Professional Biography
With over a decade of public service as a Family Medicine Physician and Medical Director of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) across Chicago’s South and West Sides, Dr. Brittani James has devoted her career to expanding access to compassionate, high-quality care for underserved communities—regardless of age, health status, ability to pay, or background.
In 2025, Dr. James co-founded Twin Village Health with her twin sister, Psychiatrist Brandi Jackson, MD. Their integrative practice combines root-cause functional medicine and holistic psychiatry to care for mind, body, and spirit. Dr. James’ clinical work centers on plant medicine, the physical manifestations of trauma, and the complex interplay of co-occurring physical and mental illness.
An Ohio native, Dr. James earned her Bachelor of Science in Human Biology from Cornell University and her Medical Doctorate from the University of Michigan Medical School. She completed her Family Medicine Residency at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System, where she served as Chief Resident.
An Ohio native, Dr. James earned her Bachelor of Science in Human Biology from Cornell University and her Medical Doctorate from the University of Michigan Medical School. She completed her Family Medicine Residency at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System, where she served as Chief Resident.
From 2021 to 2025, Dr. James served as Medical Director of Federally-Qualified Health Center in inner-city Chicago, providing primary care and behavioral health services to individuals and families across the lifespan. There, she championed multiethnic, multiracial, and interreligious alliance-building as a cornerstone of community health.
Previously, as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Family Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Dr. James trained medical students and residents while helping embed health equity into the medical school curriculum. For this work, she received the Golden Apple Award for Teaching Excellence and was inducted into the Faculty Gold Humanism Honor Society.
Dr. James’ advocacy and scholarship on racial justice and health equity have gained national attention, with features on NBC Nightly News, The New York Times, CNN, The Associated Press, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, MTV, and The Kelly Clarkson Show, among others. Her academic writings have appeared in Chicago Medicine and The New England Journal of Medicine, and in 2020, she was honored with the Martin Luther King Legacy Award by the Chicago Bulls.
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