Rick Burnette

Rick Burnette, a native of Franklin, North Carolina, holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Plant and Soil Science from the University of Tennessee (Knoxville).

In 1994, Rick and his wife, Ellen, were appointed as Field Personnel with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, serving in northern Thailand. They established the Upland Holistic Development Project, an NGO that continues to offer services related to agriculture and community development among hill tribe minority groups along the Thai-Myanmar border.

In 2009, the Burnettes established an international office for ECHO, a Florida-based international development agency. Rick directed the ECHO Asia office until the Burnettes return to the US in 2013. Rick served as ECHO's Director of Agriculture at its Fort Myers headquarters for four years.

In 2017, the Burnettes established Cultivate Abundance.