John Hagerty

My name is John, and the first thing you should know is I am optimistic, not to be confused with naive. I wake up nearly every day excited, energetic (maybe after my first cup of coffee) and curious. I see the possible, and I have difficulty understanding impossibility. In my experience, the most significant components separating great ideas and meaningful success are patience, persistence and understanding.

I love Cleveland, and I think a lot more people do, than let on. Cleveland is rich with possibility, sweat, passion, great ideas, culture and heritage...great seeds for innovation. I love meeting new people and getting to know them, and I get energized around creativity, candid conversation and thoughtful engagement. I relish being influenced by great discussions.

My bias? I believe art and creativity should saturate every lesson in every classroom, even the ones without a chalkboard and four walls. That said, I believe in STEAM schools over STEM schools (ask me what that means.) I believe that success is most often found at the intersection of technology and humanities. Failure to consider the value of inspiring design constitutes a failure to consider the big picture. I think apathy is a sin, and citizenship is an obligation. I believe everyone has a right to the tools necessary to live healthy, productive lives, and its our responsibility to use them. I do not believe business is the enemy, but that economic stability provides and protects freedom.

I am a life-long learner, and I LOVE local microbrews. Big fan of good conversations over a great local brew. I enjoy golf, and I've recently taken up fencing and running (feel free to share tips).