Jon Schwantes

Jon serves as Senior Consultant to Harris Search Associates on senior leadership assignments providing insight, national relationships, and vetting of candidates on behalf of client institution committees and our firm.  In addition, Jon continues to lead OAV Strategy & Communications where he advises a variety of corporate, government, nonprofit and higher education clients. Among the consultancy’s areas of expertise: media convergence, strategic planning and communication, public policy, research, process innovation, audience development, advocacy, and coalition building, executive communication, speechwriting, crisis communication, media relations, public relations, and brand management. (During his tenure with the Dispatch Media Group, Jon worked exclusively with media properties and university journalism programs.)

Previously, Jon served as Corporate News Director for the Dispatch News Group where he bore responsibility for the quality, journalistic integrity and audience appeal of all news content produced by one of American journalism’s most diverse portfolios: The Columbus Dispatch, the newspaper of record in Ohio’s capital; WBNS-TV, the market’s CBS affiliate; WTHR-TV, Indianapolis’ NBC affiliate; ThisWeek Community News, a chain of 25 regional weeklies; Sports Radio 97.1 FM/The Fan, the flagship of the Ohio State University Sports Network; the Ohio News Network, a supplier of news, weather and sports updates to more than 70 radio stations; several of the region’s most popular magazines, including Columbus Monthly, Columbus CEO and Columbus Parent; and a broad assortment of websites, blogs, e-newsletters, and mobile apps. In 2015, for the fifth time in seven years, The Dispatch and its website, Dispatch.com, were named best in Ohio by the Associated Press Media Editors.

Jon holds a bachelor's degree from Indiana University with a concentration of Journalism and Political Science.