Birmingham
TechBirmingham
We begin in a city translating its industrial DNA into a new technology economy through talent, research, entrepreneurship, and civic leadership.
Meet the host
October 19–23, 2026 · Alabama to Louisiana
AcrestoAlgorithms
A journey through the people, places, and institutions reshaping economic development across the Deep South.
We've been here before.
Terms are what you negotiate with a developer. Institutions are what you keep.
BirminghamChoctawJacksonNew Orleans
Tour overviewWho · What · When · Where · Why · HowOpen overviewClose overview
Full tour overview
Who?
As my good friends, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, so wonderfully sang ever so long ago, we’ll be road trippin’ with our two favorite allies: ERC Fellows and the IEDC partner network that supports us! We’ll be heading to Birmingham, AL; Choctaw, MS; Jackson, MS; and finishing up in New Orleans, LA.
Our tour is open to all ERC Fellows (travel budgets allowing, though not excluding); the six ERC national partner organizations, CORI, NLC, ICMA, NACo, NADO, and RAIN Catalysts; and the broader IEDC economic development ecosystem. We will also open the tour to additional thematic allies whose work intersects with the questions we will explore. More on that soon!
Each stop is capped at 35 participants, so sign up today!
What?
We will venture on a Deep South Tour that allows us to meet and learn from leaders who are building technology ecosystems, HBCU innovation, Tribal economies, health equity, and community-centered economic development.
The theme of the tour is “Acres to Algorithms.” We will explore the tensions that emerge when public policy meets economic development in a region where civil rights history is writ large. As an ERC Fellow, I serve communities whose homes are host to developments that drive investments of the future.
Our acres, encompassing land, place, history, sovereignty, people, and public institutions, will be shown in juxtaposition to the algorithms that drive investments in power, water, fiber, public policy, and the communities willing and able to host them.
When?
The official tour dates are Monday, October 19, through Friday, October 23, 2026. Our working route is as follows:
| Date | Place & program |
|---|---|
| Birmingham, ALTravel day, arrival, and welcome dinner | |
| Birmingham, ALTechBirmingham and ERC Fellow Justin Washington | |
| Choctaw, MSChoctaw Office of Economic Development | |
| Jackson, MSTougaloo College | |
| New Orleans, LATECHPLUG, Broad Community Connections, and the tour conclusion |
The route is set, but the program will remain flexible enough to accommodate local conversations, site visits, and the unexpected. I understand folks may not be able to join the entire tour, so please let me know if you’re interested in particular legs. If we plan well, we can accommodate logistics and capacity at the same time. 🙂
Where?
We will have four hosts:
TechBirmingham
Led by President and CEO Deon Gordon, TechBirmingham strengthens Birmingham’s tech ecosystem, helps develop its talent, and connects entrepreneurs with companies. They serve as the tech hub of what I consider to be the “Wakanda of the South,” a city transforming its industrial DNA through biotechnology, its “new steel of Birmingham.” Deon is guiding conversations about Birmingham’s tech future and convenes Sloss Tech. ERC Fellow Justin Washington will serve as our co-steward in Birmingham.
Choctaw Office of Economic Development
The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians’ Office of Economic Development is led by John Hendrix and Hayden Nickey. In 2026, the office became Mississippi’s first Accredited Economic Development Organization and only the second Tribal organization in the country to earn the designation.
During this stop, we will explore Tribal sovereignty and self-determination alongside enterprise, workforce development, infrastructure, and the pipelines needed to steward and retain community wealth.
Tougaloo College
Tougaloo College will be our host in Jackson, MS, and is led by its new president, Dr. Corey Wiggins. He previously served as Federal Co-Chair of the Delta Regional Authority, a federal regional intermediary serving 255 counties and parishes across eight U.S. states.
Dr. Wiggins takes the helm of an institution with a history of teaching hard history. As he entered the role, the transition discussions included growing enrollment, raising research and institutional funds, and redeveloping nearly 500 acres of campus land.
TECHPLUG
TECHPLUG is a health innovation firm working to serve New Orleans. Led by founder and managing partner Kornelius Bankston (KB), it collaborates with and invests in startups and health-equity solutions that address health disparities in vulnerable populations.
TECHPLUG also hosts a coworking space called The Lab by TECHPLUG and supports early-stage startups through its Queen Mother program.
Why?
The broader U.S. South is experiencing a significant economic and demographic shift. A May 2025 analysis by Visa found that the region accounted for 35% of national GDP in 2024 and 78% of jobs added nationally from 2019 to 2024. The Census Bureau reports that the South’s population grew 6.0% between April 2020 and July 2025, compared with 3.1% nationally.
The national comparisons help tell the story. In its March 2025 release, the Bureau of Economic Analysis ranked Mississippi second nationally for real GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2024. Its economy grew at an annualized rate of 4.2%, compared with 2.4% nationwide. Alabama ranked fifth, growing at 3.8%. Two states on our route placed among the country’s five fastest-growing state economies that quarter. Explore the GDP figures.
Louisiana offers another measure of the region’s national significance: it tied for second among U.S. states in Site Selection’s 2026 Global Groundwork Index, which combines corporate investment and infrastructure measures. Explore the national ranking.
In the Deep South, land and energy infrastructure have become central to the digital economy’s expansion. New investment raises questions about the capacity of power systems, water supplies, and the communities being asked to host these projects. The Delta Clean Energy & Digital Infrastructure Map makes that changing landscape visible.
Together, we will explore the opportunities and tensions created when public policy meets economic development in a region where the struggle for civil rights has always been writ large.
How?
Transportation around the region is still being finalized. We’re coordinating cars and shared rides. We're hoping to coordinate our rides between places in order to ensure we arrive to each location safe and sound! More info coming soon, but I want to ensure it's easy to get from each location to the next!
See the convoy and add your travel plans. Let us know which stops you’ll join, whether you can offer passenger seats, and where you need a ride.
Each stop will be locally co-stewarded, and we will use a shared itinerary and communication channels to keep participants informed. We will confirm the transportation plan and a detailed agenda as the tour approaches.
To join us, sign up and share your travel plans! 😃
Sign up for the tourCapital can move faster than the local capacity needed to govern it. This tour is about what communities do in that gap.
The Journey
Choctaw
Choctaw Office of Economic Development
Our second stop centers Tribal sovereignty, enterprise development, land stewardship, and the capacity to retain community wealth across generations.
Meet the hostWhere to stay
Jackson
Tougaloo College
In Jackson, civil rights history meets the next economy as Tougaloo connects applied research, workforce development, and regional problem solving.
Meet the hostWhere to stay
- The Westin Jackson
- Hilton Garden Inn Jackson Downtown
- Hilton JacksonClosest of these to Tougaloo.
New Orleans
TECHPLUG
We close in Tremé, where TECHPLUG uses technology and entrepreneurship to address health-access gaps without leaving vulnerable communities behind.
Meet the hostWhere to stay
So many to choose from outside of the IEDC options!
- Le PavillonFree PB&J at 9 p.m.!
- Hotel Villa ConventoIf it’s open again, chef’s kiss! Reopening is planned for October 2026.
- India House HostelIf you want something a lil outside the box, try this out.
In lieu of a bus
Let’s make a convoy.
We’re coordinating cars and shared rides so we can get from one stop to the next, safe and sound: a rented 7-seat SUV out of Birmingham, my Honda CR-V, and any car you’re willing to bring along. Bring a vehicle, offer a passenger seat, or tell us where you need a ride. Joining for only part of the trip works, too.
Add my travel plans (opens in a new tab)Already filled out the earlier interest form? Complete the sign-up form to confirm your stops and add your travel plans.
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The South is not waiting for the future. It's hosting it.
The Deep South I know and love is becoming a major site of investment in the next economy. Across Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, projects are arriving at a scale that demands national attention. Their magnitude becomes even more striking when you consider the size of the communities and economies being asked to host them.
As an ERC Fellow, I serve communities navigating what these developments will mean for the places they call home. I want this tour to make that transformation tangible and explore how it compares with what is happening elsewhere, what it asks of our region, and what opportunities we can help take root.
What do acres hold? What do algorithms ask of them?
Acres carry land and legacy. The place upon which culture and livelihood stands as the ultimate form of Black sovereignty. Land in the Deep South has always bartered promises of inheritance serving as the memory upon which debts are never settled.
Algorithms may appear without form, yet their weight arrives in technicolor through power, water, gas, and fiber. The many roads that their digital instructions traverse, weaving the delicate dance between wealth creation and public policy. Which is supposed to win again?
Follow the investment across the landscape.
Explore the map behind the questions.
Explore what types of clean energy and digital infrastructure investment is being made across the Delta region and which communities are being asked to host these projects.
Explore the Delta Clean Energy & Digital Infrastructure MapWho builds, owns, and benefits from the next economy?
Economic development is where those questions become decisions. Will communities merely host new investment, or help shape and share in the value it creates?
Moving at the speed of trust. Proceeding as the way opens.
My ERC Fellowship in St. Helena and Washington Parishes has made these questions immediate. Working alongside local leaders, I have seen how relationships and research help communities prepare to make consequential decisions about their future.
That experience is part of why I’m bringing this tour together. I want to connect what I have learned in the Parishes with the people building institutions and opportunity across the Deep South. My Capstone follows the work and partnerships that brought me to this point.
Explore the ERC Capstone
Follow the Parish cases, practical tools, and partnerships that shaped my journey.
Open the CapstoneIf this sounds like your kind of road trip
Ready to come along?
Sign up for the full October 19–23 journey or selected stops, and share your travel plans.
Sign up & add travel plans