Collaborative Growth Partners Announce New Hire: Jodi Schafer Named Director of Talent Attraction
December 16, 2024 | Economic Development & Workforce
The area’s Collaborative Growth Initiative has announced the hire of Jodi Schafer as the new Talent Attraction Director. Jodi will begin her new position and join the team officially on January 13, 2025.
In this new director-level position at the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, Jodi will lead efforts to grow the area’s workforce population, leveraging and coordinating public and private sector resources. She joins the efforts of the economic development and workforce team at the Economic Alliance.
The Collaborative Growth Initiative began as a partnership among the cities of Cedar Rapids, Hiawatha and Marion, and particularly as a leadership initiative of the mayors of those cities. The mayors, in a public-private partnership with the Economic Alliance, initially committed to funding a wide-ranging report on demographics, perceptions and strategies for growth. That report (https://www.cedarrapids.org/workforce/collaborative-growth-initiative-plan/) stressed the need to create a position to put full-time focus on implementation of growth strategies. And now that implementation comes to life with the hire of Jodi Schafer.
Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell highlighted the importance of this milestone while noting the strategy’s long-term nature. “The Greater Cedar Rapids region is fortunate to have so many vibrant communities with a strong, collective vision for growth. With Jodi on board, our talent-attraction efforts will accelerate, reaching individuals who have the exact skills our region needs,” O’Donnell said. “While we expect some quick results, this is a long-game strategy. Jodi’s addition to the Economic Alliance shows our partners’ commitment to expanding our growth.”
Jodi brings a wealth of experience and talent to this new leadership role. With nearly 20 years of combined experience in director and talent attraction positions, her experience in executive level recruitment, internal consulting, strategic planning and leadership development will assist her abilities to dive right into the collaborative growth initiatives. Jodi worked and led teams at the University of Iowa’s MBA department for more than 10 years, where she then gained further experience as the Director of Talent Management at CIVCO Medical Solutions, before heading back to the higher education sector as the Senior Director, Berry Institute and Special Assistant to the Provost at Cornell College.
Marion Mayor Nick AbouAssaly expressed his excitement about this pivotal new hire, emphasizing the confidence in Jodi’s leadership to drive meaningful progress. “With Jodi at the helm, we’re taking a huge first step toward achieving our collaborative goals. Each city in the region will play a role in leading specific strategies, but with her guidance, we’re confident we’ll see great results. This is an incredible opportunity to work together as a region and move forward with purpose.”
Hiawatha Mayor Steve Dodson expressed his excitement about the region’s collaboration and the momentum this new hire brings. “This is an exciting time for our region as we come together to build on progress,” Dodson said. “With Jodi now part of the team, we’re positioned to harness that momentum and take our efforts even further. It’s a great step forward for all of us.”
Jodi will help coordinate the local initiative with the This is Iowa statewide growth initiative and also will leverage community leadership through a new Workforce Innovation Council of area stakeholders to help bring public, private and non-sector expertise to the effort.