PROVIDENCE – Ocean State Media, Rhode Island’s home for NPR and PBS, today announced Mike Steffon as the organization’s new Chief Revenue and Growth Officer. Steffon brings decades of experience in development and campaign strategy to his new role, which builds on his recent service to the organization in an interim capacity. For the last year, he has mobilized current and new donors while also contributing to OSM’s brand transformation and organizational merger.
“Ocean State Media is at a moment of both challenge and opportunity. While we navigate the loss of federal funding and a rapidly changing media landscape, we are also experiencing exciting growth in our audience and tremendous support from our community of donors,” said President and CEO Pam Johnston. “We are reimagining public media in Rhode Island and Mike has been and continues to be an integral part of our strategy.”
In 2026 already, under Steffon’s leadership, individual giving to OSM is up nearly 40 percent.
“I believe, now more than ever, that free, independent, trusted public media is essential for our communities to be informed, empowered, and connected. I have worked in local public media for nearly 30 years because of my deep belief in the mission, and I am so excited for the opportunity to continue to expand our audience and our community of support at Ocean State Media,” said Steffon.
Prior to joining OSM as a strategist and interim Chief Revenue Officer in November 2024, Steffon spent 26 years at WBUR, Boston’s largest NPR station, where he generated more than $200 million in philanthropic revenue. As the station’s director of membership and campaign strategy, Steffon successfully reduced the number of on-air fundraising days while increasing station revenue year over year, allowing for more airtime to be devoted to news and programming. Steffon was also a part of the team that helped stand up WRNI – the precursor to The Public’s Radio – as a WBUR outpost in 1998.
Steffon has a degree in marketing from Bryant University, has won two New England Direct Marketing Association Awards and five Communicator Awards for marketing and communication.
