KENEDY, TX, September 08, 2022 /24-7PressRelease/ -- James A. Douglas, PhD, has been inducted into Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Dr. Douglas is a licensed and commissioned police officer who joined the Karnes City Police Department in Karnes City, Texas, in 2017. Likewise dedicated to empowering students by giving them the tools they need to grapple with controversial subjects, he also teaches criminal justice courses for the Kenedy Independent School District in Kenedy, Texas, and has served as the district attendance officer since 2016. Additionally, Dr. Douglas took on the role of a school safety coordinator in 2022. Outside of his primary career endeavors, he has been instrumental as the lead instructor of crime scene forensics, coding and robotics for the Karnes County STEM Camp, held at Karnes City Independent School District, since 2017.
Beginning his career in public service in 2006 with the Palacios Police Department in Palacios, Texas, Dr. Douglas subsequently served as a sergeant and food service manager at the future goal of becoming a criminal justice professional through his work as a sergeant and food service manager for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Kenedy between 2009 and 2011. Following this period, he availed himself on behalf of the Texas Department of Public Safety in San Antonio as a regional inventory asset specialist in 2011. During this time, he also earned distinction as a police officer with the Elmendorf Police Department in Elmendorf, Texas, where he remained active until 2016.
As an educator, Dr. Douglas initially garnered experience as a substitute teacher for the Runge Independent School District and the Karnes City Independent School District in Texas from 2013 to 2015. Shortly thereafter, he was hired to teach sixth, seventh and eighth-grade students on a full-time basis in Kenedy between 2015 and 2016 before acquiring his current role on campus. From 2020 until the present day, Dr. Douglas also had the opportunity to serve as the career and technical education department head for Kenedy Secondary Campus at Kenedy Independent School District.
A talented writer, Dr. Douglas frequently publishes through his personal blog, Unchained Justice, an online resource that he established to research, address and offer solutions for various issues, including, but not limited to, food insecurity, gun violence, policing, child obesity, abortion rights and prejudice in all of its forms. He has been especially strident in his support for the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as his promotion of police accountability. In addition to his weekly blogs, he published a summary of his dissertation on his website, titled "Does Discriminatory Behavior by Teachers Propel African American Students Through the School-to-Prison Pipeline?" Dr. Douglas has also been featured in the Karnes Countrywide newspaper for his numerous accomplishments in both his career efforts and civic advocacy, especially in regard to his work as a guiding light in the fight against racial discrimination, systemic injustice and income inequality.
Equally passionate about community involvement, Dr. Douglas serves on the city council for district four of Kenedy, Texas. He has plans to bring more assertive programs to the community as well as many more initiatives that the community needs. He has been instrumental in procuring amenities for the community such as the new Disc Golf Park that was donated by a local community member. He has also been key in spearheading the City of Kenedy Food Bank Distribution, a quarterly food bank distribution service for food insecure families in the area.
Dr. Douglas is also a very active member of the Kenedy Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Escondido Creek Oversight Committee, a board that oversees the current state, future state and growing plans of expanding. The Escondido Creek Parkway is a community park operated by the San Antonio River Authority. The park sits along the Escondido Creek in central Kenedy and provides a variety of amenities to local residents and visitors of the city.
Among other activities, he has distinguished himself as an opponent of bullying and advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community, of which he is a member. Furthermore, as a victim of domestic abuse, he plans to either join or establish a nonprofit organization that caters to those who have experienced similar trauma. He is determined to reduce the prevalence of domestic abuse in the LGBTQIA+ community throughout Texas – presently, many who suffer do so in silence, which Dr. Douglas hopes to change by providing services and a safe haven through which they can share their experiences. Outside of these efforts, he is a board member of the Karnes County Humane Organization.
Highly educated, Dr. Douglas received a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice administration and management at Purdue University Global in 2012, followed by both a Master of Criminal Justice at Purdue University Global in 2014 and a Master of Philosophy at Walden University in 2020. At the latter university, he received a Doctor of Philosophy in 2021. Previously, he received a police officer license through the Victoria College police academy training in 2006. Well-qualified in his field, he holds a multitude of related certifications, ranging from recognition as a first-aid instructor, a CPR/AED trainer, a Stop the Bleed instructor, an Apple Teacher, a sexual assault family violence investigator, and a level 3 security license classroom instructor with the Texas Department of Public Safety and a Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) instructor, among many others. Furthermore, Dr. Douglas has been trained to respond to active shooter scenarios.
As part of his established professional commitments, Dr. Douglas is an active member of the National Society of Leadership and Success Honor Society, Alpha Phi Sigma, the Golden Key International Honor Society, and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. In light of his achievements, he was the recipient of a Leadership Excellence Award from HDM Marketing Concepts in 2008 and 2009. He was also named as the Officer of the Year by the Elmendorf Police Department in 2013, the Teacher of the Year by Kenedy High School, Kenedy ISD, for the 2020 to 2021 academic school year, a Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction and as a National Honors Teacher by the Law and Public Safety Education Network. Dr. Douglas is also proud to have been nominated by his own students for an award via the National Society of High School Scholars.
In accounting for his success, Dr. Douglas credits the influence of his parents, who instilled in him a dedication to public service. His mother worked as a nurse, while his father taught students in an educational setting. Drawing deeply from their inspiring example and selfless nature, he had already begun volunteering at his local library by the age of 10, and quickly developed a passion for giving back to his community. Since then, he has practiced an unwavering commitment to service on behalf of others. Truly, the love, support and values of his parents made him the person he is today. Looking toward the future, Dr. Douglas hopes to continue emulating their example and serve as a positive role model not only for his students and community, but for his own son as well.
Dr. Douglas is also very thankful for his son. He explained, "Being a father has grounded me and shown me the power of a selfless nature. My son is my world and without him I would not be who I am today. Being a role model and mentor to him is one of the most cherished things I can do in my life and I am so proud of the young man he is becoming. I could not be successful today without him."
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