FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Calle Andrus, Communications Specialist
216.916.6434 | calle.andrus@ideastream.org
ideastream Names First Ever Chief Experience Officer to Drive Innovation and Culture Change Amidst a Dynamic Media Landscape
CLEVELAND, Ohio (June 2, 2020) — ideastream, Ohio’s largest public media organization, named Mike Shafarenko as its first Chief Experience Officer (CXO). As CXO, Shafarenko will advance the organization’s workplace practices and culture to maximize the experience of its users across its television, radio and digital platforms; act as a liaison between ideastream and its users to shape products and services; and develop programs and initiatives that attract and retain a diverse, highly skilled and user-focused workforce. He will manage ideastream’s human resources and user experience teams. The new CXO position is part of ideastream’s executive leadership team and was created in direct response to ideastream’s 2019-2021 Strategic Plan to focus its internal resources to deliver a more effective and deeper impact to its users’ experience.
Shafarenko began serving in his new role on June 1, 2020.
“ideastream has a history of taking innovative and bold moves that sets the pace within public media and the establishment of a Chief Experience Officer (CXO) is in keeping with that history. Observing and modeling the success of Cleveland Clinic’s CXO, gave us the confidence that it would be as effective at ideastream,” said Kevin E. Martin, ideastream President and CEO. “What Mike has done to grow and evolve the Digital Experience Team here at ideastream demonstrated how we can positively change our culture by expanding the role.”
“The opportunity to serve in this new capacity at such a pivotal time for the organization and the community is an honor and a privilege,” said Shafarenko. “I’m excited to join our leadership team as we continue to innovate new ways to meet the needs of our users, expand our services and shape our workplace culture to attract and retain a highly talented and diverse staff.”
Shafarenko co-founded and led fundraising and operations for the Civic Commons, a digital civic engagement platform funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. He joined ideastream in 2013, when the organization took over operations of Civic Commons. Most recently, he held the position of Director, Digital Experience, during a two-year period when ideastream achieved its highest livestream and website usage, launched over ten new digital products and reached millions of users across web and social media platforms.
Prior to joining ideastream and co-founding Civic Commons, Shafarenko served in various human resources and operations roles at Case Western Reserve University, Entrepreneurs’ EDGE and the Fund for Our Economic Future. In those roles, he spearheaded internship and fellowship programs, developed employee benefit initiatives and managed the allocation of over $8 million per year in philanthropic grants to the region’s top economic development organizations. In 2019, Shafarenko was selected as one of 70 individuals across the U.S. and Europe as a German Marshall Fund Marshall Memorial Fellow. In 2010, he was named one of Crains’ Cleveland Business Forty under 40.
Sara Hodgson Joins ideastream as Director of Employee Experience
Sara Hodgson will also join ideastream in the newly created position of Director of Employee Experience. In this role, Hodgson will work with the CXO and ideastream leadership team on talent acquisition strategies, performance evaluation structures, industry-related compliance functions and workplace policies. She will also develop workplace programs and practices that build staff engagement, recognize strategic achievements, nurture robust career pathways and professional development opportunities and advance internal communication and employee feedback efforts to foster continuous improvement of the employee experience. She will start in her new role on June 15, 2020.
Hodgson joins ideastream with over 20 years of human resources experience, most recently as the Vice President of Human Resources at the Mandel Jewish Community Center and the Human Resources Manager at The Cleveland Museum of Art immediately prior. She is a member of the Society of Human Resource Management and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Human Resource Management from Ohio University.
About ideastream
ideastream serves the people of Northeast Ohio as a trusted and dynamic multimedia source for illuminating the world around us. Publicly supported and locally owned, ideastream is indispensable and highly valued for its unique ability to strengthen our community. ideastream is the consolidation of WVIZ/PBS, with five channels of public television service (WVIZ/PBS-HD, WVIZ/PBS OHIO, WVIZ/PBS WORLD, WVIZ/PBS CREATE and WVIZ/PBS KIDS); 90.3 WCPN, Northeast Ohio’s NPR news and public affairs radio station; WCLV 104.9, Northeast Ohio’s classical music radio station; ideastream Education, with educational resources, services and the award-winning children’s series NewsDepth; and management of The Ohio Channel and the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau on behalf of all Ohio’s public broadcasting stations. For more information about ideastream’s rich legacy of innovation and credible content, visit ideastream.org.
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