Amplifier is a nonprofit media lab that builds campaigns to amplify the most important movements of our times - by any medium necessary. Our experiments are built on a foundation of free and open source art, the unlimited possibilities within a human centered design process, and the potentials when analog and digital technology merge.

  • AARON HUEY

    FOUNDER + CREATIVE DIRECTOR , FELLOWSHIP DIRECTOR

    Aaron Huey, is a seasoned photojournalist with over two decades of experience. His extensive coverage of topics ranging from the Afghan drug war to U.S. protest movements has graced the pages of prominent publications such as The New Yorker, TIME, The New York Times, and Smithsonian, among others. As an 18 year contributor to National Geographic, he has photographed over 30 feature stories. A contributing editor and artist across his 15-year tenure at Harper's marks him as only the second photographer to appear on the masthead in the magazine’s 173-year history. A three-time Stanford Fellow, Huey's accolades include the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship, the d.School Media Experiments Fellowship, and most recently, the Starling Lab working on data integrity for photo-based media. He is also a three-time National Geographic Explorer grantee. His experience as a funder, a journalist, and a grantee himself, will support this first cohort of Amplifier Fellows.

  • CLEO BARNETT

    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

    For the past decade, Cleo has worked internationally with renowned artists, city councils, movement leaders, global brands, and foundations to build campaigns and public space interventions that explore the relationship between storytelling, community empowerment and human rights. As the Executive Director of Amplifier, Cleo helped spearhead groundbreaking media ecampaigns for the organization, including the iconic We The People campaign and education initiative We The Future. The result has been millions of iconic artworks distributed across the United States in collaboration with hundreds of renowned artists and social movements. Cleo has helped steward Amplifier from a start-up to a globally recognized art and social justice organization. She oversees all aspects of the organization’s life, from building and running campaigns and programs to artist management to finance and administration and strategic planning.

  • ISABELLA SISNEROS

    DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

    The last born into a large Hispanic family in inter city Denver, Isabella is devoted to liberation and to reconstructing a new reality for all. She aims to be a facilitator and ground worker for social change by using her intellect and passion for the arts, land stewardship and community building. Since the launch of the historic We The People campaign in 2017, Isabella has helped co-produce multiple national public art campaigns and co-organized the mass distribution of hundreds of thousands of printed artwork in the U.S and beyond with the organization. In addition to managing all day-to-day as well as long-term operations - including print production, merchandising, and human resources - Isabella also manages distribution for all campaigns, nationally. Isabella holds a B.S. degree from Colorado State University.

  • JULIETA RENTERIA

    DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR

    Julieta is a California native committed to reimagining the society we've inherited and recreating a more just world through inclusion, empowerment and advocacy. As a first generation Mexican American, she's dedicated to forging a reality in which people of all backgrounds can live authentically as the fullest expression of themselves. Her passion for community building has informed her work in the retail sector for over ten years, working with small businesses, start ups, and nonprofits, inviting consumers to become active participants in the stories of the brands they love.

    Julieta earned her BA in Political Science from Point Loma Nazarene University. Outside of Amplifier you can find her creating ceramics, volunteering, running or cycling throughout Los Angeles.

Together with our social change partners in both the for profit and nonprofit worlds, we build media campaigns that shift culture and change the national narrative. We do that by drawing from our diverse portfolio of artists to commission powerful visual storytelling, then distribute it in unparalleled numbers through a creative use of media, reaching huge audiences and driving real change.

Our distribution channels reach an average of 20 million viewers per campaign, reaching teachers, policy makers, journalists, and everyday citizens eager to build a new world.  We do this work with the goal of reclaiming an American identity rooted in equality, dignity, diversity, truth, and beauty. We believe that each piece of art we create and distribute with our partners can be a compass that leads us away from the chaos and negativity of this polarizing time. Since our founding in 2011, we’ve commissioned over 500 artists, built a distribution portfolio of 10,000 more artists, distributed tens of millions of pieces of physical art, and sent free artwork and lesson plans to over 1.2 million students across the United States in partnership with our Amplifier Educator network of over 20,000 teachers.