Community Development Specialist
University of Missouri Extension
David Burton has been a community development specialist with University of Missouri Extension since 2001. He is headquartered in Springfield and creates educational programs focused on leadership, rural heritage and becoming an engaged neighbor. He also teaches in MU Extension’s Neighborhood Leadership Academy, Build Your Board, Homegrown program, and the Creating Entrepreneurial Communities Conference.
In 2021, he created Missouri Good Neighbor Week. The Governor signed a bill making Missouri Good Neighbor Week official in 2022. MU Extension programs and events like "Neighboring 101," “Show Me Neighborhood Art Week” and “Missouri Good Neighbor Week,” help to raise awareness about the importance of being an engaged neighbor and the positive impact each of us can have on our neighbors, our neighborhood and our community. His “State of Neighboring in Missouri 2022-2024” was published by the University of Missouri in 2026 along with other research include a guide titled, "Creating Third Places for Connection and Belonging."
David is a prolific writer and has regular columns in the Greene County Commonwealth and Springfield Daily Citizen. He also has two books published about neighboring available on Amazon.com. David and his wife, Stacey, live in Republic. Their family includes their dog Otis and their two grown children: Lauren and Matthew (and his wife Megan).