Her Story
About Michelle
Michelle James is an accomplished financial executive with 30 years of experience in state government. She currently serves as Chief Financial Officer at the WV Division of Rehabilitation Services, overseeing financial operations for the agency that helps individuals with disabilities achieve their goals. Her responsibilities include ensuring adequate funding for clients and programs, managing budgets across different organizations within the agency, and developing training for staff to maintain compliance and focus on client needs. She holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from West Virginia Institute of Technology, graduating in December 1996, and earned her CPA license in 2001. She is a member of the Association for Government Accountants and attributes her success to loving her work and the agency's mission of empowering individuals with disabilities.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Michelle
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to loving what I do. The agency's mission of empowering individuals with disabilities to live independently really hits me in my heart, so we work that much harder for the clients that we serve.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I received is to be yourself and realize that when you manage people, they want to be a part of what you're doing. The more buy-in you have from your staff, the better the result. You have to delegate and give them a piece of the pie because if they don't have any skin in the game, they're not going to give you what you need.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would advise young women to do what you can, speak your voice, make sure those around you understand where you're coming from, and just be who you really are. Life is hard enough, so live life to the fullest and be who you are instead of listening to everybody else.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge is time. You can't make more time, and for everything you get involved with, there's not enough time in the day, so you just have to make time for what you love and everything else will fit in the cracks somewhere.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The most important value is to give 110%. My dad always said if you don't work, you don't eat. Always try very hard to give your employer the best, and if you mess up, everything can be fixable as long as you give what you have, then you are valuable to everyone around you.
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