Mark Little shares plans for combatting economic disparity in North Carolina’s poorest counties, while on the personal level creating strong historical and ancestral foundations for his children. Co-founder of the Black Communities Conference, his work facilitates and fosters community-engaged research partnerships, between universities and communities, in support of Black community life. Little is Executive Director of CREATE, Co-Founder of SmartUp and former Executive Director of the Kenan Institute. He launched NCGrowth, a program that helps North Carolina’s rural and under-served communities grow and retain business, facilitates strategic regional economic development, and researches solutions to pressing energy, environment, and climate related problems. This music composer is also a native North Carolinian with a Ph.D. in geology and geophysics.