James Sterling Coke

He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does YHVH require of you – but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?  [NASB Micah 6:8]

Photo: Olympia Washington, 2013

Welcome to my personal website. You will find links herein to various of my personal and business interests.

For the genealogists; I was born in California to Philip and Patricia Coke on 25 September, 1964, and followed by siblings Cynthia and Brian. My childhood was spent on Kauai in Hawaii, high school years in California, and my degree with concentrations in Decision Science and Finance earned at the University of Oregon in 1985. Professionally credentialed by APICS. My beloved Linda and I were married in 1990 and we have lived in Gig Harbor, Washington State ever since. Linda’s (our) son Joshua lives in Bellingham, WA.

I have been self-employed most of my career, which has included commercial assignments in North America, Europe, Africa, and both South and East Asia; with some casual travel in Latin America and the Middle East thrown in for good measure. I have been graced over the years with the ability to choose my projects and thus have served in many capacities across the domains of commerce, IT, and the sciences. That includes being escorted by armed guards in Nigeria and being feted by Communist Party officials in Vietnam. On the spiritual side, it has been my honor to sweat with First Nations leaders and observe the traditional Hindu sacrificial ceremony on Bali. To me, life success means becoming who we were designed by Creator to be, and in my world that is only found through broad life experience.

When you get to know the world a bit, you realize people are basically the same everywhere. They all hope to live in peace within communities that are safe and sufficient. I find myself inspired by the work of such social business visionaries as Muhammad Yunus.  I have seen too much oligarchic government, too much elitist greed, and too much focus on short-term gain that ignores the plight of three billion people kept in poverty by institutional failure. My work at the Governance Consortium [https://governance-consortium.com/] is focused on creating institutions that work.

My strong non-partisan views on liberty and capitalism derive less from my American heritage than from my commitment to follow Yeshua/Jesus/Isa as the teacher of ultimate freedom in service. But it is the same core faith that anchored the men who established our republic.  

A bibliography of my academic and business writings is provided on this site.  My theological papers, which also cover faith-based economics, can be found at [https://abdiyah.com/]. As with any author reflecting on his thoughts after additional time, there are things I would say differently or may even have rethought. But for the most part, these documents capture a lot of what I have learned and for whatever they are worth I share them freely with you.

Hobbies; body surfing tropical waves, playing the flugelhorn, strategy games, and a little gardening when we see the sun up here in the Northwest. My contact info is linked for those who want to stay in touch – as I hope you will.

Marriage, music, and interesting work make for a rich life.