NAHRW

James L. Stowe, PRESIDENT

James L. Stowe serves as the Executive Director of the Montgomery County Office of Human Rights, MD. Mr. Stowe is a native of Belmont, North Carolina.  Jim and his family relocated to Montgomery County Maryland to serve as the 4th Director of the Office of Human Rights. The agency, established in 1960, provides leadership to the people of Montgomery County and works toward eliminating racism/discrimination; identifying and resolving community tensions; and educating the citizens about cultural diversity.  These efforts culminate in our goal of Creating a Culture of Service and a Climate of Fairness and Inclusion.
 

The office has a rich legacy of human rights advocacy and professional competency and continues today as one of the premier civil and human rights agencies in the nation. Under Jim’s leadership, the Office has set its sights on even greater engagement in the community and heightening professional standards for all involved with the office. 

Jim has been instrumental in developing new program initiatives and re-positioning the office for success in the 21st Century. These programs include increased emphasis in enforcement productivity and competency which led to the agency becoming fully certified with the EEOC Fair Employment Practices Agency Program, renewed emphasis in fair housing which led to fair housing continuing educational credit program for realtors, apartment managers and other housing providers as well as increased enforcements efforts through the Interagency Fair Housing Coordination Group to insure that all barriers to fair accessible housing for everyone are removed; new initiatives to combat the incident of hate violence activities through the Committee on Hate Violence and the convening of a county wide symposium on "Bullying in Schools" and a forum on Post 911 Issues and Concerns within the Muslim and Sikh Community; the Community Friendship Picnic and an increased effort in outreach activities with the Montgomery County Human Rights Commission to convene public forums on Racial Profiling, the Criminal Justice System and The Digital Divide, a response to the Trayvon Martin shooting; and an increase in programming for youth with an expansion of the Human Rights Youth Camp for 5th Graders, Human Rights Day Observance for all school levels and the Civil Rights Educational Freedom Tour which is for the entire community. Mr. Stowe is a member of several community organizations and works with these programs and activities throughout Montgomery County. The agency continues to evolve as the needs and demands of a growing diverse county shift and change. The agency remains however committed to the long-held principles of fairness and equal justice under the law.