Leigh Solomon Pugliano is an entrepreneur, researcher, musician, and educator. As an experienced strategist, she has advised and scaled technology startups, creative businesses, and nonprofit organizations. Leigh provides organizational development support through consulting, strategic planning, program design, and research and development. For over a decade, Leigh served as Principal Strategist at Straightforward Consulting, a consulting and strategy firm she founded in 2011. Straightforward Co. specializes in strengthening programming and services, increasing productivity, and improving efficacy and overall organizational and business operations. Leigh has managed or consulted on creative projects, led strategic planning, designed education and learning-based solutions, and implemented operational improvement projects. As a strategist and consultant at Straightforward, Leigh has advised dozens of leaders, supported 200+ entrepreneurs, artists, businesses, and nonprofit organizations, and developed over a dozen programs, community activations, large-scale events, and collective impact initiatives. 

Leigh is also a dedicated musician and led the group Rhymth ‘n’ Steel for several years. Her love and dedication to music was sparked by her father, Phil Solomon, a musician, composer, and pioneer of the steelpan instrument. Leigh grew up teaching, performing, and educating audiences across the United States about the steelpan. Her love for classical and jazz stems from the many hours dedicated to learning and perfecting these musical genres in her youth and deep study of these genres as an adult. In honor of her father, in 2014, Leigh founded Barrels to Beethoven, an organization dedicated to teaching accurate historical context of the steelpan, the intricate building and tuning process, and providing opportunities for the community, particularly youth, to learn to play the instrument. Her commitment to the music community also led to her co-founding Limelight Creative, a company dedicated to advancing musicians and supporting their creative career journey.

In 2021, Leigh founded The Equity | Impact Center, the first research-based intermediary organization in western Pennsylvania– a culmination of her work, lived experience, and expertise. Through the Equity | Impact Center, Leigh has designed and led several impactful programs, including The Transformative Leader Program for social impact leaders, The Full Circle Nonprofit Accelerator, The PEER Fellowship (promoting emerging entrepreneurs in robotics), and the SCALE Fellowship, the first national fellowship program of its kind for Black women in music. 

Leigh’s work has been recognized in dozens of publications, and she has received several awards, including the Pittsburgh Courier Fab 40, Pittsburgh Magazine’s Women & Business Award, the World Affairs Council Illuminate Award, and the YWCA Equity Award for Bridge Builder. Leigh is originally from Guyana, South America, and currently lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with her husband and three daughters.

Since its conception, Barrels to Beethoven has received recognition and support from the global steelpan community including the Guyanese government, Trinidadian Association for Steelpan Education, steelpan publications, steelpan musicians, and educators, all of whom understand the importance of preserving the history and teaching the craft, as well as the benefits of steelpan education for young people.