. In 2000, Anchorage Mayor George Wuerch appointed him director of the Municipality of Anchorage Cultural and Recreational Services Department. He was responsible for oversight of the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson-Center, the Anchorage Municipal Library System, Parks and Beautification, Sports and Recreation, and Chugiak/Eagle River Parks and Recreation. He held this position from July of 2000 to February of 2002. Posey was then named general manager of Municipal Light and Power (ML&P) for the Municipality of Anchorage from February of 2002 to January of 2014. In 2014, Posey founded the consultancy Posey Alaska LLC. From 2017 to 2018, he served as the Commissioner of Baseball for the Alaska Baseball League.
Posey has served as a member of the State of Alaska Renewable Energy Fund Advisory Committee and on the boards of the American Public Power Association, Northwest Public Power Association, Alaska Power Association and the Anchorage Community Land Trust. He also does work with the nonprofit Anchorage’s Promise, and was profiled in the Alaska Business Monthly in April of 2014.
Posey resides in Alaska with his wife, Sandi Posey. They have five children.
James Posey was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on March 2, 2020.