Jim Macfadden had a 25 year career in the computer software field, working for ten separate corporations prior to starting his own company 21 years ago, Macfadden & Associates, Inc. (Macfadden).
Macfadden most recently averaged about $14 million per year in annual revenues with approximately 80 employees, plus another 25 personnel as subcontractors. The major customers of Macfadden are the US Agency for International Development, the State Department, the Food and Drug Administration, Peace Corps, and the Federal Aviation Administration.
After selling the company to its employees in March of 2007, Jim formed a new corporation to focus on accommodation of deaf youth into Job Corps. He has a great deal of interest in deaf education, innovative ideas to improve retention and graduation rates, and improving education of the deaf in general. Jim’s focus on Job Corps is in alignment with that objective.
Jim had been actively involved with the Board of Trustees at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and in 2007 was a member of the Presidential Search Committee for the selection of RIT’s current President, William Destler from the University of Maryland. In 2007, Jim was appointed to the Board of Trustees at Gallaudet University and has resigned his position with the RIT Board of Trustees.
Jim was born in Hollywood, California, as the 5th of six children; three girls and three boys. His first and third sisters were deaf, as well as Jim himself. He attended regular schools, always sat in the first row and made it through. Jim attended Hollywood High School, played varsity football and ran track. His mother raised six children on her own after his father left when he was five years old.
After graduating from Hollywood High School, Jim attended Gallaudet University where he learned ASL, wore a hearing aid for the first time, and majored in Economics. He also played football and ran track, earning recognition as a member of the athletic Hall of Fame. He later won four gold medals and one silver medal at the 1961 World Games for the Deaf in track in Helsinki, Finland was was selected as the American Athletic Association for the Deaf Athlete of the year for his accomplishments.