Erin Burcham, Director of Talent Solutions at the Roanoke Regional Partnership, took an interest in the GOVA program because her team wanted to design projects that would make an impact on the region and help brand southwest Virginia as a destination for talent.

Burcham’s project, Stopping the Brain Drain, was a collaboration between The Roanoke Regional Partnership, Onward NRV, and Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance with a focus on retaining talent in the region.

Erin Burcham received her undergraduate degree in public relations and communications from the University of South Carolina. She also received a master’s degree in Leadership Studies from Virginia Tech.

“I was interested in communications and public relations because of the wide variety of things you can do with the degree, including working in non-profit and corporate sectors,” she said.

Burcham’s favorite part of the Stopping the Brain Drain Study was working with higher education, local government, and the business community, as well as getting college students involved in their community, whether that was participating in outdoor activities, or visiting gaming centers, museums and other sites.

The project allowed for a better understanding of a college student’s perspective, which helped grantees with creating marketing and programming content.

Some examples of programming content include: young professionals events, mentoring and internship programs, and affinity groups.

Burcham said, “The most surprising thing about the study was that many college students had neither a positive or negative opinion of Region 2 and hadn’t even considered it as an option, which provided us with a blank canvas to work with.”

A challenge of retaining talent in the region is students may have a lack of awareness of professional opportunities, said Burcham. By making companies more visible, young professionals can see there is growth in their region and they will not have to leave in order to move up the ranks in a company.

When asked what her advice would be for a recent college graduate, Burcham said, “Be open-minded and flexible and be open to opportunities even if they’re not what you had in mind. Even if the job may seem like it is not a perfect fit, it will allow you to learn and gain new skills.”