Dr. Kruger has over 35 years of experience in the field of mechanical construction and contracting. He was the founder and past-president of James P. Kruger & Associates, Inc. He is master plumber/ gasfitter. He started his career as an apprentice plumber and continued to gain experience as a trade mechanic in Local 486 Steamfitters Union. He was introduced to all aspects of contracting as a project manager with over ten years of experience with a large mechanical/electrical contractor. He founded his firm in 1992. His firm provided ASME code welding repairs to many industrial boiler and incineration plants in the Maryland region. He retired in 2004.

He was a Member of the Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission from 2015 through 2020. He chaired the Education Committee for three years.

He served at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum- Washington, DC: as a Visitor Services Specialist from 2009- 2019.

He was a Member of The National Association Boilermaker and Construction Boilermaker Employers (NACBE) from 1995 through 2002.

Dr. Kruger pursued his education experience after he retired. He earned his Ph.D. in Public Policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County School of Public Policy in 2021. His dissertation was Bury or Burn then Bury: The Current State of Solid Waste Management Using the 2019 Baltimore Clean Air Act as a Case Study. He believes that an integrated solid waste infrastructure plan using waste-to-energy as a major component is the correct path for our solid waste management.