Choosing Durham Twice: A Personal Story and Some News

In 2001, I was a recent UNC graduate and was working in Raleigh. Yet I chose to live in Durham.

I loved the city's history and its sense of possibility. It didn't feel monolithic — restaurants and bars were full of people of different races, orientations, and backgrounds sharing the same community. The old tobacco warehouses surrounding downtown reflected a working-class past, and the people I met seemed scrappy and resilient.

I bought a small loft on deserted W. Main St. and watched out my back window as cranes and construction workers began to renovate the dilapidated American Tobacco warehouses. Durham had a rich history, but what excited me most was its potential. It felt like a place where I could contribute and make a difference.

In 2007, work took me to Portland, OR. While there, I met my wife and when we decided to start a family, we chose Durham (again.) By the time we moved back to Durham in 2013, DPAC had opened, the American Underground was up and running out of American Tobacco, and more people were choosing to live downtown.

This second homecoming changed how I saw the city. The first time, I saw it through the eyes of a young, single professional who believed in its potential. The second time, I saw it as a soon-to-be parent. I loved that my kids would grow up in a city full of civil rights history, cultural richness, great food, and neighbors who cared deeply about their community.

And I loved that Durham wasn't waiting for someone else to improve it. People were already doing the work. In the past ten years, the city has grown nearly 20% and about 5,000 downtown housing units have been completed. The empty warehouses from the early 2000s are now life science labs, tech companies, restaurants, and galleries.

And as of this week, I’m not just a resident and fan of Durham, but I’m an official marketer of the city. I’ve joined Discover Durham as VP of Marketing and Communications.

I can't think of much I'd rather promote than the city I've chosen to live in for 20 of the past 25 years. What excites me most isn't the progress already made — it's what's still ahead. Discover Durham's Destination Master Plan includes ambitious projects that can boost tourism and improve residents' quality of life: a freeway cap connecting downtown to the Hayti community, a sports complex, trails, music venues, and community reinvestment tied directly to festivals and tourism.

My job is to tell those stories (as well as to continue promoting the city and attracting visitors.)

Durham's best days are still ahead. I'm glad to be a part of building them.