UEDA is hosted a special post-summit, virtual discussion that featured the 2025 UEDA Awards of Excellence category leaders in the Engaged University category and recipient of the Judges’ Award.
The Awards of Excellence are given in recognition of outstanding economic development initiatives, research, or accomplishments. Attendees heard an in-depth perspective on the winning projects and discussed about forming game-changing partnerships.
Engaged University: University of Memphis (Represented by Adrienne Cooper) – Delta Revitalization through Innovation, Vision, and Empowerment (DRIVE)
Judges’ Award: University of Kentucky (Represented by Landon Borders and Alexa Narel) – Estate Whiskey Alliance
The virtual discussion was moderated by Jenny Mizutowicz, former UEDA Board member at-large from the University of Texas at Dallas.
Meet the Speakers
Adrienne Cooper is the Director of Delta Revitalization through Innovation, Vision, and Empowerment (DRIVE) at the University of Memphis, where she leads initiatives focused on empowering underserved Delta communities. DRIVE emphasizes building community capacity to access and utilize external grant funding, fostering sustainable growth and prosperity across the region. With a deep personal and professional commitment to the Mississippi Delta Region, Cooper develops and implements place-based solutions that drive transformative economic change.
Landon Borders is the Sr. Executive Director of R&D Partnerships, Product Management and Technology Development for UK Innovate. He leads efforts to support industry partnerships and economic development objectives for research and innovation at UK, including in alignment with Kentucky’s priority industries as well as UK’s Research Priority areas. Additionally, he and his team support new technology, process and product development initiatives for UK HealthCare. Landon is also the founding Director of the Estate Whiskey Alliance, a global consortium dedicated to discovering, advancing and promoting the virtues of estate-produced whiskey and Chief Ecosystem Officer of GAME Change, which is building America’s first regional innovation hub for circular manufacturing and supply chain resilience.
Alexa Narel is an R&D Partnerships Manager for UK Innovate, providing dedicated research and innovation economic development partnership support for the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food & Environment (M-G CAFE). In this role, Alexa aims to enhance corporate engagements with M-G CAFE faculty and staff in order to achieve greater impact with research outcomes. Previously, Alexa worked in the Quality Department for Wild Turkey Distillery, a subsidiary of Campari Group. In this role, she focused on overall site quality in all aspects, ranging from raw materials and ingredients to finished goods. This role also involved supporting relationships with other industry partners, executing a company service event, and managing all consumer complaints. She was able to increase and streamline testing procedures for incoming products for more efficient and effective outcomes.