Written By JR Robinson

JustMy is proud to announce that Michael O. Harris — known professionally as Beau Harris — is stepping into a bigger role as our Senior Community Affairs Editor and Network Programmer, leading editorial strategy across eight major markets: Memphis, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago, and Oklahoma City.

If you know Michael's story, you know this role fits him like a glove.

Memphis Made, Navy Forged

Michael is Memphis through and through — raised here, educated at Bishop Byrne, and shaped early by a Roman Catholic upbringing that taught him discipline and grace go hand in hand. After the September 11 attacks, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving aboard the USS Curts (FFG-38) across Southeast Asia, the South Pacific, and South America. It's where he learned to stand steady when everything around him was moving — a lesson that's followed him into every role since.

"Memphis made me," Michael likes to say. "The Navy enhanced me, California exposed me, but Memphis polished me."

A Career Built on Showing Up for People

After his service, Michael brought that same discipline into the financial sector at First Horizon, where he founded the Alliance Employee Resource Group to support LGBTQIA+ employees. From there, he took on some of Memphis's toughest civic challenges — directing over $1 million in community investment at the Greater Whitehaven Economic Redevelopment Corporation, restoring partnerships at Junior Achievement, and most recently serving as President and CEO of the Memphis Metropolitan Land Bank Authority, where he turned a struggling pilot program into a strengthened, statutory force for returning blighted properties to productive use.

Through it all, he's stayed in the trenches. With 100 Black Men of Memphis, he mentors young boys at Haven Middle School. With the Rotary Club of Whitehaven Memphis-South, he's served as President. He's launched hygiene programs for students in need and helped stand up a community advisory board with Deaf Connect. Whatever the room, Michael's approach is the same: enter with structure, lead with heart, and leave things better than he found them.

Why This Role, Why Now

Michael has always described his leadership style as "vision and heart" — a balance of sharp operational thinking and genuine care for the people a system is supposed to serve. That's exactly the mix JustMy needs as we scale our storytelling across eight cities.

As Network Programmer, Michael will lead our flagship broadcast project, Building What's Next, traveling into each of our core markets to conduct honest, on-the-ground interviews with local leaders solving real problems — from community non-profits to economic development voices to everyday people building something worth talking about. His job isn't to chase headlines; it's to find the people already doing the work and make sure their stories reach the neighbors who need to hear them.

A Message from JR Robinson

"Michael brings a rare combination to this role — real operational chops from his time running the Land Bank, and a heart for community that shows up in everything he touches," said JR Robinson, CEO and Co-Founder of JustMy. "As we scale across eight cities, I wanted someone leading our editorial voice who actually knows what it means to serve a community, not just cover one. That's Michael."

Welcome, Michael

Michael's story — from Navy ships to nonprofit boardrooms to now the editorial helm of JustMy's multi-market expansion — is proof that steady leadership and genuine care for people aren't opposites. They're the same thing, done well.

We're thrilled to have him leading the charge. Welcome to the team, Michael. We can't wait to see the stories you help bring home.