Tara Kenchen, Executive Director, Durham Next

In an interview with Invest:, Tara Kenchen, executive director of nonprofit Durham Next, discussed the organization’s early priorities, public-private partnerships, and Durham’s opportunity to strengthen its visitor economy. “Durham is known for big, bold visions,” Kenchen said.

What changes over the past year have most impacted Durham Next, and how are they shaping your immediate priorities?

Durham Next is a fairly new organization. Our Board of Directors met for the first time in January 2025, and I joined the organization later that year, so I have been here for about nine months. Before I came on board, the Board of Directors identified priority projects from the Destination Master Plan, which includes over 60 proposed projects and initiatives.

During their first meeting, the Board mapped out which projects would have the greatest economic and cultural impact, their level of difficulty to execute, and what they would cost. That helped us determine where to begin.

Another significant step was establishing our Community Advisory Council. Durham is an engaged community, and we want to utilize that energy, foresight, and leadership to do this work well and in a way that aligns with the community’s history and identity. We created the Council as an innovative model for community engagement. We selected 33 individuals representing nearly every residential ZIP code in Durham.

Most recently, we launched our Community Investment Program, which includes two funds. Accelerate is a festival collective that will be made up of a handful of local festival producers, whom we will support by investing up to $100,000 per year, per festival, over three years, in order to help them scale and drive more visitation and economic impact. The second fund is the Durham Next Impact Fund, which will make $10,000 to $25,000 matching investments to support smaller activations and events that bring visitors to Durham from outside the county.

We have been moving quickly. Our projects are in varying stages of development, but we are beginning to establish a strong foundation.

With priority projects already in motion, how are you defining which initiatives to advance first?

Our work sits at the intersection of what brings visitors to Durham and what benefits community residents. That is the sweet spot for Durham Next, and we evaluate projects based on their potential to do both.

We look at the level of financial investment required, the readiness of the community, and the ability of the City of Durham, Durham County, and other partners to invest in a given season. Our role is to package these projects, do pre-development work like feasibility studies and community engagement, and get them to a place where a private investor, developer, the City, the County, or other public entity can move them forward.

The community must understand that we are here for Durham residents as well. Some of the larger development projects will take longer, so the Community Advisory Council and Community Investment Program are important ways to show our immediate commitment.

What role do public-private partnerships play in moving projects from vision to execution?

This work does not happen without public and private investment. There is not a facilities project that we are doing or exploring that can happen without some public funding and some private funding.

In many ways, our role is to act as a catalyst and collaborator, bringing the public and private sectors together to invest in Durham in a way that benefits all of Durham. It should be good for investors and good for businesses.

We can do all of the due diligence in the world, but none of these facility projects will happen without public-private investment. The model will change depending on the project, but we are looking for investors who are not just invested in a facility or a building. We are looking for investors who are invested in Durham.

What are the biggest workforce considerations tied to expanding Durham’s tourism and hospitality ecosystem?

Durham Next is about tourism economic development, and the hospitality workforce is a foundational part of that. We need strong restaurants, hotels, and hospitality businesses so visitors have a pleasant experience and residents have a vibrant community to enjoy.

Part of our role is to bring in activations and activities that help support that growth. Tourism in Durham currently supports more than 7,700 jobs across the county, and we need more. In fact, one out of every three food and beverage jobs in Durham is directly supported by visitor spending. It’s important for people to understand how the visitor economy supports the local economy, from low barrier job opportunities to generating taxes that diversify local government revenue.

What challenges and opportunities do you anticipate as Durham Next moves from planning to execution?

I see opportunities everywhere in Durham. Durham has an amazing culture, amazing people, and a vibe that is hard to describe.

One example is the opportunity to establish a multipurpose sports facility. I meet people who tell me they leave Durham every weekend to watch their children compete in athletic tournaments hosted in some other destination. There is an opportunity for Durham to have a multisports complex that benefits residents while also bringing visitors and their dollars here for tournaments.

The convention center is another opportunity. Durham has a smaller convention center that is doing well for its size, but we miss out on business because we cannot accommodate some conferences that would otherwise be a great fit for our destination. We need more space and more hotel rooms to increase Durham’s hosting capacity and the economic impact these events provide.

There are challenges, too. We need to find the right land and spaces for some of these projects. We are also operating in a challenging economic environment. Municipalities are under pressure, and local communities have many short-term needs that also need to be addressed.

Another challenge is helping people understand the value of the tourism economy. You may only notice that a road is closed for a festival, but not the broader positive impact on the local economy.

We address those challenges by working collaboratively. When you get the best minds in the room, you can find solutions. We also have to be innovative and agile. Maybe we thought about a sports complex one way, and now we need to think differently about how to get the same benefit. We may need to better utilize the facilities we already have. We have to be innovative, agile, and collaborative.

Looking ahead, what opportunities do you see to further position Durham as a leading destination in the Southeast?

We have spent a lot of time evaluating our current festival ecosystem, and we believe we can grow or create a signature festival here. Durham has a strong group of festival producers, and part of our investment includes support to help them scale.

Festivals and events are important for residents who want things to do with their families and friends, as much as they are exciting for visitors whose contributions are vital to our local economy.

We are also working with the DPAC, Durham Performing Arts Center, to explore the viability of a music and events venue in Durham. We are in the ideation stage and look forward to bringing our findings to community members to collaboratively shape what the next steps are.

Durham County also has a stadium that was built in 1958, which has a lot of cultural significance. It needs renovation and modernization. If it can be modernized, we believe we can recruit more championship events to Durham, reaffirming the City of Champions as a nationally recognized sports hub.

We’re also moving forward with the installation of ‘Welcome to Durham’ signage at RDU International Airport to reflect our community’s vibrancy and invite travelers who may not know about Durham to come explore our destination. Durham has a distinct culture and a distinct vibe, and we want to give people more reasons to come here.

What makes this moment significant for Durham Next and the broader community?

Durham is known for big, bold visions. I applaud the community for coming up with this 20-year vision, because it is ambitious. Durham wants to become the most innovative, inclusive, welcoming, and vibrant destination in the U.S., while thoughtfully honoring its history and people.

Aligned with the community’s vision for the future, our mission at Durham Next is to make Durham the best place to live, work, and visit. That is a bold mission, and it is community-driven. We cannot do it all ourselves. We are a catalyst organization that invites collaboration from anyone in the community invested in securing a prosperous future for Durham.