Bridgette Simpson

Bridgette Simpson, a 2023 Soros Justice Fellow and recipient of a 2024 Canary Impact Prize winner, is founder and coordinator of the Protected Class Network, which works to advances the interests of system-involved persons within their communities; and founder of the OG Collaborative, which links justice-impacted elders with younger organizers.

Formerly incarcerated herself, she is an activist, advocate, entrepreneur, published author, motivational speaker, mentor, and certified life coach who partners with other survivors and activists to empower, inspire change, and promote hope.

Simpson was co-founder and lead organizer for Barred Business, where she spearheaded the successful 2022 Atlanta Protected Class Campaign; an organizer with the Movement for Black Lives, and has worked with the National Bail Out; the Center for Resilient Individuals, Families and Communities; and lead community organizer for Women on the Rise. She is the first justice-impacted person appointed to Atlanta’s Human Relations Commission and is a partner in the Movement Against Mass Incarceration Lab’s project at Columbia University to build the country’s first academic center focused on the political ideas and movement-building of incarcerated individuals.