Charmin Roundtree Baaqee

As a mother, art curator, engineer, entrepreneur, and community steward, Charmin aspires to support the visual arts and spark creativity in how people approach life experiences. She is the owner and founder of Art Is Luv – which provides exposure for artists through marketing, social media, and branding – as well as an art consultant, public art manager, and engineer with 20 years of experience. Charmin defines success as happening “when you can do what you love and feel purposeful.” She spent 10 years as a curator and was appointed by the Mayor’s office to co-chair the City of Oakland Public Art Advisory Committee. Most recently, Charmin was appointed by Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf as one of 11 Cultural Affairs Commissioners.

Her passion for art and community-based initiatives was developed through lifelong residency in Oakland, where she has been both a witness to her hometown’s socioeconomic challenges and an active participant in its ongoing revitalization. She currently manages large public art installations throughout the Bay Area, engaging with local artists, developers and community members. “I love working with curious people because they are the most creative,” she says. Charmin’s clients and collaborators include large nonprofits such as The San Francisco Foundation, Libra Foundation, AIDS Health Organization, East Bay Community Foundation, and more.

She also supports youth through mentoring and volunteering in Oakland Public and Charter Schools and local non-profits including organizations like The Oakland REACH, Attitudinal Healing Connection, Career Girls, The Joyce Gordon Youth Art Foundation, and the National Society of Black Engineers. In 2016, she launched Art + Science = Me to increase awareness about the importance of integrated learning and building STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art and Math) curriculum in K-12 schools. 

Charmin holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Clark Atlanta University, a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and an M.S. in Civil/Environmental Engineering from University California, Berkeley. She lives in Oakland with her family and their red ear slider turtles, Avo and Cado.

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