Ryan James of ryan james fine arts has been appointed as president of the Greater Kirkland Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

The chamber promotes community prosperity through economic vitality and is an advocate on behalf of the business community.

Ryan James Fine Arts, operating in Totem Lake, represents 15 Washington artists. The gallery specializes in abstract, modern and conceptual arts with an emphasis on value growth artworks.

According to a release, James joined the chamber in 2014 and with the encouragement of Kirkland arts leader, Kathy Feek, he was appointed to the board within the year.

James’ first major role in the organization was to co-found the Kirkland Young Professional group with fellow member Collin Cambridge. After handing off the KYP group James became chair of the chamber ambassadors and later chair of the economic business development committee. This past year he has served as the vice president of the chamber board under the leadership of outgoing President Jessica Beck.

James’ greatest passion with his business is bringing arts to the community and developing strong community relationships, the release states. As a reflection of this passion the chamber awarded James the A. Duane Lund Chamber Member of the Year Award in 2016.

“My goal as president for 2018 is to continue to push the chamber focus throughout greater Kirkland encouraging all business small and large to be involved in this amazing community,” James said in the release.

In addition to serving as the chamber president, James is on the board of trustees for the Bellevue Arts Museum, chair of the Cultural Arts Commission for the City of Kirkland, co-chair of the Symphony Guild for Lake Washington Symphony Orchestra and serves as a board member for Attain Housing, Kirkland Downtown Association and VALA Arts Redmond.