BCA Staff

Ra Joy is a nationally recognized strategist and advocate working at the intersection of the arts, public policy, and civic engagement. He is fueled by a strong belief in the transformative power of the arts and a personal commitment to solving public problems through collective action.

On day one of the Biden-Harris Administration, Ra was appointed to serve as Chief of Staff at the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). As Chief of Staff at the NEA, his responsibilities included implementing the NEA’s American Rescue Plan program, which provided $135 million in funding to help the U.S. arts and cultural sector recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. During his tenure at the NEA, Ra partnered with and established artistic collaborations between the NEA and the White House, including the first-ever White House Juneteenth Concert.

Before his appointment at the NEA, Ra served as Executive Director of the Coalition for Honest and New Government Ethics (CHANGE) Illinois, a nonpartisan organization leading systemic political and government reform. While at CHANGE, Ra helped lead and coordinate the successful statewide campaign to enact automatic voter registration in Illinois.

Between 2007 and 2015, Ra held the position of Executive Director at Arts Alliance Illinois, one of the nation’s most prominent arts advocacy and service organizations. Under Ra’s leadership, Arts Alliance Illinois developed a broad network of partners across many sectors to elevate the role of the arts in people’s lives, schools, and communities. As an executive, Ra led a successful strategic planning and rebranding process resulting in a new name, logo, and tagline for the organization. Immediately prior to joining Arts Alliance Illinois, Ra served as a Senior Aide to U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (IL-9), specializing in appropriations and community and economic development initiatives. In this role, Ra helped secure funding for a wide range of projects, including federal funding for the renovation of the Broadway Army, the Chicago Park District’s largest indoor recreational facility. 

Ra is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Leadership Greater Chicago Fellowship in 2005, the Chicago Community Trust Fellowship in 2015, the 2015 Cultural Champion Award from the Chicago Cultural Alliance, the University of Illinois Edgar Fellows Program in 2018, and the Paul Harris Fellowship from the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, among others. 

Ra is a frequent writer and speaker on democracy, the arts, and civic infrastructure in America.

Bernadette Karanja brings over two decades of experience in workforce and business development to her role as Director of Operations at the Bronzeville Center for the Arts. A Kenyan-American who immigrated to the U.S. 25 years ago, she has held senior leadership roles in both government and nonprofit sectors, most recently serving as the City of Milwaukee’s Chief Equity Officer. At BCA, Bernadette oversees operations, financial health, and community engagement, while guiding innovative programs and capital projects that advance the organization’s mission. Passionate about the arts and community empowerment, she is also a proud mother of two adult children and an advocate for the Liberal Arts and Environmental Preservation.

Mutòpe J. Johnson is a Milwaukee-based artist, educator, and arts administrator. He received his Master of Fine Arts degree in Painting & Drawing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2014, and his Bachelor of Fine Arts from UW-Whitewater in 1978. Johnson currently serves as the Director of Creative Engagement & Partnerships at the Bronzeville Center for the Arts in Milwaukee, a role he has held since 2020. He oversees the gallery program, provides creative direction, and cultivates strategic partnerships. Prior to joining the BCA, Johnson had a lengthy career as an art instructor, teaching courses at UW-Whitewater, UW-Milwaukee, and serving as a lecturer and fellow at various art programs. He has also held roles as a creative director for major advertising agencies. An active painter and multimedia artist, Johnson’s work has been featured in over 100 exhibitions nationally and internationally. His art often explores themes of African American culture, identity, and the preservation of the historic Bronzeville neighborhood in Milwaukee.

Robyn Cherry has over a decade of experience in communications, public relations, and community engagement roles. A Milwaukee native, Cherry holds a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Cherry’s background includes serving as a Public Relations Consultant, where she managed client relationships, coordinated events and volunteer efforts, and provided strategic guidance. Previously, she was a Communications Manager at Milwaukee Urban League, overseeing outreach initiatives, grant writing, social media, and media relations strategies. Additionally, Cherry worked as a Senior Broadcast Producer at Wisconsin Public Radio, lending her skills to promotion, content creation, and production across multimedia platforms. Her well-rounded experience allows her to effectively develop messaging, cultivate partnerships, and drive engagement with diverse audiences.

Phoenix S. Brown is a Milwaukee-based interdisciplinary artist and curator whose work bridges research, community engagement, and exhibition-making. She is Curator at Bronzeville Center for the Arts.

Her curatorial practice is informed by critical theory, historical research, and contemporary artists’ responses to history and their environments. She previously served as Senior Curator at Charles Allis and Villa Terrace Art Museums, where she developed exhibitions, expanded artist residencies, and improved collection accessibility. As the Abert Family Curatorial Fellow at the Milwaukee Art Museum, she curated American Memory: Commemoration, Nostalgia, and Revision and contributed to initiatives highlighting underrepresented narratives.

Brown is an Adjunct Faculty member at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, where she teaches fine art and professional development. As an artist, she explores self-mythology, psychological space, and abstracted landscapes through painting.

She holds a BFA with an Art History minor from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design.

John Russick has over 30 years of professional experience working in museums and galleries. He has a long track record of diverse and award-winning work coupled with significant experience guiding cultural institutions during leadership transition. He has held positions at Chicago’s Field Museum and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, and leadership positions at the Chicago History Museum and the Levine Museum of the New South. He has an undergraduate degree in history with an art history minor from Northern Illinois University, and a masters in architectural studies (MSAS) from the University of Texas at Austin. Over his extensive career, Russick has worked across a diverse range of cultural institutions and successfully led numerous complex, large-scale museum projects involving multiple partners and contractors. He also has extensive experience developing digital projects for museums and historical sites. Russick has leadership experience hiring and managing museum staff, as well as overseeing strategic planning, reorganization, and community engagement.