Jeremy V. Johnson

Jeremy Johnson is the Executive Director of Newark Arts, one of the city’s leading nonprofits.  The organization makes grants to neighborhood arts programs, produces the Newark Arts Festival, and advocates for policies that will sustain Newark as a city of the arts. Under Jeremy’s leadership, the city created its first citywide community cultural plan and established the Lincoln Park Alliance. During his tenure, Newark has been twice ranked in the top-ten of Arts Vibrant cities by the National Center for Arts Research.

For eight years, Jeremy served as Newark’s philanthropic liaison in City Hall, under Mayor (now Senator) Cory A. Booker and Mayor Ras J. Baraka.  He worked on the fundraising team that helped build New Jersey Performing Arts Center in downtown Newark in 1997.  He has presented on public-private partnerships at the University of Southern California, New York University, and Rutgers University.  Jeremy serves on the board of ArtPride New Jersey and chairs the Newark City of Learning Collaborative, an initiative to promote higher education.  Raised in Cleveland, OH, he received his BA from Kenyon College in Ohio and his Master of Fine Arts in arts management from the University of Iowa.  He interned at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc.   He is a longtime Newark resident.