James E.H. Mayer

James E.H. Mayer is a retired U.S. government executive whose career spanned leadership roles with the U.S. Peace Corps and USAID, working with international development partners across Asia and Africa. He served as Peace Corps Country Director in Korea, where he worked alongside Volunteers, Korean colleagues, host families, and community leaders whose example deeply shaped his understanding of service and leadership.

Mayer is the author of The Long Arc of Leadership, a genre-defying, reflective memoir that balances poignant storytelling with pragmatic guidance (Kirkus Indie). Drawing on decades of lived experience, the book explores six enduring practices: walking slowly, listening deeply, leading lightly, trusting wisely, hoping fiercely, and loving always. His writing blends storytelling, history, humor, and humility—inviting readers to see leadership not as status, but as stewardship.

He and his wife, Yongbok, live in Southern California, surrounded by children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and an ever-growing circle of friends from around the world.