About Our Team
Founded on a vision for a better workplace
Alexis Braly James, Founder and CEO
Meet Our Founder
Alexis Braly James (she/her) is an educator, innovator, and leadership development strategist with deep roots in equity work and organizational transformation. As a former classroom teacher, she brings an engaging, empathetic approach to training, coaching, and facilitation—whether she's working with executive teams, leading board trainings, or mediating complex workplace dynamics.
Over the past decade, she has partnered with organizations including the Smithsonian, City of Portland, Metro Regional Government, Multnomah County Library, Portland Trail Blazers, and OnPoint Community Credit Union to activate contemporary, people-centered responses to leadership challenges.
As a biracial, Black, cis woman, Alexis brings lived experience and intentionality to every strategic initiative. She designs solutions with the most marginalized at the center, ensuring that equity isn't just a value statement—it's woven into systems, practices, and everyday leadership decisions.
Alexis earned her master's degree from Lewis & Clark College and is currently pursuing her MBA from Cornell University. Outside of work, you're likely to find her dancing to Beyoncé.
Our Mission
Our mission is to develop leaders and strengthen organizations at pivotal moments. We support teams that are scaling rapidly, rebuilding after crisis, or navigating leadership and strategic transitions. Moments when clarity and capacity matter most. Through coaching, fractional leadership, and strategic development, we help leaders build resilient foundations that enable sustainable growth, not just short-term recovery.
Background
Construct the Present was founded in 2015 by Alexis Braly James, who saw a critical gap while working in public education: her students were learning collaboration, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence in the classroom, skills they'd need to succeed, but the workplaces they were entering weren't built to support that kind of growth. Alexis started CTP to bring educational strategy, learning science, and equity-centered practices into organizational life. What began as a vision to bridge the gap between how we teach young people and how we develop adults has grown into a national consultancy supporting leaders and teams across nonprofits, government agencies, and private companies.
Our Values
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We honor many perspectives. We make decisions together with those most affected by oppression.
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We design DEI experiences for real people, with results that are sustainable over the long term.
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We value communication that’s direct, open, and kind. We strive to speak from a place of trust.
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Rest is resistance. We trust people know what is best for themselves and deserve the freedom to make their own decisions.
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We enter every situation with a learner’s mindset. Our goal is always to solve problems in a way that uplifts all.
What you’ll experiemce
We design every engagement around what your people actually need. We use learning principles that make our sessions engaging and accessible. We break down complex challenges into actionable steps. We build psychological safety without losing accountability. And we move at a pace that allows people to feel safe, curious, and ready to try something new.
Our clients walk away with:
Clearer communication and expectations
Leaders who feel capable and aligned
Stronger, more connected teams
Practical tools for navigating conflict
A culture rooted in trust and accountability
People who feel supported, not overwhelmed
Systems that make equitable behavior the norm, not the exception
Most importantly, they leave feeling more confident in their ability to create workplaces where people and performance rise together.
Work with Us
Every team is different. The best way to know if we're the right fit is a conversation about what your team is navigating. We'll discuss your team's dynamics, what's working and what's not, what you've tried, and what success looks like. Then we'll recommend an approach—workshop series, retreat, alignment session, or reflective practice.