MERRILLVILLE— In an ongoing effort to add strong contributors to its team, Lakeshore Public Media is proud to welcome Wende Burbridge and Martin Oleksy to their corporate support staff as of April 1.
Bringing together a television, radio and online presence, Lakeshore Public Media is pushing to serve its community and mission. “There is an increasing demand for quality educational programming, which led us to look for additions to our team who will fit in with and drive our mission to educate, enlighten and inform,” James A. Muhammad, President and CEO said.
Burbridge has re-joined the public media company to further develop their growing portfolio of corporate sponsors and community supporters. Wende spent the last year and a half as the Director of Development at a private high school where she was instrumental in establishing fundraising best practices. “I am excited to start a new challenge within Lakeshore Public Media,” Burbridge stated. “I look forward to working with the team to further develop their already extensive product and service suite, providing the best in PBS and NPR programming and related services for the Northwest Indiana community.”
Wende Burbridge comes with a wealth of experience having spent nearly 20 years in the non-profit sector. She achieved a CFRE professional certification from CFRE International (CFRE.org), joining 5,300 fund raising professionals possessing this prestigious designation. Burbridge joins Lakeshore Public Media as the Director of Corporate Support to continue Lakeshore’s recent success providing business services to many of the companies and organizations in its neighboring communities.
“Wende’s wealth of experience and industry knowledge has already made her a key addition to the Lakeshore family. We view her appointment as a sign of our commitment the Region,” Muhammad stated. “It was very fortunate that we were able to find someone of Wende’s caliber to fill this role.”
Martin Oleksy has signed on to represent Lakeshore Public Media in various corporate support and marketing efforts. A veteran of advertising and public relations firms across Chicagoland, Oleksy worked for public relations and advertising agencies GOLIN and DRAFTFCB, on such national clients as McDonald’s and the Unites States Postal Service and local brands such as Wise Guys Liquors, Crown Brewing, Catch 22, PhysioPoint and Faith Church.
An advertising expert, Oleksy has experience in public media as a former co-host of the “Ad Men” radio show on Lakeshore Public Radio. Oleksy is thrilled by the opportunity to be a part of public media, especially one that serves his local community. “As a Cedar Lake resident, I’m truly honored to promote PBS and NPR in the Region. I’m excited to connect with people and businesses across the area and help push their goals and Lakeshore’s goals forward.”
