As a former Commissioner of the California Energy Commission, James Boyd focused on issues including transportation. He was the Energy Commission's representative on the Steering Team of the California Fuel Cell Partnership and served on the Governor's Hydrogen Highway Network Implementation Advisory Panel. Prior to his appointment, Commissioner Boyd was Deputy Secretary and Chief of Staff for the California Resources Agency. During his tenure there he created and chaired the state's first Joint Agency Climate Change Team.

Boyd received his B.S. in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley.