The Bay Village Board of Education voted unanimously in July to
appoint Karen Uthe-Semancik as the district’s next Director of
Communications. Uthe-Semancik assumes her new role in August. She
succeeds Karen Derby-Lovell, who recently retired after serving in the
role for more than two decades.
A Bay Village resident,
Uthe-Semancik most recently held the position of Communications Director
for Menlo Park Academy, a school for gifted children in Cleveland. She
has also served as Director of Marketing for Magnificat High School in
Rocky River. She has worked as a community reporter for WestLife
newspaper covering several Westshore school districts, and was a
columnist covering pet ownership for the Elyria Chronicle Telegram for
more than a decade. Her experience also includes owning a boutique
communications firm and working in the nonprofit, broadcasting and
advertising agency sectors.
“I am confident that Karen’s
experience as both a reporter and a school communications officer will
help us to continue to transparently share our district’s news and
stories with the public,” said Jodie Hausmann, superintendent of the Bay
Village City School District.
Uthe-Semancik is very familiar with
the Bay Village City School District as a parent. Her son Alex, a 2019
Bay High graduate, attended the district schools since Kindergarten.
The
Solon native is excited to begin work in the Bay Village Schools
despite the immediate challenges this year caused by the COVID-19 virus.
“It will be an honor to serve my adopted hometown’s award-winning
school district,” she said.