J. R. Harris

Explorer, trekker, business exec, author, speaker, and ex-NYC taxi driver

J. Robert “J.R.” Harris has been exploring and backpacking long distance for more than 60 years in some of the most remote and inhospitable wilderness areas in the world, unsupported and mostly alone, and he has written numerous articles about his experiences, as well as a book entitled, “Way Out There: Adventures of a Wilderness Trekker.” J.R. is a speaker at schools, universities, and outdoors organizations such as the AMC, Sierra Club, ADK, Audubon Society, the Explorers Club, L.L. Bean, and REI. His objective is to share his experiences to hopefully motivate others to pursue a healthy outdoors lifestyle. His trail name is School.
When not in the wilderness, Harris is Founder and President of JRH Marketing Services. Established in 1975, it is the oldest African American-owned marketing research and insights consulting firm in the United States. In 2016 he was elected to the Market Research Hall of Fame.
Harris is currently on the Board of Directors of the 120-year-old Explorers Club (www.explorers.org), and he Chairs the Club’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee. As an advocate for more diversity in the outdoors, he believes DEI efforts will increase the number of people who will spend time in nature, and by getting out there, they will learn to appreciate, and therefore protect, our public lands and open spaces.
J.R. is the subject of a documentary film, “Born Curious,” and in 2021 he was the recipient of the Leif Erikson Exploration History Award from the Exploration Museum in Iceland in recognition of “his lifetime of exploration, as well as his tireless efforts to promote diversity in exploration” (www.explorationmuseum.com).