A native of Holly Springs, Mississippi, Roy is the Executive Director and one of the founders of the Hill Country Project. He was active as a high school student in the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, first as a Freedom School Prep student (whose teacher was Hill Country co-founder Aviva Futorian) and then as a general organizer. Roy earned his Bachelor's degree in Sociology at Brandeis University in 1970. Continuing his education at Brandeis, he went on to earn a Masters and later a Doctorate in Political Science in 1978. He has also pursued additional studies at Jackson State, Duke, Carnegie-Mellon, Michigan and Harvard Universities.

Active in many community, civic and professional organizations, Roy has received numerous awards and has been cited for outstanding achievements and contributions, including National Alumni of the Year Award from Brandeis.. Roy retired 2008 as Vice President for Economic Development and Local Governmental Affairs at Jackson State University. During his ten year administrative tenure at Jackson State, he also served as Executive Vice President.

He has a wife, Rubye and one daughter, Aisha Isoke.

Aviva is presently a lawyer in Chicago working on prison reform issues in Illinois, with a focus on long-term prisoners.  After coming to Mississippi as a freedom school teacher in the summer of 1964, she became an organizer for the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Benton County.  After leaving Mississippi, she went to law school, worked as a legislative assistant for Congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman, became director of the Women's Law Project of the Chicago legal services program, and represented death-sentenced defendants in their final appeals.  She first met Hill Country Project Executive Director Roy DeBerry when he was her freedom school student in 1964.  They worked together in Benton County in the 1960s and have both maintained close contact with Benton County residents during the intervening years.  Aviva was also among the first organizers to initiate oral history interviews in Benton County in 1995.

John Lyons is an Emmy award winning documentary filmmaker. He has been recording residents of Benton County for over 15 years and is currently an IT manager for a non-profit arts education organization in Chicago.

Stephen was with the U.S. Agency for International Development and later President of an international consulting firm spanning a career of over 35 years addressing economic development issues.  He has served as energy policy advisor, worked in North Africa for five years on energy and natural resources, and was a member of the U.S. delegation for the worldwide U.N. Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.  He lives in Washington, D.C., where he has been an active participant in community affairs. 

Sharon is a retired Mississippi educator of 21 years. She is currently a Licensed Professional Counselor serving all age groups in northeast Mississippi. She holds a Master of Science in Counselor Education from Mississippi State University and Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Capella University. Sharon’s experience in social service spans over thirty years including law enforcement, mental health and education.