Meet Brand Morgan!

Have you met Brand Morgan?

A long-time board member and a board chair for 10 years, he’s a familiar face here at Home of Hope. Brand was the board chair responsible for hiring current Executive Director Maureen Kornowa. Brand and his wife Jennifer were also instrumental in helping us transition to the award-winning program families experience at Home of Hope today. In honor of their vision and leadership over the years, House 2 was named Morgan House in 2014. 

And so, as we celebrate 35 years, we couldn’t resist a chance to ask this former board chair why he chose to serve and what he’ll remember most about his time here.

How long did you serve with Home of Hope?

I served as board chair for about 10 years. And I served on the board for 14 or 15 years total. It was actually Gwinnett Children’s Shelter when I first started. 

What made you decide to serve with Home of Hope?

Homelessness and homeless mothers who are unemployed — it’s an incredibly challenging position to be in. So, that was a soft spot in my heart.

What kept you involved over the years?

We’ve had some different challenges over the years. So, it seemed like a good thing to roll up my sleeves and see what I could do to help on the business side of things.

Do you have any favorite memories from over the years?

I got to meet some of the women we were helping and some of the children being taken off the street. In Georgia, if you’re a homeless mom, the state takes your children and puts them in foster care. So, just the idea of a child not being able to be with their mother because she had fallen on hard times — that was something I felt very passionate about and was glad to do something about.

What did you love most about being part of Home of Hope?

Just knowing that I helped one family stay off the streets. Or that one mother did not have her child taken away. That plain and simple is enough for me to want to spend time and money to try to see that not happen.

As we celebrate 35 years, what would you want the community to know about Home of Hope? I think just having the public understand that women who are homeless, without any kind of resources — without a car, for example — have an incredibly impossible situation. It’s one that struck a chord and made me want to get involved.