Jerome Barnes
Director of Product musician, optimist and lifelong learnerLos Angeles
Jerome brings 10 years of experience in the non-profit sector working to advance economic opportunity, wealth-building and financial security for financially vulnerable Americans. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a BA in Anthropology, and has done most of his work in Consumer Research, Innovation, and Project, Product, and Team Management. "I like listening to people's stories and using what I learn to try and help build and improve products and systems". Also a singer, songwriter, and producer, he splits his time in Los Angeles between social impact work and music.
Berto Ceballos
Product Manager bridge-builder, explorer and curious learnerSan Francisco
Berto’s journey from economic researcher to multimedia studio founder to design engineer reflects his belief that the best products emerge from curiosity and creative experimentation. At VMware Tanzu Labs, he helped transform ideas into impactful products—from a COVID platform launched in a few weeks to ML tools optimizing solar energy.
Additionally, he has led creative campaigns for Fortune 500 companies, co-founded an EdTech startup that served over 25 universities (which was later acquired), and built ConciertoCable, a live-streaming platform connecting independent Latin American musicians with their audiences.
Berto excels at bridging cultures, disciplines, and ideas, whether he's leading workshops or shaping product strategy. A native Spanish speaker, he holds degrees from both Harvard and ITAM. Born in Mexico City and now living in San Francisco, Berto is a former semi-professional soccer player. He loves exploring AI creative tools and film photography in addition to hobbies such as fermenting hot sauces and kombucha.
Joey Edgar
Engagement Coordinator
organizer, connector, empath
Pittsburgh
organizer, connector, empath
Pittsburgh
Joey is a native Pittsburgher who works in hospitality and administration. He started a personal organizing business that emerged from a desire to help people in immediate ways. Operating from an anti-consumerist framework, the goal is to create a sanctuary at home and to keep things out of the landfill.
Trained in classical voice he has also acted with Kuntu Repertory Theater and The Glitterbox Theater. Joey has exhibited his photography work locally and internationally. A shared exhibition with photographer Fatoumata Diabate’ was held at the Centre de la Formation en Photographie (CFP) in Bamako, Mali.
Joey has a BA in Creative Nonfiction Writing from The University of Pittsburgh.
Cameron Herman
Content & Engagement Specialistcurious, thoughtful, photographer
Toronto
Cameron is a passionate advocate for community-driven research and the transformative power of the arts. He combines an academic background with hands-on experience to uplift diverse voices and foster meaningful change.
Cameron earned a B.A. in African American Studies from Georgia State University, an M.A. in Pan African Studies from the University of Louisville, and a Ph.D. in Sociology from Michigan State University. Before joining ARTPOWER, he spent several years in academia as a professor and researcher. He has worked in various community contexts, including youth programs, food justice coalitions, public housing, and arts organizations, using research to inform processes and support their goals. Through this work, Cameron has gained a deep understanding of how quality, community-informed data can enhance people’s everyday lives. He brings this insight and his passion for the arts to ARTPOWER.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, and raised in Georgia, Cameron currently lives in Toronto, Ontario, with his brilliant wife and precocious daughter, both artists in their own right. In his free time, you can find him riding his bicycle through Toronto's neighborhoods, exploring on photo walks, or enjoying one of the city's many coffee shops.
janera solomon
Chief Executive Officer & Founderwriter, musician, and cultural strategist
Pittsburgh
Born in Georgetown, Guyana, janera draws inspiration from the music and dance, writers and artists of the African and Caribbean diaspora. She holds a BA from University of Pittsburgh and an MA in Writing (nonfiction) from Johns Hopkins University. Her cultural strategy projects with Lord Cultural Resources include the Museum of the African Diaspora, Louis Armstrong House, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Ministry of Tourism in Ontario, and August Wilson Center for African American History & Culture. For more than a decade, janera served as executive director of Kelly Strayhorn Theater, transforming the community center into a national producer and presenter of contemporary performance while still maintaining its role as a vital neighborhood cultural anchor.
Named by Pittsburgh Magazine as one of the “50 Most Powerful People in Pittsburgh,” janera serves on the board of trustees for Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, International Women’s Forum (Pittsburgh Chapter), and University of Pittsburgh Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. She is working on a forthcoming collection of essays and poems. In 2024, in collaboration with a team of colleagues, she launched ARTPOWER Inc, to transform personal financial management tools for independent artists.
Carly Wright
Creative Strategistinterpreter, synthesizer, poet
Brooklyn
Carly is a creative leader with over a decade of experience helping mission-driven companies, founders, and cultural organizations define and express their vision. Her work lives at the intersection of storytelling, strategic insight, and purposeful growth-bridging the gap between ambition and execution.
She’s partnered with teams across health, tech, and the arts to bring clarity to complex ideas and shape experiences that connect people-to each other, to purpose, to possibility. Whether guiding early-stage startups or global organizations, Carly helps ideas take root and move people.
She holds a BA in Art History and Visual Arts from Ocidental College. Also a poet, Carly is currently at work on her first collection. Originally from Atlanta, she now lives in Brooklyn
ARTPOWER is grateful to the following field advisors,
product advisors, and project partners for their
ongoing collaboration in our work.
FIELD ADVISORS
Kate Bowen, Lead Organizer, Chicago Arts Census and Executive Director, ACRE
Janelle Pagulaya, Operations Manager, Guilded Freelancer Cooperative
Shawn Rene-Graham, Deputy Director of Programs and Services, The Field
Adia Sykes, Lead Organizer, Chicago Arts Census
PRODUCT ADVISORS
Charles Duncan Jr., Senior Engineering Leader, Netflix
Mickey McManus, Senior Advisor and Leadership Coach, BCG
Woodrow W. Winchester III, Executive Director, Texas Engineering Executive Education, The University of Texas at Austin
PROJECT PARTNERS
Instrument
Commonwealth
Rowhome Productions
product advisors, and project partners for their
ongoing collaboration in our work.
FIELD ADVISORS
Kate Bowen, Lead Organizer, Chicago Arts Census and Executive Director, ACRE
Janelle Pagulaya, Operations Manager, Guilded Freelancer Cooperative
Shawn Rene-Graham, Deputy Director of Programs and Services, The Field
Adia Sykes, Lead Organizer, Chicago Arts Census
PRODUCT ADVISORS
Charles Duncan Jr., Senior Engineering Leader, Netflix
Mickey McManus, Senior Advisor and Leadership Coach, BCG
Woodrow W. Winchester III, Executive Director, Texas Engineering Executive Education, The University of Texas at Austin
PROJECT PARTNERS
Instrument
Commonwealth
Rowhome Productions