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Our Mission

Our mission is to accelerate continuous learning, innovations and societal impact in areas of leadership, personal development and capacity building. we are dedicated in building an ecosystem where every youth is empowered to make an effective change in the community and world at large.

Our Vision

Our mission is to accelerate continuous learning, innovations and societal impact in areas of leadership, personal development and capacity building. we are dedicated in building an ecosystem where every youth is empowered to make an effective change in the community and world at large.

Our Core Values

We Believe  in organizing for self-determination, collective power, and resilience. Our communities are beautiful, wise, and deserve wellness and safety.

We Believe  justice-impacted people should be a protected class with full access to economic opportunity, fair wages, and stable housing.

We Believe  that economic security for justice-impacted people strengthens children, families, and entire communities. We work to shift resources away from punishment and back into community care.

We Believe  fair wages, housing, and safety are basic human rights.

We Believe  communities most impacted by the criminal legal system—and by violence—are the experts on safety and wellness. They should lead decisions about funding, development, and the use of public spaces.

We Believe  helping the most marginalized among us strengthens and restores the whole community.

We Believe   in redemption and in building systems grounded in justice, equity, and opportunity.

3 Yellow Arrows

Our Story

Success Hub Learning Community was birthed in 2022 by Engr. Bernard Nwanya, a dedicated youth leader, with a deep passion for the growth and development of young individuals.

Recognizing the need to keep youths united and provide them with a platform for self-discovery, he established a WhatsApp group initially named "Bernard and Friends". This platform served as a space for networking, mentorship, and opportunities, fostering a sense of purpose among its members. Following his migration to the United States, he remained committed to nurturing young minds, ensuring they had access to resources that would shape their personal and professional lives.

Over time, the platform evolved into the Success Hub Learning Community, broadening its scope to focus on leadership development, personal growth, and empowerment. With a vision of equipping the younger generation with the skills and mindset needed to excel, the community expanded rapidly. What began with a handful of individuals soon grew into a thriving network of over 250 members globally. Today, as the Success Hub Learning Community, it continues to be a beacon of learning and transformation, empowering youths and women with the tools to succeed in a rapidly evolving world.

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Our Approach

At Barred Business, we build collective power with justice-impacted people through workforce development, organizing, policy advocacy, and civic engagement. Our workforce development programs meet urgent needs while creating real pathways to economic independence and generational wealth. Organizing brings people together around shared goals, growing community leadership to push for lasting local change. 

Through policy advocacy, we fight to shift laws and systems—making sure justice-impacted people and their families have a seat at every decision-making table. And with civic engagement, we mobilize our communities to vote, advocate, and hold public officials accountable. Together, these strategies build long-term strength, self-determination, and real change for the communities we serve.

Our work is divided into three core pillars:

Organizing

We mobilize justice-impacted communities to advocate for themselves, challenge unjust policies, and build economic power through leadership development, mutual aid, and grassroots campaigns that strengthen local networks and drive long-term structural change.

Policy Advocacy

We educate and empower communities to push for systemic change, including legislation that recognizes justice-impacted people as a protected class, while partnering with allies to shift policies and dismantle harmful practices.

Civic Engagement

We work to ensure that justice-impacted people and their communities understand their rights, have access to the ballot, hold elected officials accountable, and advocate for stronger representation at every level of government.

Check out our Programs

Executive Team

Bridgette (Bri) Simpson, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Barred Business

Bridgette (Bri) Simpson

Co-founder & Executive Director

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Denise Ruben

Denise Ruben

 Co-founder & Deputy Director

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Renyata Finney Operations and People Director.1

Renyata Finney

Director of Operations & People

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Roslynn Calhoun

Roslynn Calhoun

Reentry & Partnership Coordinator

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Jacquelyn Rose

Jacquelyn Rose

Executive Administrator

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Morghan Boyd

Morghan “Mo” Boyd

Lead Organizer, Release the Vote

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Board of Directors

Imani Evans

Interim Board President

Jacqueline Worrell

Board Vice President
(Realtor, JacKEYS Atlanta Homes)

Mathew Green

Board Secretary
(Big D’s Hott & Sticky Consultant)

Micah Herskind

Board Treasurer
(Organizer, Writer & Harvard Law Student)

Kwame Teague

Board Member
(Currently Incarcerated Activist, Advocate, Filmmaker & Essence #1 Bestselling Author)

Sekwan Merritt

Board Member
(Founder & Owner of Lightning Electric)

Dawn Harrington

Board Member
(Executive Director Special Projects, Free Hearts)

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Morghan Boyd

Morghan "mo" Boyd

Lead Organizer, Release the Vote

Morghan “Mo” Boyd is a community advocate, author, educator, and organizer committed to empowering justice-impacted people through education and civic action. Born and raised on Chicago’s South Side and now living in Augusta, Georgia, Morghan brings deep community ties and lived experience to her work. As Lead Organizer for Release the Vote, she coordinates outreach, hosts community events, and supports voter education across the region. A college professor and mother of three, Morghan combines academic knowledge, grassroots organizing, and storytelling to build power and inspire action. Her vision includes opening a rehabilitation village for justice-impacted youth and a boarding school for girls—dreams rooted in her belief that everyone deserves access to healing, dignity, and opportunity.
Jacquelyn Rose

jacquelyn Rose

Executive Administrator

Jacquelyn Rose is a dedicated Executive Administrator with over nine years of experience in administrative operations, human resources, and nonprofit management. Raised in Dallas, Texas, Jacquelyn was deeply influenced by her late mother’s motto: “Do everything with a servant’s heart.” That belief continues to shape her professional journey. She has supported C-suite leaders and managed critical functions such as calendar coordination, recruitment, benefits administration, and event planning. At Barred Business, Jacquelyn ensures day-to-day operations run smoothly while supporting the leadership team with excellence, confidentiality, and care. As the daughter of justice-impacted parents, she brings a personal understanding of the generational effects of incarceration and remains committed to building systems rooted in dignity, opportunity, and equity. With a strong faith foundation and unmatched work ethic, Jacquelyn is driven by purpose and passionate about serving others through her role.
Roslynn Calhoun

Roslynn Calhoun

Reentry & Partnership Coordinator

Roslynn Calhoun is a reentry specialist, public speaker, and criminal justice reform advocate committed to supporting the successful reintegration of justice-impacted individuals. Based in Atlanta, Roslynn brings her own experience navigating reentry to her work, helping build strategic partnerships with local governments, schools, and community-based organizations. She leads outreach, supports programming, and facilitates trainings that foster connection and healing. Known for her ability to tell powerful stories that shift hearts and minds, she also plays a key role in Barred Business’s participatory defense and voter education efforts. Roslynn’s work reflects a deep passion for justice, healing, and the belief that every person deserves the opportunity to thrive after incarceration.
Renyata Finney Operations and People Director.1

Renyata Finney

Director of Operations & People

Renyata Finney is a strategist, movement builder, and systems leader from Chattanooga, Tennessee, now based in Atlanta. A Spelman College graduate, she brings over a decade of experience in organizational development, communications, and leadership development across the South. Renyata has led multimillion-dollar campaigns, designed internal systems for growth, and managed cross-sector partnerships focused on racial justice. Her leadership is grounded in Black feminist values, trauma-informed practices, and care-centered strategy. At Barred Business, she leads operations and HR strategy with a focus on building sustainable infrastructure that reflects the organization’s liberatory values. Renyata believes that systems can be sites of transformation and that just leadership begins with trust, transparency, and intentional community.
Denise Ruben

Denise Ruben

Co-founder & Deputy Director

Denise Ruben is a lifelong abolitionist, strategist, and advocate for justice-impacted communities. As Co-founder and Deputy Director of Barred Business, she brings more than a decade of organizing experience to the work. She previously worked with Women on the Rise and is a proud member of the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls. A National Bail Out fellow and active member of the Movement for Black Lives Organizing Table, Denise’s leadership has helped shape local and national campaigns focused on decarceration, rights restoration, and ending pretrial detention. As a survivor of incarceration herself, she is deeply committed to transforming conditions for people impacted by the system. Her work is rooted in collective care, policy change, and power-building—always centering the wisdom and resilience of Black women and other marginalized communities.
Bridgette (Bri) Simpson, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Barred Business

Bridgette (Bri) Simpson

Co-founder & Executive Director

Bridgette Simpson is a justice-impacted abolitionist, organizer, and advocate who co-founded Barred Business and serves as its Executive Director. A 2025 Galaxy Gives Fellow, 2024 Canary Impact Prize recipient, and 2023 Soros Justice Fellow, she founded The Protected Class Network, working to make justice-impacted people a legally protected class. In Atlanta, she launched the S.T.A.B.L.E. reentry program for women and the Google Career Skills initiative for impacted individuals. Bridgette also serves on the City of Atlanta’s Human Relations Commission and was instrumental in passing a local protected class ordinance for formerly incarcerated people. She is a certified life coach and entrepreneur who brings her lived experience as a survivor of incarceration, poverty, and violence into her leadership. Bridgette is passionate about building national coalitions and advancing systemic change that centers equity, healing, and liberation for all people harmed by the criminal legal system.