Staff Spotlight: Derrick Welch
When Derrick Welch talks about eastern North Carolina, his focus is clear: opportunity. As NCInnovation’s Senior Regional Innovation Network Director for the East, anchored at East Carolina University, Welch sees a region with world-class universities, strong community partners, and limitless potential for growth.
“This is one of the greatest jobs I’ve ever had,” Welch said. “I’m blessed to meet brilliant, caring faculty who are working on their life’s passion—and I get to help bring that to reality.”
Welch’s path to NCInnovation runs through higher-education policy, strategy, and government relations, all while living in New Mexico. Once in North Carolina, he put his expertise to work for the Greenville-Pitt Chamber of Commerce, leading their public policy work; East Carolina University, where he ran an entrepreneurial support program during COVID; and the North Carolina Senate, overseeing government programs with a special focus on eastern NC. Through it all, he said, “the common theme has always been finding ways to elevate this region.”
Raised in rural north Louisiana, Welch knows the challenges faced by regions like Hertford and Northampton counties. “Growing up there prepared me for many of the same challenges our Northeastern Hub sees today,” he said. “That personal experience, combined with my professional career, helps me bridge the gap between the unique needs of rural communities and the solutions housed in our universities.”
Welch believes the East is “the region most primed for rapid growth in the state.” With powerhouse institutions like ECU, UNC Wilmington (UNCW), Fayetteville State (FSU), Elizabeth City State (ECSU), and UNC Pembroke (UNCP), alongside more than 20 community colleges and six military installations, the region has what he calls “limitless potential.”
He points to ECU as the state’s newest R1 university and the only UNC campus with medical, dental, and engineering schools. At the same time, smaller institutions are making big moves. Elizabeth City State University, for example, is working to secure its first ever patent. “This groundbreaking technology will put ECSU materials science on the map,” Welch said.
What excites him most is seeing students work alongside faculty on these projects—graduate, postdoc, and even MBA interns gaining hands-on experience that prepares them for future careers. “Every time we fund a project, we’re not just supporting research. We’re building pipelines of talent for eastern NC,” he said.
Beyond universities, Welch is excited about the region’s defense innovation network. With Cherry Point, Ft. Bragg, Seymour Johnson AFB, Camp Lejeune, and Coast Guard EC nearby, the opportunities for collaboration are unmatched. “Eastern NC can capitalize on proximity to these partners, pairing our researchers with the armed forces to support their missions and make life safer worldwide,” he said.
He also sees NCInnovation’s role as a connector across the East’s 41 counties. “We take particular pride in creating collisions between faculty and community partners who normally wouldn’t cross paths,” he said. “That’s how you grow an ecosystem holistically—by linking together the unique strengths of ECU, UNCW, UNCP, ECSU, FSU, and our other partners to create something bigger than the sum of its parts.”
For Welch, NCInnovation’s role in the East is about more than research. It’s about changing lives. “My job is to retain talent out east, improve quality of life in rural communities, and show the next generation what’s possible here,” he said. “That’s a legacy worth working for.”
