James Hudson is of Ngati Awa, Ngati Pukeko and Tuhoe descent and was raised in Whakatane, in the Mataatua rohe. James completed his bachelors in law at Auckland Law School and later his masters in law (part-time) at Victoria University of Wellington. James then practiced in Auckland, specialising in environmental and public law, while also teaching a masters course part-time for Te Whare Wananga O Awanuirangi, in Whakatane. In 2005, James joined Massey University’s Palmerston North campus to help establish the Centre for Indigenous Governance & Development. During his time with the Centre, James has worked collaboratively with both iwi and local and central government agencies on research projects concerning Maori governance and development. More recently, at the start of 2007, James joined the Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Maori) as a Research Officer, with an office located with the Maori Strategic & Development Unit at Massey’s Auckland Campus. In addition to research for the Office, James is completing his PhD that involves constructing a framework for quantifying iwi development.