About James Green

A life built across the arts, business, finance, sports, education & public leadership.
An entrepreneur shaped by experience.

James Green is a multidisciplinary creative and entrepreneur whose work spans music, education, arts administration, television production, writing, and public life - driven throughout by a consistent commitment to creativity, leadership, and civic responsibility.

His entrepreneurial instincts emerged early. Raised in Surrey, James ran a Christmas tree sales business, harvested cascara bark for pharmaceutical companies, worked the fields in Ladner, and took on whatever work was available to support his mother, who was raising five children on her own. He worked as a parking attendant at his aunt's nightclub, The Dixie Chicken Inn, and later joined Woodward's department store, advancing quickly from stock assistant to section head in the boys' department. The drive to build, contribute, and lead defined him from the start - and it never left.

James launched his professional career as a singer and saxophonist, performing at Vancouver's prominent nightclubs before transitioning into public education. Over a twenty-year teaching career in Delta, British Columbia, he taught English, language arts, mathematics, social studies, choral music, band, and guitar. A strong advocate for arts education, he was elected as an Independent candidate to the Delta School Board, where he championed fine and performing arts within the public school system.

Alongside education, James built an extensive leadership portfolio - serving as executive director of dance and fine and performing arts societies, manager of a dance company, president of a community arts council, and owner of a performing arts touring company. He produced and promoted national and international stage productions, including the Acrobats of the Pagoda from China, and worked alongside celebrated performers, athletes, and artists including B.B. King, John Candy, Frank Ludwig of Trooper, and Olympic athletes Diane and Doug Clement, Robert Esmie, Charmaine Crooks, and Steve Podborski.

In the early 1990s, James moved into broadcast media as emcee, host, and executive producer of his talk show Stage of the Arts. He went on to executive produce The Urban Peasant - one of the most successful Canadian television series ever produced. With over 130 episodes and international syndication across CBC, TLC, SKY Channel, and STAR Channel, the series aired in more than 120 countries and played a defining role in establishing Vancouver as a serious force in international television production.

Further television work included Catch the Step for BCTV, 31 episodes of Cycle for The Outdoor Life Network, culinary genre pilots, and commercial campaigns - including work for an NHL-patented hockey stick developed with former hockey star Alex Mogilny. He also served as a columnist for a Metro Vancouver newspaper and as a publicist for a political party.

Through Challenge Entertainment Corporation, James continues to develop and acquire financing for television properties in Canada and the United States, combining creative development with sponsorship, merchandising, product integration, and strategic investment.

His visual art practice is central to his current work. Abstract works in India ink on large-format watercolour paper - including his Optillusion series - have been exhibited in Richmond and Vancouver, drawing on a lifelong fascination with geometry, perception, and the structural patterns embedded in everyday life. As an author, he has written four books - Marriage Rules, The Race, To Be Mayor of Vancouver, and the poetry collection The Life We Live - exploring marriage, identity, civic life, race, politics, and personal responsibility through narrative and social commentary.

James remains actively engaged in civic and community affairs, contributing to conversations around housing, education reform, arts advocacy, and social justice.

He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, with his wife and creative partner of more than five decades, Marlies - an actor, published writer, dance degree recipient from SFU, and experienced professional in education and geotechnical administration. Together, they have two adult daughters and have built a life grounded in art, business, collaboration, family, and an enduring commitment to the communities they call home.