Michael Gill – Executive Director, Editor/Publisher

Having worked as an arts journalist, arts administrator, and as an individual artist, Michael Gill was uniquely prepared to be co-founder of Collective Arts Network and founding editor/publisher of CAN Journal. His writing for publications including the National Endowment for the Humanities magazine (Humanities), Cleveland Magazine, the Cleveland Free Times, and Cleveland Scene has won multiple awards from the Press Club of Cleveland, including in the Best in Ohio: Essays category, in 2007. He has a BA in English from Hiram College and an MFA in Creative Writing from Eastern Washington University. His wood block and letterpress artist books have been exhibited in solo shows at William Busta Gallery, Tregoning and Company, and BAYarts.

JoAnn Dickey – Designer

JoAnn Dickey is a graphic designer and artist who lives and works in Cleveland. Born and raised in Michigan, she relocated in 1999 to accept an amazing opportunity, to be the head of the Graphic Design Department at the Cleveland Museum of Art. In 2007 she shifted to higher education, as the Design Manager in the Marketing Department at Case Western Reserve University. In May of 2010 she started her own business, JoAnn Dickey Design, specializing in publication and magazine design as well as book design, branding, annual reports, higher education, and arts organizations. She’s been the Art Director of CAN Journal since its inception in 2012. Her work has won acclaim by AIGA Cleveland, FOLIO, APEX, Admissions Advertising Awards, and The Society for Experiential Graphic Design. When not designing for clients she works on her mixed media “plaid bird” line and volunteers for local causes through pro-bono design work and other service opportunities.

James Negron – Newsletter Manager

James Negron (he/him) is a mixed-media artist from New Jersey. He is a fourth-year student at the Cleveland Institute of Art obtaining his BFA in Sculpture and Expanded Media. Negron is an art educator, passionate about social practice and making fabrication processes more accessible to the public. He uses a DIY aesthetic within his practice to exemplify the potential and achievability of the techniques he uses. His work takes various forms to communicate subjects surrounding mental health, memory, and time. Negron’s work has most recently been exhibited at the Hildebrandt Building in Cleveland (OH) in 2023 and Valley Arts Center in Chagrin (OH) in 2023.

Erin Pophal – Development Director

Erin Pophal is a multimedia artist and nonprofit professional residing on the Lake Erie shoreline in the Waterloo Arts District. Having studied community development internationally over the last decade – Erin believes that a vital barometer of all social progress is how communities and their leaders value, support, and leverage the diverse creatives amongst them. She holds a bachelor’s in Political Science and Fine Arts from Loyola University Chicago and received her Master’s in Nonprofit Organizations from Case Western Reserve University in 2019. As owner-operator of Three Dice Studio, Erin has organized community events to promote arts-led cooperative commerce and sustainable local shopping experiences in Cleveland since 2019. She is happiest when immersed in the waves of the lake, the pages of a book, live music at the Grog Shop, or a candlelit dinner with friends.

Julaine Duffield – Copy Editor

Julaine Duffield has a BA in English from Hiram College, and is enjoying the evolution of the Cleveland art scene from the perspective of her copy editing role at CAN Journal.

Tara Tonsetic – Advertising Sales

Tara Tonsetic joined the CAN team in 2019.  She has previously worked for 78th Street Studios and Norhteast Ohio Parent magazine. She Loves the fall, naps, and meeting new people. Things that bring her joy include chips + salsa, a good book, John Hughes movies, her family, being a mama, a newly printed magazine, good coffee, hand-written notes (sending + receiving), gifts, home + stationery stores, and awesome art. For the last 20 years, she has worked in the world of business development, marketing, and events for a variety of companies and non-profits, as well as herself. She says, “I hope to one day be living on a farm in the country filled with goats, llamas, chickens, and more, but for now, I happily reside with my hubby, 7 year-old-son, and cat in the suburbs.”