Carolyn Ramo is an arts administrator, strategist, and advocate for artists and artist-centered philanthropy. An experienced consultant to foundations, grantmakers, and for profit artist-centered initiatives, she works both nationally across the United States, and locally in New York City and the Hudson Valley. Ramo is the Executive Director of the A&L Berg Foundation, which provides access, tools and resources to create, evolve and sustain diverse perspectives and narratives in US culture. The A&L Berg Foundation supports and empowers individuals, specifically curators, arts administrators and artists, who are committed to making systemic and scalable impact in their practices and communities.
Prior to joining the A&L Berg Foundation, Ramo was executive director of Artadia, a national non-profit organization providing direct support to visual artists—a position she held for 11 years. Leading Artadia in its pursuit of a more just arts economy, Ramo expanded the organization’s acclaimed Awards program, more than doubling Artadia’s grants while also increasing their monetary values. Bolstering Artadia’s visibility as a leading arts funder, she co-organized Artist Relief, the first direct-to-artist COVID-19 relief fund, which raised almost $20 million for artists impacted by the pandemic, resulting in the distribution of almost 4000 direct emergency relief grants.
Carolyn is a member of the Board of Directors of Creative Time. Carolyn was previously a partner at Taxter & Spengemann, a contemporary art gallery with a focus on emerging artists. From 2007 to 2010, Carolyn was the Production Director at David Zwirner, New York. She has also worked at Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery and the Whitney Museum of American Art. A recent project includes crafting a fundraising strategic plan for Forge Project, a Native-led initiative centered on Indigenous art, decolonial education, and supporting leaders in culture, food security, and land justice.
