Stanford grew up in The Episcopal Church in Jackson, Mississippi, and claimed the church as his own while he was a college student at Princeton University. Following college, Stanford came to Austin and graduated from UT School of Law. After several years of practicing law, he followed a call to the priesthood and graduated from seminary at Sewanee: The University of the South. Stanford has practiced law in Nashville and San Antonio, and served Episcopal parishes in Mississippi and Texas. Stanford has three children, Max (19), Ellen (16), and Will (12).