In The Last Word, we sit down with an industry expert to share their wealth of knowledge. In the September/October issue, the conversation features James Highsmith, the president and CEO of the Ann Arbor YMCA.
1. How did you get started in the community recreation industry?
JH: My connection with the YMCA started as a participant in programs when I was 12 years old, first as a member playing basketball and later as an overnight camper at YMCA Camp AGQ at the Ann Arbor YMCA. Years later, I found my way back — not just as a participant or a professional — but as a person responsible for making sure that same experience exists for the next kid who walks through the door.
2. What’s been a key to your team’s success? What are you most proud of?
JH: Honest communication and a genuine commitment to each other. We’ve built a culture where hierarchy is respected but not divisive. We’ve agreed that trust matters more than anything else. What I’m most proud of is our team has stayed committed to the mission even through organizational change, financial pressure and the ongoing demands of serving a diverse community. Our durability hasn’t come from policy, but instead a staff that fully believes in its impact.
3. What has been one of the biggest accomplishments of your career?
JH: Being hired as the president and CEO of the Ann Arbor YMCA. I was 12 years old when I first walked through these doors as a kid, and 20 years later I got the call that I’d be leading the organization. That still hits different when I say it out loud. This place shaped me and now I get to shape what it becomes. Not for a single second of my time in this role has that been lost on me.
4. What has been one of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your career?
JH: Learning to hold steady in the middle of competing urgencies. In this work, everything feels important. The challenge is knowing when to push, pause and protect your team from the weight of trying to do everything at once. I’ve had to get better at saying: this is meaningful, but the timing isn’t right. And then meaning it without apologizing for it.
5. What’s one lesson you’ve learned that other community recreation professionals can learn from?
JH: Mission is only as strong as the structure behind it. You can have the most powerful “why” in the world but if your governance is shaky, your team is under-supported and/or your finances aren’t sustainable, the mission suffers. I’ve learned to treat infrastructure as a form of care for staff, members and all the many communities we serve.
6. Tell us one fact about yourself others may not know.
JH: I’ve been playing and coaching competitive ultimate frisbee for over 16 years and hold a USA Ultimate coaching certification. In 2023, I was awarded Coach of the Year in the Men’s Club Division, and this year I coached a team at the World Championships in Limerick, Ireland.
