About NUconnextions
NUconnextions is a Tennessee nonprofit built on a simple belief: reentry begins with connection. We support returning citizens with the essentials — a working phone, a way to get around, a stable place to land, and someone in their corner.
What We Do
Free smartphones with service for people coming home. Transportation assistance. Micro-housing stabilization. Case management with referrals to the services people need most.
Founder's Story
After serving 14½ years in incarceration, I walked out into a world that had moved on without me. A smartphone — something most people don't think twice about — felt like foreign territory. Setting up a phone number, accessing an online form, connecting to Wi-Fi: the simplest things became walls between me and a normal life.
That struggle opened my eyes. Reentry begins with connection — and without a way to communicate, independence is impossible. If I struggled this hard, I knew countless others were facing the same barriers with even less support.
So I started NUconnextions: to make sure no returning citizen ever feels disconnected, lost, or left behind. It started with phones, and it's growing into transportation, housing, and the full support network people need to rebuild with dignity.
— Johnny B, Founder
Our Team
John P. Barrett III
Founder and President
Jessica Taylor
Vice President
Marketing & Social Media Director
Jill D. Crain
Secretary
David Grimes
Board of Directors
Brandon Estes
Mentor Coordinator
Based in Gallatin, Tennessee.