About James

James E. Tierney was born and raised in way upstate N.Y. near the Vermont and Canadian borders.  He attended Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts as an undergraduate; double majoring in math and economics. At WNE, James was an active member of student government as well as a member of the national bowling team. Needless to say, James considered himself to be very cool.

During his time at Western New England, James bounced back and forth on what he wanted to do with his real life.  James always knew he wanted to be involved in education so he volunteered in the math tutoring center and became a Supplemental Instructor for introduction to microeconomics. In fact, he published a paper with his mentor Dr. Michael Enz on his experience as a Supplemental Instructor.

Not knowing what he wanted to do for a career, James took an internship at MassMutual, a Fortune 500 company that sells life insurance as well as other investment products. At MassMutual, James was an investments intern that dealt directly with choosing mutual funds to include in retirement packages.

After working for the summer, James knew the corporate world was not for him. He decided to apply for economics graduate programs with the intent of getting a Ph.D. in economics to teach at a small liberal arts school—like WNE. After applying to over 10 graduate schools, James enrolled at the University of California, Irvine in 2008. After 2 years of graduate work and a few hiccups in research, James decided to leave the program with a Master’s degree and focus on teaching, landing an adjunct job at a local community college and opening up his first start-up tutoring business that specialized in math and economics. 

While tutoring and teaching part-time at several colleges, James began working as a textbook consultant. As a consultant, James has written test banks, reviewed chapters, and even developed online programs to help with student learning. 

In January of 2013, he accepted a position as a full-time lecturer at SUNY Plattsburgh, about 20 miles from his hometown. At SUNY Plattsburgh, James taught both intros to micro and macro, a survey of economics course, and intermediate macroeconomics. He was also the advisor to the economics club and the college’s improv comedy troupe.

In August of 2014, James began teaching at Penn State. He spent over 7 years teaching large-lecture classes of introductory and intermediate macroeconomics as well as summer LEAP courses for incoming first-year students.

James ended his tenure at the university in 2021, deciding to focus on his own education consulting business and helping to build creative spaces in State College like the Blue Brick Theatre and Happy Valley Improv. He is also involved in multiple community organizations. All of this can be found on his personal website, www.JamesTierney.com.

James was most recently an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at Susquehanna University. You can see all of his work by downloading his CV.

James has lived around the country doing improv, teaching economics, and having fun in upstate New York, Western Massachusetts, and Southern California. He and his wife Kim are happy to call State College their home, living less than a mile from downtown with their two rescue dogs, Penny & Dakota.

If you want to get to know James more, schedule your free introductory meeting today and grab a coffee!