Robert Echols

Robert Echols was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and currently resides in the charming city of Fairhope located on Mobile Bay in that same state. Stemming from his faith and avocation he self-identifies as a Christ driven influencer, thought leader and advocate for a "Reverence for Life”, the ethos given the world by Dr. Albert Schweitzer. This ethos at its core mandates that all humanity bestow the love of Jesus liberally and universally on all creatures who cross our path. To ensure widespread distribution of the ethos of a reverence for life, Echols blogs frequently on LinkedIn. He is also in the process of authoring a four-volume treatise on that topic under the title: For Our Friends the Animals. Previously, he served as President and Founder of the For Our Friends the Animals Foundation, a nonprofit entity Echols designed and created to provide financial support through grant awards to assist animal rescues, shelters, sanctuaries and like-minded institutions fulfill their mission to rescue and rehabilitate abandoned or unwanted pets. The Foundation, an outgrowth of Echols’ keenness to manifest palpable evidence of a reverence for life, also provided grants to construct animal shelters and was the primary funding source for the erection of such facilities in Williston and Levy County, FL. Prior to his tenure at Monsanto Echols served as attorney and ethics officer for a variety of Defense Department contractors, and he also served in philanthropic and consulting positions. From 1986 to 1990 Echols was civilian counsel and Designated Agency Ethics Official for the U.S. Army Security and Intelligence Command in Arlington Hall Station, Virginia. Prior to assuming his duties at the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, Echols served as an active-duty U.S. Army attorney in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York from 1982 to 1986. Echols grew up in Exeter, New Hampshire and was educated at the Phillips Exeter Academy. He received his B.A. from New York University and his J.D./M.B.A. from Emory University. Mr. Echols was also privileged to serve in the U.S. Army as an enlisted man from 1973 to 1976.