our
values
Our work is rooted in the cooperative values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity.
We are guided by principles that uplift:
who we are
Advancing community wealth and economic democracy across Georgia.
our
mission
The Georgia Cooperative Development Center (GCDC) exists to build, strengthen, and sustain shared ownership enterprises that create community wealth, expand opportunity, and support equitable economic development across Georgia.
We equip communities, entrepreneurs, and organizations with the tools, knowledge, and support they need to develop cooperatives, employee-owned enterprises, and shared services models that grow local prosperity and keep decision-making power where it belongs—in the hands of the people who are most impacted.
our
vision
We envision a Georgia where communities thrive through shared ownership, democratic governance, and equitable access to opportunity.
A Georgia where more people—especially those historically excluded from economic power—
own the businesses, networks, and resources that shape their lives.
A Georgia where cooperatives, shared services networks, and employee-owned enterprises create sustainable social, financial, and environmental impact.
A Georgia where shared ownership is a cornerstone of community prosperity.
how
we work
Our work is grounded in cooperative values, community leadership, and a strong commitment to building equitable economic models.
We combine education, hands-on technical assistance, coaching, digital literacy, and statewide ecosystem building to help groups form, launch, and scale shared ownership enterprises.
We serve communities and entrepreneurs of all backgrounds—grassroots organizers, small business owners, worker leaders, farmers, creatives, cooperators, youth, nonprofits, and mission driven organizations—while also partnering with academic, institutional, and government partners across the state.
Our Approach Includes:
01
Technical Assistance & Coaching
Supporting cooperative formation, governance, operations, conflict transformation, and long-term sustainability.
02
Education & Leadership Development
Workshops, academies, training programs, and online learning experiences rooted in cooperative values and shared ownership principles.
03
Shared Services & Innovation
Developing shared services cooperatives—like our Athens initiative—to support entrepreneurs,
small businesses, and community-based enterprises.
04
Digital Literacy & Transformation
Helping cooperatives adopt digital tools, improve workflows, and build the technological capacity to thrive.
05
Ecosystem Building & Partnerships
Connecting cooperatives, community organizations, universities, funders, and ecosystem partners across Georgia and the Southeast.
06
Policy & Advocacy
Strengthening support for cooperatives and shared ownership models through policy education, storytelling, and strategic partnerships.
Our Commitment to Shared Ownership
Shared Ownership Is at the Heart of Our Work
Shared ownership is a powerful pathway to economic stability, dignity, and opportunity. Whether through a worker-owned cooperative, a shared services network, a producer co-op, or an employee-owned business transition, shared ownership models allow people to build wealth, share decision-making power, and strengthen their communities.
GCDC supports all shared ownership forms, including:
Worker-owned cooperatives
Consumer cooperatives
Producer & marketing co-ops
Purchasing & shared services co-ops
Hybrid & multi-stakeholder co-ops
Platform & digital cooperatives
Employee ownership Partners (ESOPs, EOTs, cooperative conversions)
our
our story
The Georgia Cooperative Development Center was founded with a simple belief:
Georgia’s communities deserve access to models that allow them to build and own their future.
Since then, we’ve supported cooperatives and shared ownership enterprises across the state—from rural producer co-ops and worker-owned startups to youth-led projects, small business collaborations, artistic collectives, and shared services networks.
We continue to grow our reach through strategic partnerships with community organizations, universities, development centers, national cooperatives, credit unions, and policymakers.
As the shared ownership movement expands nationally, GCDC remains committed to being a trusted leader and innovator in Georgia and the Southeast.
Statewide Presence
Serving All of Georgia
Our work spans the entire state—urban, rural, and regional communities.
From metropolitan areas like Atlanta and Savannah to small towns across South Georgia and the Appalachian foothills, we collaborate with groups of all sizes to advance shared ownership and cooperative enterprise.
We also work in partnership with regional and national allies to strengthen the cooperative ecosystem across the Southeast.
Our Team & Governance
Meet Our People
GCDC is governed by a dedicated board of cooperative practitioners, community leaders, and shared ownership experts.
Our team brings decades of experience in cooperative development, digital strategy, community organizing, policy, business management, ecosystem building, and entrepreneurship
Audrey Griffin
Board President/ Co-Director
Audrey is a CPA with 20 years of experience in auditing, tax and financial consulting for nonprofits, cooperatives, and small businesses. As a finance consulting for Columinate, she works primarily with cooperatively owned retail grocers. Her work focuses on strengthening organizations through strong financial reporting; assisting clients to understand the story that “the numbers” tell; and tax preparation services for small cooperatives and nonprofits. Audrey currently serves as a co-Executive Director of the GA Cooperative Development Center and is treasurer of St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Carrollton, Georgia. Past volunteer experience includes the boards and finance committees of several nonprofits and her local food co-op.
Ahzjah Simons
VP/Co-Director
Ahzjah Simons is known for her work in organizational leadership, management and communications for the past 20 years, in the areas of marketing, multimedia, in the co-op and wellness industry. She is Founder of Digico Global Business Solutions LLC and Co-op Developer for Co-op Cosmos Consulting, currently working to support multi-sector cooperatives, bipoc and womxn-owned small businesses, non-profits, creatives, and black holistic health, beauty, and wellness solopreneurs.
Ahzjah currently serves as a Co-Executive Director of the Georgia Cooperative Development Center and is also Founder, Conscious Living OmniMedia Group, & The Children’s Wellness Network. She currently serves on the Board of Georgia Organics and was the first black woman to be elected to the National Cooperative Grocers Board of Directors. She also served as their DEI committee’s Co-Chair to help usher in a more equitable representation of BIPOC within the retail co-op space at co-op, leadership, and NCG board levels. At the 2022 CCMA conference, Ahzjah was honored with a CCMA Cooperative Service Award by the Consumer Co-op Management association, for her innovative and transformational service in the cooperative industry and leading one of the largest retail food co-ops in the southeast.
Roland Hall
Board Secretary
Roland has been a member of the Georgia Bar since 1994. Roland’s practice includes representing electric cooperatives and related entities in corporate, finance and regulatory matters, negotiating and drafting contracts, including construction contracts, and handling complex business transactions and commercial litigation.
Eric Simpson
Board Treasurer
Eric is an experienced Human Services Professional and Cooperative Manager with 20+ years of diverse experience at the intersection of cooperative economics, social work, and community development. A small farmer and organizer, Eric serves as a Board Member, Owner, and Project Director of West Georgia Farmers’ Cooperative—an agricultural co-op founded in 1966. He also owns and operates New Eden ecosystem (NEe) in West Point, Georgia.
Sarah Bobrow-Williams
Board Members
Sarah has worked as a community planner and nonprofit program administrator for 30 years. She has played leadership and planning roles in developing micro enterprises, cooperatives and worker owned businesses, and grassroots organizations, and the promotion of African American land retention, cultural heritage, food security and racial and social justice policy and organizing. Sarah is a member of the Goddard College Graduate Institute faculty where she helped to found the MA in Social Innovation and Sustainability. She is the Asset and Finance Development Director of the Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative for Economic and Social Justice, a Managing Member of Southern Journeys LLC – a worker owned sewing company and the owner of Bobrow-Williams Group LLC, a community planning firm.
Abiodun Henderson
Board Members
Abiodun is the Executive Director of the Come Up Project which is featuring its first entrepreneurial business training program, based in agriculture, for returning citizens called Gangstas to Growers. She has been a community worker in SW Atlanta for over 6 years and has experience in running grassroots programs, farming and empowering those living in traditionally under served communities. Under her leadership as garden coordinator, the Westview Community Garden is now community owned after being bulldozed in 2015. Abiodun also helped create and manage the Westview Empowerment STEAM Camp from 2013-2015. Besides working to reduce recidivism in Westside Atlanta by employing at-risk youth and formerly incarcerated individuals, she is a board member of SWAG (Southwest Atlanta Growers) Cooperative. Her organization strives to become self-sustainable which is why The Come Up Project has begun to produce their first product, a hot sauce called “Sweet Sol”, branded by our trainees. It ls currently sold to restaurants and at farmer’s markets. She sees this as the beginning of helping to build large worker-owned cooperatives! Abiodun is a native Brooklynite and enjoys when her four year old son yells with a pumped fist, “Free Black People!”, every morning they pass the city jail.