Sharra Gaston
Chairwoman

A Boston bred, serial entrepreneur and HBCU alumnae, Ms. Gaston has over 10 years of experience in Public Relations, Business Consulting, Digital Marketing & Strategy, and has been appointed in leadership positions within the Arts and Entertainment industries and public/political sectors.  Anchored in creativity for the advancement of any organization or company, Sharra’s ambition, expertise and work ethic will help to create growth opportunities and the solidification of BAMS as a National placeholder as the premiere arts organization where education, activism, performance, purpose and financial viability meet. 

Amy Carleton, Ph. D

Ms. Carleton teaches in the Comparative Media Studies/Writing program at MIT. Her academic research focuses on online communities as well as the intersection of race and digital culture. Her essays and articles have also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and New York Magazine, Both a music lover and advocate for knowledge equity, she is currently bridging her personal and academic interests by collaborating on a series of multi-city community outreach projects that use music as a vehicle to empower a more diverse editor base for Wikipedia and address content gaps on the encyclopedia. 

Felicia Okonkwo

Ms. Oknonkwo is a community driven woman with over a decade of extensive experience in management, coaching and counseling, accounting management, training, recruitment, and administrative assistance. She has served as Vice President for Seekers of Knowledge, a dance organization for young black girls and currently works for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Mr. Ball is the Co-Founder of Killer Boombox, an urban multi-platform media company. He is a multi-faceted freelance writer and journalist with deep experience with print and web publications., as well as a Media Strategist with extensive experience in creating and managing marketing and communication plans and media training. Proven leader with broad team training and management experience.

A proud father of a budding musician, Newton Johnson is a lover of Black Music, Black Art, and Black Excellence, Mr. Johnson has over 25 years of experience in the customer service and  marketing fields that began with an internship at WILD Radio. Seen as a serial entrepreneur and social broker of connecting people, Mr. Johnson  provides artist development and management support through his company NEWT (Never Ending With Talent) for local musicians and radio personalities, and is the Business Training Manager at More Than Words.