Mr. Echols grew up in Exeter, NH and was educated at the prestigious Phillips Exeter Academy. He received his B.A. from New York University and his J.D./M.B.A from Emory University.
Mr. Echols served in the U.S. Army as an enlisted man from 1973 to 1976, subsequently as an active duty Army attorney (JAG Corps) at the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1982-1986.
Mr. Echols later served as as attorney and ethics/compliance officer for several Defense contractors, ultimately retiring in that capacity as Director of Business Conduct for Monsanto.
Thereafter, Mr. Echols served as Founder and President of the For Our Friends the Animals Foundation, an eleemosynary entity he created and funded that constructed animal shelters and rescues.
A cancer survivor, Mr. Echols now frequently blogs on a reverence for life on LinkedIn and is authoring a four-volume treatise on that topic under the title: For Our Friends the Animals.