James Kirby

James Kirby is the founder and CEO of Saxa Innovation, a nonpartisan government relations and strategic advisory firm. He advises American manufacturers and emerging technology companies on federal appropriations, government engagement, and procurement across defense, homeland security, and civilian agencies. His experience spans municipal advocacy, corporate government affairs, technology policy, and first responder funding.

Government advocacy and appropriations
At Saxa Innovation, James works across the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and relevant authorizing committees to develop and advance defense and civilian funding requests, including programmatic requests and report language. He helps clients align technical capabilities with public-sector demand, with a focus on companies scaling through SBIR/STTR and those entering state, local, and education markets. His work also includes building partnerships with state economic development offices and advancing validation pilots.

Technology policy and innovation
James serves as Senior Advisor of Government Affairs to the Alliance for Commercial Technology in Government, where he helped lead the effort behind the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act (S.3971), which reauthorizes the SBIR/STTR programs. Previously, he led government affairs at LG NOVA, LG Electronics’ North American innovation center, supporting startups in cleantech, digital health, and artificial intelligence as they pursued public-sector markets.

Municipal advocacy
James spent more than a decade at the U.S. Conference of Mayors, helping cities build relationships with Congress and the White House across three administrations. He played a key role in the rollout of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, and contributed to the development and implementation of the American Rescue Plan’s State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.

Fire service advocacy
For more than 13 years, James has supported the fire service community through his work with the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association, the Fire and Emergency Manufacturers and Services Association, and the Congressional Fire Services Institute. He has helped advance more than $5 billion in federal appropriations for programs including Assistance to Firefighters Grants, SAFER, Urban Search and Rescue, and the U.S. Fire Administration.

Early career and education
James began his career with CAL FIRE as a fire retardant and gel technician for firefighting aircraft. He holds an MBA from Georgetown University and a BA in Political Science from the University of California, Merced.

Areas of expertise
His areas of expertise include federal appropriations, defense, homeland security, dual-use technology, SBIR/STTR, government procurement, state and local government, fire and emergency services, infrastructure, and economic development.