About Jim
Senior Advisor
Jim McCleskey is a North Carolina native, educated in the public schools of the state and at Duke University. He has rejoined Flywheel as a Senior Advisor after a previous stint on the team from 2013-2017.
In the 1980s and 1990s Jim served a staff aide to US Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (NY) on environmental, public works and transportation issues and as an intergovernmental lobbyist representing local governments in Washington; in Raleigh as a budget and policy analyst in the Office of the Secretary of the NC Department of Health and Human Services; and back in Washington representing the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
In 1999 Jim was appointed by former Governor James B. Hunt Jr. as Director of the North Carolina Washington Office, and reappointed by Governors Michael F. Easley in 2001, Beverly Eaves Perdue in 2009, Roy Cooper in 2017, and Josh Stein in 2025. As Director he worked regularly with the North Carolina Congressional delegation, the White House, assorted Federal agencies, numerous other Governors’ offices, and many businesses and communities on the full range of federal affairs matters facing the State, including education, economic development, emergency management, transportation, health care, human services, public safety / homeland security, military affairs, environment and natural resource issues, and others.
This included serving as Alternate to the Appalachian Regional Commission for all five
Governors; staff to Governor Easley as co-lead Governor on the National Guard for the National Governors Association from 2004-2008: staff to Governor Perdue as a member and Governor Stein as a Co-Chair of the Presidentially-appointed Council of Governors, advising the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security on National Guard and FEMA matters; and staff to Governor Cooper as a member of the Executive Committee of the National Governors Association.
From November 2008 - January 2009 Jim was a member of the Department of Defense
Transition Team for the incoming Obama Administration with responsibility for National Guard, military families, and wounded warrior issues; and from July 2013-April 2014 he served on the time-limited staff of the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force within the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
From 2013 - 2017 Jim worked with Flywheel clients on a range of business development and government relations matters including health care, energy, education, criminal justice, emergency management, information technology, school safety, force protection, and advanced building systems. From September 2014-2017 and again in 2026 he was also selected by the states of the ARC to serve the thirteen ARC Governors as States’ Washington Representative.
Jim is a Dean’s List graduate of Duke University (History and Political Science), and earned a 4.0 GPA in the Master’s in Public Administration program at George Washington University.