Roy DeBerry, a native of Holly Springs, MS, recently retired as Vice President for Economic Development and Local Governmental Affairs at Jackson State University. He also served as the Executive Vice President and an Adjunct Professor of Public Policy and Administration, Jackson State University, where he taught two courses. He was also Activist in Residence-2014-16 at the William Winter Institute of the University of Mississippi.

In 2007, he co-created an organization, The Hill Country Project, a private not-for-profit 501© 3 tax exempt organization, located in Benton County, Mississippi, which focuses on oral history, education, economic development, and community capacity building. He is currently chairperson of the Hinds County Mental Health Commission, and he also serves as a member of the Mississippi Civil Rights Education Commission, a collaborator with the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. In his spare time, he tutors and mentors students in the Benton County, Mississippi School System. Dr. DeBerry has published a series of articles and has been featured in two books. He is a husband and father of one daughter, and he attends Christ Temple C.M.E. Church in Oxford, MS.