Audrieanna Burgin was named CEO of racial equity nonprofit 904Ward in June 2025. | Submitted
Published on June 3, 2025 at 3:04 pm
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On Tuesday, her first day as CEO of racial equity nonprofit 904Ward, Audrieanna Burgin discussed her journey, her hometown and how she envisions the organization moving forward as it enters its second decade.
Q: As someone who is a 904 person — you are a product of Duval County Public Schools, you have a degree from the University of North Florida – you are a true Duval till you die kind of person. What does it mean to have those roots and have this position that you have?
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A: It means the world to me. It’ a little surreal. I’m super excited for the community to embrace me like this, a community that has given so much to me. I’ve given so much to this community. I love Jacksonville. My parents migrated here. They spent almost 40 years here. It’s a super special time. This is a pivotal moment for 904Ward and Jacksonville. I’m excited to be at the helm of both.
Q: Equity is a word that has been used by a lot of different people, in a lot of different places, in a way that it probably was not used previously. For you, what is equity and how is 904Ward part of it?
A: Equity is the opportunity for everyone to belong, for everyone to have the same access, the same opportunity, the same resources and a true seat at the table. It’s for us to build on the legacy of the generations that came before us and to really thrive in all areas.
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At 904Ward, our mission is to end racism in Jacksonville and beyond. For us, we have been making sure everyone has a voice and our community is heard. We have been a part of so much racial healing.
A lot of times, we move forward without reconciling the past. A lot of our work has been reconciling the past with true, racial healing. For me, equity is not just being in the room, but feeling like you belong in a room.
Q: With the way equity has been bandied about — that word, as well as diversity and inclusion have been bandied about by elected officials — does that make your work more challenging?
A: I think it makes the work more challenging in some areas. I don’t think we have ever backed down from a challenge. That’s the root of 904Ward. We’ve had the conversations when the conversation is uncomfortable. We’ve done the work when it’s been hard. We’ve been in the room, sometimes, when people have got up and exited.
The challenge has also brought opportunity for us. Some of the biggest projects we’ve done have come in the face of adversity.
My life in Jacksonville, and my work in Jacksonville, has a lot of times been in the face of adversity.
We did a lot of work at the University of North Florida of building diversity and community (as well as) communities of support for students of color, because it lacked that. Yes, there have been some challenges for 904Ward, for everyone. But, addressing those challenges is our mission.
Q: In your tenure as the head of the Diversity in Business program at the University of North Florida, you had the opportunity to work and engage with some of the biggest business leaders in Jacksonville through that position. How did that experience help you? And, how will that help 904Ward as you transition to this role?
A: I’m an economist. I come out of the University of North Florida’s Coggin College of Business, so business was my foundation. Because my parents were pastors, I was doing so much community work that community was an even deeper thread for me.
Weaving those together in the Diversity in Business program really propelled me forward into this moment right now. Even with the changes that we went through in diversity, equity and inclusion there, it built my muscle for what we’re about to do for this next phase.
Seeing the business community step up in that way and support diverse groups of students, let me know what’s possible. It let me know what we can do. Bringing those type of partnerships and strategic visions into 904Ward is the next phase for us.
We have an amazing legacy to build upon from the last 10 years. Dr. Kimberley Allen and so many others pushed this organization forward. I think every leader brings a new era. I’m an economist. You’re going to see a deeper business connection. You’re going to see deeper economic development. You’re going to see increased focus on economic mobility.
Q: You mentioned that economists are able to understand the cost of things. What’s the cost of exclusion?
A: I find that when we have a diversity, equity and inclusion conversation, we forget the amazing spillovers of diversity, equity and inclusion. The spillovers of what happens when a person feels like they can bring their full self to the table.
When I feel like I can bring my full self to the table, all of my innovation, all of my ingenuity, all of my talent comes forth.
When I feel excluded, you are missing so much. You’re missing so much of their human capital, their expertise, their knowledge, their vision. When everyone feels like they have a seat at the table, the spillovers that happen from that, for Duval County, for Jacksonville, and beyond, are immeasurable.
Q; A lot of times when reporters and journalists talk to the electorate — whether it’s local voters or people who are interested in federal politics — I keep hearing (from the people interviewed) that folks feel unheard by their elected officials. I wanted to come back to feeling unheard. What does listening do for Jacksonville? How does people being heard improve this city from your perspective?
A: When people feel heard, the first thing it does is reduce some of the frustration and some of the tension. When people feel heard, for them, the next part is change. Because if you hear me, then you consider me. I think that’s really important for moving Jacksonville forward.
Q: We’ve talked about equity. We’ve talked about hearing people. We’ve talked about language.
I think back to something Toni Morrison said when she won the Nobel Prize a couple decades ago: “The systematic looting of language can be recognized by the tendency of its users to forgo its nuanced, complex, mid-wifery properties for menace and subjugation. Oppressive language does more than represent violence; it is violence; does more than represent the limits of knowledge; it limits knowledge. Whether it is obscuring state language or the faux-language of mindless media; whether it is the proud but calcified language of the academy or the commodity driven language of science; whether it is the malign language of law-without-ethics, or language designed for the estrangement of minorities, hiding its racist plunder in its literary cheek — it must be rejected, altered and exposed.“
For you, as someone who has a doctorate, you are a researcher, you know how to find information and share information. In 2025, where do you think language is in our community here in Jacksonville? And, how does that make a difference in the discourse that we Jaxsons are having among ourselves?
A: The diversity in language, in literacy, in the knowledge and information that we consume and have access to has always been a core thread of 904Ward through our work with the Little Diverse Libraries. When books began to be banned in schools, we said ‘We are coming around the back and we’re going to put some little, free, diverse libraries across the state.’
For us, access to information and diversity in literacy has been super important.
I also feel a thread of 904Ward is love. 904Ward does everything rooted in love, equity and healing. So, making sure the way we talk to each other is kind, rooted in love and is rooted in getting us to a place of healing, I think that’s most important to move Jacksonville forward.
Q: Lastly, where do you see 904Ward under your leadership?
A: I see 904Ward being a part of moving Jacksonville forward. All of the growth happening in the city, we want to be a part of that. I see us expanding our reach. Our mission, we are ending racism in Jacksonville and beyond.
So, we’re going to tap into that beyond a little bit and see what that looks like. We already have several projects in the works there.
I see us being even more rooted in the community, continuing our conversation and building on the legacy of Dr. Allen and the 10 amazing years we’ve already had. I’m an economist, so economics is coming through the back door and I think it’s definitely a place for that here.
I’m honored to be supported by such an amazing team that has embraced me, empowered me and loved me. The passing of the torch from Dr. Allen, she is absolutely amazing and it’s going to be a good ride that I’m ready for.
This Q&A has been edited and condensed for clarity.
