James Hughes, Com’87, was on track for a long and successful career in corporate law.
After graduating from Queen’s, the former Alma Mater Society (AMS) president attended law school at McGill University and the University of Cambridge. He spent almost two years clerking for Quebec Court of Appeal Justice Morris Fish (who went on to serve on the Supreme Court of Canada), and eventually became a partner in a Montreal law firm.
He juggled volunteer duties with his legal career, starting non-profit projects such as YES (Youth Employment Services) Montreal and the Prometheus Project, a mentorship program for at-risk youth.
He started to feel that his legal work could be done by any lawyer, and that he could serve the community better by dedicating himself to what he was doing in his spare time as a volunteer.
So in 2002, after consulting with his wife and three children, the family downsized their Montreal home and sold one of their two cars, and Mr. Hughes changed his career path.
“I thought there is a bigger canvas for me to paint on,” said Mr. Hughes. “I switched careers because I thought I could make a big difference in the non-profit sector with the experience and energy I have.”
His passion and leadership skills in the non-profit world led to new opportunities with bigger organizations and more responsibility. He says one of the most important and exciting jobs he ever had was as director general of the Old Brewery Mission, the largest organization serving homeless men and women in Quebec.
“When I got there, the organization, established in 1889, was essentially managing homelessness by simply helping people get through the day. We turned it into a centre that focused on reducing homelessness permanently through long-term solutions,” said Mr. Hughes, who worked at the mission from 2004–08. “We gave support to vulnerable and desperate people and helped them restart their lives.”
His success with the Old Brewery Mission led to a job as deputy minister of the Department of Social Development with the New Brunswick provincial government. He was in charge of 2,000 people and a budget of $1 billion. He worked on child protection legislation, welfare reform, and a poverty-reduction plan that is still in use today.
His experience with the AMS helped prepare him for his entire career. “(The AMS) was a remarkable chance to learn, to succeed, and to fail,” said Mr. Hughes. “When you failed, you learned to get up fast and figure things out quickly. I wanted to make a difference at Queen’s and being political was one way to do it. I like being in the middle of things, and it all started at Queen’s.”
Today, Mr. Hughes, who ran as the NDP candidate in the 2015 federal election and finished second behind incumbent Liberal Member of Parliament Marc Garneau, continues to help others as a government relations executive with the non-profit McConnell Foundation.
His devotion to causes such as poverty reduction, homelessness and mental health is one of the reasons he is receiving the John B. Stirling Montreal Medal, the highest honour bestowed by the Montreal Branch of the Queen’s University Alumni Association.
All Montreal-area alumni are invited to the Stirling Medal reception on May 8 to honour Mr. Hughes.
