James Ferguson is a native Milwaukeean born and raised on the north side of the city. He is a proud member of the esteemed Ferguson family which has been a pillar in the Milwaukee community for nearly a century. In 2004, Mr. Johnnie Ferguson, James’ father, was honored with a “Key to the City” by Milwaukee’s Mayor John Norquist for his longstanding service and exemplary contributions to the City of Milwaukee through his leadership at Lisbon Avenue Neighborhood Development Corporation. James chose to walk in his father’s footsteps by devoting his career toward the betterment of society. 

 

In early 2018, James began to hear and receive a call which he recognized as the voice of God. The Voice, directed him to invest his life’s work in building an organization that would provide families with the supportive services they need to be whole and well. This call led James to Pastor Arthur Kennedy who had founded the Center for Family Preservation on February 5, 2010. To his surprise, God had already spoken to Pastor Kennedy and promised him to send a “Joshua” who would lead the organization to the next frontier of service to families. In the 8thmonth, of the 8thyear, James & Pastor Kennedy met for an initial meeting. In that initial meeting, Pastor Kennedy handed James a binder, “The Lord told me to give this to you,” he said “this is all of our foundation paperwork, articles of incorporation, bylaws, bank statements, and everything else you will need; it’s yours to do as the Lord leads you.” Thus, James became the first President of the Center for Family Preservation, Inc in August of 2018. 

 

James’ call to families began at home. His parents preached day in and day out about the importance of family and would always end their rants with “We all We Got!” His parents had a vision to build a family that could not be broken. They literally did everything together. They went to school together, went to church together, built their home together, and went in business together. To this day, the family still gathers every Sunday for Sunday dinner and for holidays. 

 

James is an Alumnus of Marquette University Undergrad as well as Marquette University Law School. In law school, he developed a brand new layer of devotion to family when as a Summer Associate at Becker & Hickey Family Law Firm, he received his first glimpse at the destructive nature of divorce. Working on the divorce litigation team stirred him to a deep seated resentment toward divorce. He saw first hand how ugly divorces were and how hard they were on everyone involved, especially children. James secretly wished he could do something to end the divorce epidemic in American communities. James hopes that by heading up the Center for Family Preservation, together with the support of others that believe in the sustainability of families, he’ll be able reverse the devastating trend of divorce in our society.