Mr. Burrell is the Founder and Chairman of the New Mexico Leadership Institute (“NMLI”), a 501(c)3 that provides at-risk New Mexico high school juniors who demonstrate a particular aptitude for leadership, creativity, resourcefulness, and entrepreneurial spirit with the support they need to graduate high school and transition into one of New Mexico’s two flagship universities (University of New Mexico or New Mexico State University). NMLI also mentors its scholars throughout college in order to help them successfully graduate in four years and with the skills necessary to obtain ready employment in New Mexico.

With one of the highest “drop-out” rates in the country, as well as low college matriculation and graduation scoring, New Mexico’s most talented young leaders often leave for opportunity elsewhere, stifling the State’s long-term economic potential. NMLI’s curriculum, created through a collaboration with UNM and NMSU, is designed to address these challenges in a comprehensive way. NMLI’s scholars are selected through a rigorous application process during the spring semester of their junior year of high school, after which they begin an intensive one-year leadership training program that includes two summer “academies” and a 12-month “challenge” period. The next four years of the program are heavily focused on keeping students on a path towards graduation and employment.  NMLI scholars are awarded automatic acceptance into either UNM or NMSU when they enter and later complete the program, depending on their designated preference.

In partnership with Blue Cross of Idaho, the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine has created the Idaho Primary Care Initiative, a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation established to address the critical shortage of primary care physicians in rural Idaho and the surrounding regions.  The non-profit foundation offers an opportunity for medical education debt repayment for rural physicians who practice primary care medicine in federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas (“HPSAs”) or similarly underserved areas. Its primary objective is to raise funds that will enable foundation leaders and officers to incentivize graduates of ICOM and other medical schools to locate their primary care practices in rural Idaho and surrounding rural areas.  The foundation also offers scholarships for medical students

The National Institute for Technology Dependency (“NITD”) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that is funded by donors seeking to become involved in the rapidly-emerging field of technology dependency. NITD provides valuable research, tracks outcomes and seeks to drive public policy in the direction of a more humane and responsible use of digitally based mediums. The mission of NITD is to raise awareness of the challenges posed by our digital consumption and to disseminate support and strategies to the professionals, agencies, and families who most need the information and resources.  NITD also provides direct support to individuals experiencing the crippling effects of technology dependency.  Through its generous benefactors, NITD offers need-based scholarship resources to ensure equity in access to the limited, but expanding, pool of talented pioneering providers of technology-focused dependency treatment.