Jim Echols was born Memphis, Tennessee, during the racially-segregated era, in 1950. The son of a Baptist pastor, his father moved the family to Spokane, Washington, when he was ten years old to begin his life’s journey in a racially-integrated environment. He readily acclimated, and previous feelings of inferiority quickly diminished.  The military draft was still in effect when he graduated from high school, yet he volunteered for service with the U.S. Army to cover the cost of his college education, to avoid adding financial burden to his family. He was the middle child of three siblings.
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Upon completion of U.S. Army Basic Training, Echols was assigned to the United States Army Security Agency and stationed in the Republic of South Vietnam upon completion of intelligence training, while still a teenager. He excelled in his assignment and was promoted to sergeant and awarded the U.S Army Bronze Star at twenty years of age.  He was later assigned to a three-year tour in West Germany in July, 1974.  He was selected by his battalion commander to attend the U.S Army Race Relations Institute, Europe, and he then returned to his unit to serve as a human relations facilitator and equal opportunity noncommissioned officer.  His mission was to advise his battalion commander and company commanders in matters pertaining to race & gender relations and provide training along with equal opportunity observations.  After serving with the Regular Army for nearly eight years, Echols left active service, joined the Oklahoma Army National Guard and prepared to enroll in college at the University of Central Oklahoma.  He ultimately retired from the U.S. Army Reserve after a combined period of twenty-five years of military service. 

He began college in the summer of 1977 as a twenty-six year-old political science (public service) major. He was soon elected to the university’s student senate and became actively involved in civic affairs in his Oklahoma City community. During a political conference in early 1978, he met Oklahoma’s Lieutenant Governor, a gubernatorial candidate, and was offered a position on his campaign staff as an administrative coordinator.  He  joined the staff in May, and was assigned liaison with the state’s African-American, Asian-American, Latino and Native-American tribal groups. The campaign was a success, and the Governor-Elect hired Echols to be a member of the Governor-Elect’s Transition Office. Upon the Governor’s Inauguration in January, 1979, Echols was appointed Administrative Assistant, Minority Affairs, Office of the Governor, Oklahoma.  On July 1,1979, he was appointed by the Governor as  Oklahoma State Affirmative Action Officer, with responsibilities to include advising the Governor and cabinet members on matters pertaining to equal opportunity, liaison to the African-American Community, Asian-American Community, Latino community, Indian Affairs Commission and the Oklahoma Human Rights Commission. He immediately drafted the Governor’s Executive Order on Affirmative Action.  After serving in this role for two years, he was nominated by the Governor to become Executive Director of the Oklahoma Human Rights Commission (OHRC), although he had received his Bachelor of Arts degree just two months earlier, at thirty years of age.  He became the youngest state agency director in the state’s history. His mission now was to enforce Title 25, Oklahoma Statutes pertaining to anti-discrimination. After serving a couple of years, Echols departed OHRC and served as an administrator with the Areawide Aging Agency, Agent Orange Class Assistance Program, Administrator, Human Resource Development, Oklahoma City Public Schools and as a private consultant for political campaigns and labor relations, etc.

In 2013, Echols was appointed to the Kansas Advisory Group on Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention, serving for about five years, including a year as Chairman and concurrently a Volunteer Mentor for Returning Citizens with the Kansas Dept. of Corrections. From 2014 through 2017, he served as the Director, HOPE Mentoring Program, Kansas Dept. for Children and Families, moving individuals from Temporary Assistance For Needy Families (TANF) to education, training and employment.  He also served from 2017 through 2019 as a Member, Kansas Sentencing Commission.
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Upon retirement from the State of Kansas in 2017, Echols immediately Launched Renaissance Management and Training Solutions, LLP, and later a spinoff firm, Renaissance Community & Public Relations, LLC.  The two firms are heavily engaged in all aspects of human relations and workforce development consultation.  After many years of service as a diversity & inclusion facilitator/trainer, advisor to U.S. Army commanders and senior state government officials, along with conducting compliance investigations, he has now prepared a myriad of seasoned perspectives for workforce development in the private sector.  “Equality of opportunity may yet become a reality in my lifetime”, states Echols.