Thomas Hjelm

Thomas Hjelm has a vast and diverse work experience. Thomas is currently working as a Major-Market Public Media Consultant independently. Prior to this, they held the role of Acting Chief Product Officer at New York Public Radio starting from November 2021.

Their most significant role was as the Chief Digital Officer at NPR, where they oversaw digital strategy and innovation for the organization. Their responsibilities included developing product, audience, and content initiatives across multiple platforms such as the NPR One app and NPR.org. Thomas also worked on collaborations with NPR member stations and other public radio organizations to support audience growth and engagement. During their time at NPR, they formed partnerships with platforms that expanded the reach of public radio.

Before working at NPR, Thomas held multiple roles at New York Public Radio. As the Executive Vice President & Chief Digital Officer, they led strategies for audience development and engagement across various digital and broadcast platforms and properties of the organization. Thomas supervised teams focused on marketing, distribution, data and audience, product, and business development. Thomas also served as the Vice President of Business Development & Chief Digital Officer at New York Public Radio.

Other notable experiences include working at the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) as the Senior Director of Content Strategy & Business Operations in the Local Integrated Media division. Thomas also worked at AOL, where they served as the Creative Director and later as the Director of Broadband Services.

Additionally, Thomas has had experiences in freelance writing and producing, including roles at LivePlanet and Flixer. Thomas previously worked at NBC as the Senior Director & Executive Producer of NBC.com and as a Producer/Supervising Producer at NBC Interactive.

Thomas Hjelm attended Swarthmore College where they earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. Afterwards, they pursued further education at the University of Southern California, where they obtained a Master of Fine Arts degree in Cinema-Television.