Jim Oakes, PAST BOARD ChairMAN, ACTING SECRETARY
Jim is a forty-year veteran of the healthcare information systems industry, both in the United States and internationally. He served in corporate executive positions at McKesson/HBOC, APACHE Medical, and at HIE, Inc. He is a Principal and owner of Health Care Information Consultants, a healthcare information strategy consulting firm. He was a co-founder of the Healthcare Technology Network of Greater Washington, which serves as a communication vehicle for high technology healthcare companies in the Washington DC area. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Health Informatics at George Mason University.
Jim first became involved with Five Talents over fifteen years ago through Truro Church in Fairfax, Virginia where the vision for the ministry was born.
Having worked in health care information systems for over thirty years, Jim saw an opportunity to share his knowledge and talent in business development with other entrepreneurs.
When I first heard the story of Five Talents, it was absolutely [ground-breaking] to me that I could use my personal skills as a business person in support of mission work.
With the encouragement of friends, Jim began leading short-term teams in facilitating business workshops for Five Talents partners around the world. The workshops focused on sharing basic business principles and systems for marketing, planning, and record keeping.
Over the years Jim traveled repeatedly to programs across Eastern Africa, including six trips to South Sudan where Five Talents has established the only locally-community owned banks in the country. Jim witnessed firsthand the transformative power of community savings and small business development, and he built strong relationships with local program leaders. “It has been literally miraculous to see what these people have accomplished”, Jim says.
Jim holds a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering and a Master of Science in Industrial Management, both from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He has been married to Peggy since 1972; they have three children.