JAMES HARDAWAY

Colonel (Retired) James Hardaway is from Greensboro and graduated in 1994 from NC State University with a BS in Civil Engineering. James served 27 years as an Army intelligence officer in Airborne, Artillery, Armor, Infantry, and Cyber units across the country, Europe, and the Middle East. Between 2003 and 2017, he deployed four times supporting combat operations in Iraq and Syria. James retired in 2021 and returned to Raleigh to pursue an MEd in Learning Design from NC State. Upon graduation, he joined Applied Research Associates managing their DoD tech modernization efforts in the areas of intelligence, cyber, and digital system integration. He is married to the former Jerilyn Highfill of Apex, NC, and they have one son, Joe, who is a sophomore at George Mason University.