Co-Founder & Executive Director
Contact: jfig@communitywi.com
James Agostinho Figueiredo is CWI’s Co-Founder and Executive Director, where he leads the design and delivery of the organization’s consulting, training, and technical assistance initiatives and works closely with the CEO to support partnerships with public agencies and nonprofit organizations.
James brings extensive experience as a frontline worker, supervisor, trainer, and facilitator working with multidisciplinary teams across healthcare systems, public health departments, and community-based organizations. His work today focuses primarily on the professional development of community health workers (CHWs) and CHW supervisors, supporting organizations to strengthen their workforce and improve services for the communities they serve. Over the course of his career, he has trained and supported hundreds of community health workers and supervisors working in community health programs. He is also a chapter author in the 3rd edition of the textbook Foundations for Community Health Workers, published in 2024 by Wiley.
James frequently facilitates strategic planning processes, leadership development programs, and workforce training initiatives for public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and community-based programs. His approach emphasizes practical solutions that build staff capacity, strengthen organizations, and improve outcomes for diverse communities.
Earlier in his career, James worked with Cambridge Health Alliance as a community health worker on an integrated clinical care team during the height of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. He later spent eight years providing training and technical assistance related to community health work and leadership development across several countries in sub-Saharan Africa. He also led the development and delivery of the nationally implemented Successful Supervision with CHWs training program.
James is the first U.S.-born member of his family, an experience that has shaped his interest in community engagement and cross-cultural collaboration. He is fluent in Portuguese, conversant in Spanish, and has working knowledge of Cape Verdean Creole and Haitian Creole, supporting his work with linguistically and culturally diverse communities.
He holds a Master of Education degree from Harvard University and a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from Boston University.
Outside of his professional work, James most enjoys traveling with his spouse and children to reconnect with members of their large and far-flung extended family.
