Staff Bio
James Scales, Sr.
National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD)
Role at CDC
James Scales is the management officer for NCBDDD. With more than 30 years of increasing and progressive work experience in the federal and private sector, James joined NCBDDD in September 2009.
Previous experience
James served as the chief of the Resource Management Office (RMO) from 2001 to 2019. As chief of RMO, James served as advisor to the management officer (MO) on all business services activities, provided practical advice, recommendations, strategic planning and management, and operational process improvement related to the center programs.
Prior to his assignment in NCBDDD, James served as a service office manager in the Strategic Business Unit (SBU). He was responsible for managing a cross-functional business service office providing personnel and training administration, procurement, property, and facilities, travel, records management, committee management, and Freedom of Information Act services support to two major national centers. He has extensive experience in supervisory, leadership, and management; personnel and staff development; workforce planning; position management; program-project management; administrative and program analysis.
Prior to serving in the SBU, James was assigned to the former National Center for Infectious Diseases where he served as a team leader of Personnel and Administrative Services and a records management officer for the center.
James served more than 12 years in the United States Army as a commissioned officer in the Military Intelligence Branch. His assignments included tactical and strategic positions stateside as well as overseas where he served in Seoul, South Korea and Stuttgart, Germany.
Prior to becoming an FTE in 2001, James worked as a contractor with assignments in ATSDR from 1994–2000 where he served as an on-site project officer. He also served as federal contracts manager and vice president for federal operations at ISPA, Inc. providing information technology and administrative services support on eight contracts/projects in metro-Atlanta, Anniston, Alabama, and Clearwater, Florida.