By Allan Jamail
North Channel Star
NORTH CHANNEL – August 8, 2023 the North Channel is blessed with many talented activists, and Adrian Stephens is one of them.
Adrian is married to JP Judge Joe Stephens, a household name in the North Channel area. They have three children: Celine who recently graduated from Prairie View A&M, Allyn attending college, and Aspen in grade school.
North Channel Star writer Allan Jamail said, “I had the pleasure of meeting their three girls when I interviewed Adrian for this article. If they take after mom and dad, the North Channel community will be blessed with more Stephens’ in leadership roles for years to come.”
Adrian was born and raised in Houston, she grew up dancing starting at age five, doing ballet, modern, tap and jazz dance. In college she fell in love with Majorette Dancing.
She attended West University Elementary, Johnston Middle School, and High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in the Houston School District.
Stephens graduated from Prairie View A&M University in Texas with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration with a scholarship in bowling. There she was the head of the Black Fox Dance Team and she was on their Inaugural Women’s Bowling Team. She then obtained a Masters Degree in Human Resources Development at Villanova University in Pennsylvania.
Upon graduating from college she said, “I wanted to have an impact on young people and find a rewarding career that would make a difference in people’s lives. I am a connector, I love helping people accomplish their goals through recruiting or providing resources to help people accomplish their goals. My focus now is on my kids and helping them accomplish their goals. My kids and family are my biggest accomplishments in my life; I’m a prayerful person, doing it daily.”
Stephens was elected to the GPISD Board of Trustees in 2018 where she recently served as the Board’s President.
She said, “My genuine interest is protecting students and providing for them the best quality of education possible so they can have a productive and successful life. I want to ensure the teachers and the administration has all the resources necessary to accomplish this.”
“I decided to run for school trustee after a citizen said to me that the students needed someone like me to work for them. That advice was what convinced me to overcome any apprehension I had and to run for trustee. I’m glad I followed that advice, serving the district has been very rewarding. I have six retired teachers in my family. Education is extremely important in my family and has played a tremendous part in both mine and my husband’s careers,” Adrian said.
When asked how her parents felt about her getting into politics and running for a political position, she said, “My parents are always proud and supportive of anything I do. I think it probably took them by surprise initially, because I am not one that enjoys the spotlight, but I will sacrifice that discomfort to advocate for kids.”
But she firmly doesn’t consider herself a politician.
Stephens said, “I’ve just begun serving my community. I’m eager to serve and do more for the community besides serving on the school board. “
Human trafficking prevention is another topic that’s a special interest to her. In May of this year she chaired the East Harris Chambers Liberty County Alumnae Chapter (Delta Sigma Theta Sorority) human trafficking program.
Adrian said, “We always look forward to traveling in the summer. We like to take a family vacation that typically falls on our wedding anniversary. We love traveling to tropical locations; our favorite place is Turks and Caicos.”
She loves music, mostly R&B, rap, and pop. Her favorite singers are Beyonce and Usher. Jamie Foxx is her favorite actor. She enjoys listening to true crime podcasts (like Dateline, Crime Junkie and Serial), and her favorite sports teams are the Rockets, Texans, and Astros. Her favorite food is her grandmother’s and mother’s gumbo.
“My husband is my biggest influence. I am so inspired by his work ethic, service to our community and dedication to our family. I’m his number one supporter. He bounces things off me, and I appreciate him doing it. I’m happy to be a contribution to his success,” Adrian said.
She currently works in Human Resourcing in the Oil & Gas Industry, after transitioning from Fort Bend ISD, where she taught for a couple years.