A national leader with a Delta touch
A nationally-recognized leader in community and economic development, and a recently-named Aspen Ideas Global Fellow for 2025 (among many other accolades and accomplishments), Justin Archer Burch has truly “made a difference” in the lives of the people and places he has served throughout his career.
The phrase might be overused and somewhat trite these days, but Burch’s “difference making” has produced tangible results with observable outcomes—the cliche has become action. Burch’s efforts, since effectively starting his career in 2014, has catalyzed industry, corporate philanthropy and the public sector around producing impacts for individuals, their families, their businesses and communities in the Delta.
Currently serving as President and CEO of Delta Compass—a regional economic development and inclusion intermediary—Burch leads the strategic growth vision across the Delta South. By working to attract high wage industry—and keeping them located in the Delta, the intermediary’s mission is to ensure the region is a viable 21st century economy to live, work, play, and innovate.
“I was born in Jackson but raised in Brooklyn, Mississippi which is in the Black Creek wilderness,” says Burch of his life’s beginnings. “My father, Robert, was a minister and my mom, Edie, worked for Howard Industries in Laurel and I have a brother, Robert, who is retired from the U.S. Air Force. My family settled in Brooklyn when my grandfather, Carnus Archer, was hired by the State of Mississippi to rid the wilderness of alligators to provide safe passage for logging. He kept several of them as pets around his homestead. In fact, The New York Times actually published an article on us and called our family a ‘rural oddity,’ which is a hell of a high bar to hit in Mississippi but we did it,” he says jokingly.
Brooklyn did not afford a lot of opportunities for economic advancement – similar to a lot of rural persistent poverty communities in the state. “There were limited jobs and even fewer quality jobs for us but, thankfully, my brother and I had the best mother you could ever imagine. She worked very hard at a distance and still came home to ensure we prioritized an education to make something of ourselves.”
Burch says that, even though he was born in 1986 and grew up in the 1990s, his recollections sound more like those of a youth during the Depression era.
“But everybody was poor so we had nothing to really compare ourselves too,” he says. “We shared a two bedroom home with our grandmother. Three generations of my family lived in that same house with subpar plumbing that drained to the yard and my brother and I shared a partially-enclosed carport as our bedroom which didn’t even have a closet. As bad as poverty can be I still have some precious memories from it. We used to go out with my grandmother to get old newspapers and stick them in the walls for insulation during the winter. That time spent with her is still one of my favorite memories.”
The fact that Burch grew up in such circumstances, and that such conditions still exist today, drives much of his adult professional work.
“I now live the life my mother deserved,” he says. “And that’s heartbreaking to me in a way but that’s why I got into a career at the intersection of philanthropy and economic development: to work on solutions to the poverty we experienced and that too many others still experience today. Her memory is my fire. She passed three years ago, and that was the main reason for my returning to Mississippi. My mom used to say she did not want my brother and I to have ‘roots’ but for us to have ‘wings.’ Mama wasn’t well-educated, but she was brilliant. When she passed, I reframed my priorities and decided to bring the national experience I had gained back to Mississippi.”
That “experience” includes some of the most prominent roles in rural economic development. Justin has served as the site lead for community development at the Foundation for the Mid South; Director of Programs for the 8 state federal economic development commission – Delta Regional Authority; and was the national rural economic developer for Rural LISC, the nation’s oldest and largest community development financial institution, all before the age of 30.
Prior to that, after graduating high school, Burch stayed home to take care of his mother who had Stage 3 breast cancer while his brother was deployed in Iraq. He went on to obtain his B.A. from Ole Miss in 2009, after completing an Associates Degree at Jones County Junior College, and his Masters of Social Science from Mississippi College in 2012. Then, his career took off and led him around the country and in the company of many national leaders—including the very top one.
“President Obama named me as one the first 100 Americans to his Global Fellowship Network and I’ve enjoyed learning from him a number of times,” says Burch. “I even got to visit with him during my birthday last year.” Additionally, Burch has also received the distinguished W.K. Kellogg CLN Fellowship to represent Mississippi nationally.
His continuing education has included some of the top names in professional development to include Harvard University, the Lily School of Philanthropy at Purdue University, the University of Tennessee, the University of Oklahoma, Princeton University, and Georgetown University to name a few.
“I thought I wanted to be a lawyer when I left Ole Miss,” recalls Burch. “But while working at the Foundation for the Mid South under the great Ivye Allen, former Governor William Winter took me aside one day and says, ‘Justin, did you know that Mississippi has more lawyers per capita than any other state in the union? We don’t need any more—we need philanthropists.’
Burch added a caveat to his relationship with the late Governor. “To the day he died, he called me ‘Jason Arthur,'” said Burch. “No matter how many times I would correct him, he never got it right! At some point, I just stopped trying. He was a wonderful man and greatly influenced my career along with Ivye.”
When asked if the term “bleeding heart” was applicable to his career and/or personal beliefs, Burch was philosophical in his response.
“I’ve actually worked for both the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee at different points in my career,” he answers. “The older I get, the more I find that socio-political boundaries or definitions should probably just be discarded. I believe in solutions which, in turned, are based on data. And objective data has no label. We all want people to have better jobs and better lives—the end goals are the same, or should be. Let others fight or debate—I want to actually get things done.”
Burch says the Delta has always had somewhat of a hold on him. “I knew I wanted to be here after doing my research,” says Burch. “Especially in Greenville. It’s a hub for the Delta, which is not to diminish the other communities, but I thought this would be the best play to build out for the entire region and the Delta South.”
Delta Compass has gained national recognition under Burch’s auspices and, more importantly, yielded positive results. “It’s still a new project, but I can’t wait to see where we are in five years,” said Burch. “I’m glad to be able to build something out and not be just another non-profit white guy trying to claim my piece of this region’s pie – I want to bring a new dessert to the table. My goal is, and has been, bringing the big ‘players’ to this region and finding new successes. So far, we’re on the right path.”
“I’ve known Justin for more than a decade, and it has been a pleasure to see him bring his talents and vision to the Delta,” says Daniel Boggs, CEO of the Greater Greenville Development Foundation in Greenville, who works with Burch. “His energy and commitment to this community are clear, and I’m excited to see the positive impact he will continue to make for Washington County in the years ahead.”
Burch and his wife Cameryn, a Special Education teacher, have two children. “We have two of the most beautiful children in all of Mississippi, a daughter Catherine Lawrence, age four—who is so much like my momma already it’s unbelievable—and a son who just recently turned three, Archer Henry, and it’s fantastic to work back in Mississippi where I can see more of them and they greet me at the door at the end of the day. I don’t see myself ever leaving Mississippi again,” says Burch.
When not working, Burch loves collecting Mississippi art as well as other items Mississippi-centric. “That’s my rule. What I buy has to be local,” he says.
“I think sometimes I’m the real life manifestation of Forrest Gump,” says Burch of his life thus far. “It’s been a wonderful ride and I’ve worked hard, but—a lot of it all seems like serendipity. That said, I think the best is yet to come—not only for me personally and professionally, but also for the opportunities emerging for Mississippi through Delta Compass.”
Photography by Johnny Jennings