Eric James is Mattapan’s new liaison for City Hall’s Office of Neighborhood Services, Mayor Wu announced this week. Liaisons work with local residents and business owners as a bridge to City Hall.

A Nigerian native who arrived in Boston when he was a year old, James graduated from Brighton High School and later received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from UMass Dartmouth, interning at courthouses in South Boston, Brockton, and New Bedford.

He most recently worked as a middle school teaching fellow at Neighborhood House Charter School in Dorchester.

“I am beyond excited to begin my tenure as the neighborhood liaison for Mattapan,” James said in a statement. “I love this city and I will strive to ensure that the great residents of Mattapan are connected to the amazing services and resources it has to offer and that they deserve.”

James replaces Donte Peeples, the Mattapan liaison for acting mayor Kim Janey last year. Peeples is now a community engagement manager within the city’s Office of Black Male Advancement.

James’s appointment was announced with that of Kiesha Santana, who will serve as Roxbury liaison. Santana is a Rosxbury native and Dominican-American. She is a graduate of John D. O’Bryant High School and La Salle University.

“The liaisons are crucial in connecting Boston’s residents and business with the resources they need and ensuring that the City gets the small things right,” Enrique Pepen, director of the Office of Neighborhood Services, said in a statement. “I know Kiesha and Eric will work hard to realize these goals for their respective neighborhoods.”