To let James Stancil tell it, he’s just a country boy from Eastern North Carolina who made good as a first-generation college student.
But to hundreds, if not thousands of Houstonians, Stancil is so much more than that. He is a highly experienced K-12 educator, college administrator, outdoor experience facilitator and reading zealot.
“I’ve been doing this kind of stuff my whole life,” said Stancil, whose parents worked for school systems–his father as a “custodial engineer” and his mother as an administrative secretary.
Lone Star College
Since relocating to Houston after various professional stops across the country, Stancil has found a home at Lone Star College’s Tomball campus serving as an academic strategist for the Life Path Neurodiversity program.
“LifePath is an opportunity for students who are neurodiverse which is a better way of describing people who maybe have cognitive challenges. It’s a program that helps those students prepare for jobs after college. And for those who maybe aren’t going to college, it provides them with skill and workforce training,” said Stancil, who supports participants with tutoring, academic coaching and sometimes mentoring.
Intellect U Well, Inc.
But Stancil’s impact on the Houston area doesn’t stop there. He and his wife, Tonya, a journalism/public relations professional, run Intellect U Well Inc., a non-profit focused on reading advocacy, media literacy, and teaching digital citizenship. The organization also promotes academic achievement for students on all levels.
“As I was leaving K-12, my wife and I noticed folk weren’t reading the way they should. They weren’t interested in reading nonfiction or histories and things about our people and our culture,” said Stancil about Intellect U Well, whose organizational motto is “It’s cool to be smart.”
To that end, Stancil’s non-profit brings in writers and scholars to humanize these writers for their readers via book signings and discussions. During COVID, these events moved online and are available on the organization’s YouTube channel for all to see.
Outdoor Afro Houston
Stancil also has a full plate of community service. This includes his work as a member of 100 Black Men of Metropolitan Houston. But it’s Stancil’s work as the Southern Regional leader and the Houston Volunteer Network Leader for Outdoor Afro Houston that he describes as his most important work.
Outdoor Afro is a national organization founded roughly 15 years ago out of Oakland, CA by a Black woman, Rue Mapp. It has local branches in cities across the U.S. The idea behind Outdoor Afro is to get Black people back involved in nature and outdoors and have leadership opportunities in those spaces.
“We [Black people] don’t go outdoors, often because we feel like it’s not for us, it’s for the other people, the other man. But then once we get out there, we don’t need [others] to show us and tell us what to do. We can handle it and do it ourselves. You know how I know? Because many of us came here as enslaved Africans because of our skills. We were forced to come here because of our skills and expertise in the outdoors and nature. So, we’re about reconnecting,” Stancil said.
One of the recipients of this reconnection is local artist, film director and graphic designer Marc Newsome.
“James Stancil is one of those sage-like people you can always learn from just by being in his proximity,” said Newsome, creator of the “I Love Third Ward” movement. “He is a wealth of information and can tell you anything you want to know about the outdoors and more. His work with the Houston chapter of Outdoor Afro has been a gift to so many who desire to connect with nature, but didn’t know how.
“He’s been very kind and generous with his time and knowledge and has spearheaded some great experiences, from hiking to overnight camping to book readings and movie-watching meetups. I would consider James Stancil a treasure of the highest order.”
