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2024 Cohort
Meet our very first cohort that traveled to Ghana in April 2024!
(Click on the photos to learn more about each person)
Deandre (27)
“I’m hoping to experience the motherland Africa. We always hear and see Africa looked at as a poor, third world place. When in reality it has the most natural resources and is full of abundance. I hope to gain the knowledge of my ancestors and see for my own eyes the glory that is Africa.”
Chazzo (26)
“I was born in Nashville TN (country music capital) raised on the east side of Nashville. I'm an artist, songwriter, hypeman. Grateful for the invitation, I'll be attending this trip to network, have fun, enjoy new culture, I mean this list could go on and on. I'm just grateful and blessed to be able to come. This is for my people who never got to see this, my family, and to finally make it to a new height in life.”
Jaylen (24)
“I have never in my life been out of the country or farther than Florida. I’m on the right path in my journey and going to the actual motherland would push my perspective and mind towards a more elevated state of awareness. At a very young age I began to pursue my musical journey. My inspirations are Atlanta’s very own Outkast, Curren$y, and Kendrick Lamar, just to name a few. I graduated from Stockbridge High School in 2017 where I was a star player on the football team. I pictured being in the NFL but my love for music took over. During my free time I enjoy racing, painting, and working on cars. I also have an obsession for hotwheels and model cars and my favorite show is SpongeBob.”
Tavares (33)
“I’m excited to see a piece of mama Africa”
2024 Accompaniment Team
Meet the "accompaniment team" that will support our cohort throughout this journey
(Click on the photos to learn more about each person)
Sha’Rhonda Dunbar
Sha’ Rhonda, LCSW is the founder and CEO of Pittman & Associates Mental Health in Georgia. This is a private practice that offers psychotherapy to clients in Texas, Florida, and Georgia and provides consulting services to organizations around the world. Sha’ Rhonda’s extensive clinical training has allowed her to work in many different settings including but not limited to college campuses, jails, community-based agencies, and the entertainment industry.
Bridgette Simpson
Bridgette is a steadfast abolitionist, activist, advocate, entrepreneur, and certified life coach, drawing from her experiences as a formerly incarcerated survivor to inspire change in the realm of social justice. As an esteemed public speaker, she leverages her unique dual perspective from the corporate and penal systems to educate audiences about the criminal justice system’s inequalities. Co-founding Barred Business and the Formerly Incarcerated Small Business Rescue fund, Bridgette addresses the unique challenges faced by formerly incarcerated individuals in the entrepreneurial space. After overcoming significant obstacles post release from a 10-year sentence, she emerged with a deep-seated commitment to help those in similar circumstances. In Atlanta, Bridgette founded the S.T.A.B.L.E. Program, a groundbreaking re-entry initiative for previously incarcerated Black women, and successfully spearheaded the Google Career Skills for the Justice-Impacted Program. As Barred Business’ lead organizer, she played a pivotal role in the Protected Campaign, influencing legislation to classify formerly incarcerated individuals as a legally protected class in Atlanta. This initiative is now on the path to nationalization, thanks to Bridgette’s persistent efforts. Bridgette’s influence in social justice extends far beyond her local community as she tirelessly works to build local and national coalitions advocating for the rights of justice-impacted individuals. Guided by a profound belief in liberation, equity, and the collective power of those impacted by the justice system, Bridgette consistently advances her mission of reform, utilizing her position as an activist, advocate, and public speaker to drive change.
Omar Howard
Omar is the founder of Freedom is A Choice Inc. He is also a successful individual with an incarcerated history. Omar uses his previous incarceration and life experiences as a tool for counseling and mentoring at-risk youth and troubled adults by helping them to make decisions that will impact the rest of their lives in a positive way. At a very young age, Omar found himself in and out of the juvenile judicial system and, in 1993, in the adult prison system. Omar was charged with 13 major felonies, including murder and felony murder, which were later dropped to manslaughter, armed robbery, false imprisonment, aggravated assault, burglary, and carrying a concealed weapon. Omar received an 18-year sentence to serve in the Georgia Department of Corrections and served 15 years of that sentence. Throughout his incarceration, he embraced his Christian faith and was able to obtain his GED and study several trades. He was eventually granted parole on December 10, 2007. Since being released from prison, Omar has worked for HeartBound Ministries, and now serves as the Chaplain at the Atlanta Transitional Center, an opportunity that has never been allowed in the history of the Department of Corrections. Omar is now certified in Anger Management and as a Facilitator for The Integrity Project. He has also completed two Life Coach certifications and has appeared on several television and radio stations, most recently the Iyanla Vanzant show. Omar travels around the country speaking at prisons, churches, events, and youth forums. In 2018 and 2019, Omar had the opportunity to travel to Guatemala with one of his mentees and several others to collaborate with Habitat for Humanity to help build houses for the less fortunate. On January 24, 2018, Omar was granted a pardon by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole. Omar is the author of “The Omar Howard Story” and started his own non-profit organization called FREEDOM IS A CHOICE, INC. which encourages youth to choose freedom over incarceration.
Joshua Dennard
Joshua is a lifelong film enthusiast who has dedicated his life to the world of entertainment. From a young age, he embarked on a journey that led him through various experiences and shaped his ambitions. As a child, Joshua began his career as a model, appearing in JC Penny and Macy's spreads, showcasing his charm and talent. His early exposure to the entertainment industry continued as he assisted his mother in her school performance program, where she read her nationally recognized children's books. At just eight years old, Joshua developed a vision of owning his own network, fueled by his passion for animals and a desire to become like the hosts Steve Irwin and Jeff Corwin. His journey took him to Hollywood, where he became a fully realized actor and gained firsthand experience in production. However, he refused to conform to societal expectations and instead pursued his own path, co-producing his own reality show and embarking on a nationwide documentary. Joshua's passion for storytelling led him to pursue a degree in Film and Television, where he fell in love with the art of screenwriting. Graduating with a BA, he founded his own company and shifted his focus to branding. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Joshua found new opportunities as a Director of Photography, winning awards for his cinematography. Now a successful working producer, cinematographer, and editor, Joshua is closer than ever to his goal of revolutionizing the industry through his work.
“I am not an entertainer; I am a revolutionary who uses entertainment” – Joshua
“I am not an entertainer; I am a revolutionary who uses entertainment” – Joshua
Amber Henry
Amber is a storyteller, anthropologist, and filmmaker. Her research and teaching explore how Black people create belonging in the face of dispossession. Her forthcoming book investigates how Afro-Colombian maroons, who are descendents of escaped enslaved Africans, engage in modern forms of flight to evade policing, gentrification, and extractive modes of tourism. Amber holds PhD in Anthropology and Africana Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and is an incoming Assistant Professor of Afro-Latin American Studies at Harvard University. As a scholar of the African Diaspora in Latin America, she is committed to facilitating community-focused models of ethical Black travel. Amber is proud to support her sister Sia Henry as team ethnographer, second videographer and essayist on the Hood Exchange’s inaugural voyage.
Sia Henry
Sia is, first and foremost, in love with Black people. She is an attorney, racial justice activist, and abolitionist who has spent a decade engaging in criminal legal system reform work. She was most recently a senior program specialist with the Restorative Justice Project at Impact Justice where she collaborated with communities across the country to establish pre-charge restorative justice diversion programs that, without relying on prosecution or incarceration, bring those who have caused and been impacted by harm into healing and accountability processes. In 2019, Sia organized and led a delegation of 23 state and local officials, formerly incarcerated and social justice leaders, attorneys, philanthropists, journalists, and an architect on a trip to Finland and Norway to tour prisons and meet with incarcerated people, facility staff, government agencies, and abolitionist groups. The purpose of this trip was to inspire the group to challenge and reimagine ways we think about and respond to crime. Sia also spent years doing conditions of confinement work, engaging in impact litigation and training to improve conditions for incarcerated people with physical and developmental disabilities and mental health issues and those most at risk of sexualized violence.
Sia serves on the Board of Directors for Mount Tamalpais College (formerly the Prison University Project) at San Quentin State Prison (the country’s first, tuition-free and independently accredited college situated inside a prison). She graduated from Harvard Law School and summa cum laude from Duke University, has traveled to 41 countries, and is originally from Brooklyn, NY with ancestral roots in Barbados.
Sia serves on the Board of Directors for Mount Tamalpais College (formerly the Prison University Project) at San Quentin State Prison (the country’s first, tuition-free and independently accredited college situated inside a prison). She graduated from Harvard Law School and summa cum laude from Duke University, has traveled to 41 countries, and is originally from Brooklyn, NY with ancestral roots in Barbados.
Ghana 2024 Photo Gallery
Over the next several months we will be uploading photos and video clips from our first cohort's journey to Ghana. This will serve as a sneak peak ahead of our documentary, which we're aiming to finalize by this fall!
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