James Hoyte is the former Massachusetts Secretary of Environmental Affairs and a recently retired senior administrator and lecturer in environmental policy at Harvard University. As Secretary, Hoyte was responsible for the management and oversight of environmental programs and conservation policies for the Commonwealth. In this role, Hoyte was also the founding Chairman of the Board of the Mass Water Resources Authority, overseeing the agency during the planning and design of the Boston Harbor Clean-Up project, as well as the initial planning for a program to augment the drinking water supply of Eastern Massachusetts. Hoyte also served as Secretary-Treasurer and Director of Administration and Finance for the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) from 1976 to 1979.

An attorney, he was a partner at Choate, Hall & Stewart and is a member of various state and national bar associations. He is currently member of the Board of Trustees for Massachusetts Environmental Trust, the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Posse Foundation, The Trust for Public Land, Wheaton College, and the Museum of Afro-American History. Hoyte received his A.B. degree Cum Laude in Government from Harvard College and J.D. from Harvard Law School.