Meet Janéa Wilkerson: Built to grow

By 9:15 am, Janéa is already fielding complex requests. A hardware failure. A misconfigured system. A teammate unsure how to recover from what feels like a costly mistake.

She doesn’t rush. She listens. She diagnoses. She brings calm to situations that don’t always start that way.

“I like figuring things out,” she says. “I always have.”

Growing up in the Bronx, Janéa viewed the world as a series of interconnected parts. The rhythm of music. The logic behind technology. The way small components work together to create something bigger.

“I was always curious,” she says. “I wanted to understand how everything fit together.”

Her path into tech didn’t follow a straight line. In 2012, while recovering from ACL surgery, her mother handed her a flyer for Per Scholas, a nonprofit providing rigorous technical training. Janéa showed up to class on crutches — and kept showing up.

“I soaked up everything,” she recalls, from the inner workings of computers to building her own professional brand.

For a Black woman who hadn't always seen herself reflected in the industry, the program offered a realization. She didn’t need to fit a mold. She could define her own path.

Today, as a Senior IT Support Specialist at Collibra, Janéa works at the intersection of technology and people.

It’s work that requires technical depth and emotional intelligence.

Nearly a decade playing for the New York Sharks, the winningest team in women’s tackle football, shaped that mindset.

“I joined as a rookie just wanting to prove to myself that this was another space I was built for,” she says, “one that required strength, competitiveness, and resilience.”

She walked away with a championship ring, and a mindset that carries into everything she does: “That experience taught me that I naturally push past limits and defy expectations.” That confidence didn’t eliminate doubt. It taught her how to move forward anyway.

That perspective carries into her career.

She speaks openly about moments of plateau, of imposter syndrome, of being the only Black woman in the room.

Instead of shrinking in those moments, she stays grounded in who she is. She leans on family, peers, and therapy. She celebrates progress, not just outcomes.

“If someone sees me and thinks, ‘Maybe I can do that too,’ that means something.”

At Collibra, Janéa has found space to grow.

She’s encouraged to experiment, trusted to stretch her skills, and supported by her manager and teammates.

“There’s trust here. You’re encouraged to ask questions and keep evolving.”

That trust reflects how we work, as One Collibra, where solving complex problems requires both technical expertise and shared accountability.

When her laptop closes, Janéa returns to her roots. A self-described “musicophile,” she pays homage to her late father, whose cherished collection, from 45 RPM records to cassette tapes, first inspired her love of music.

And then there’s her yard.

Once a kid in the Bronx who struggled with grass pollen sensitivity, she’s now a self-taught lawn care enthusiast. Tending to 7000 square feet of yard and landscaping, has become another form of problem-solving: patient, intentional, hands-on.

“It’s grounding,” she says. “It reminds me how everything connects.”

From a curious kid in the Bronx to a championship athlete. From a student on crutches to a trusted technical leader. From navigating doubt to helping others see what’s possible.

Janéa’s story isn’t about fitting into an industry. It’s about building a path within it.

At Collibra, she’s doing that every day — strengthening systems, supporting teammates, and expanding what leadership in tech can look like.

• 

  Collibra

  Collibra

  Unified governance for data and AI