Lori Ingram has been a Cleveland Documenter since coming home to the city in 2023. She sat down with Signal Cleveland to discuss her return to Cleveland and why she decided to join the Documenters community.

Good afternoon, Lori. I understand that you returned to Cleveland in 2023. Can you talk about your decision to come back?

I was born in Cleveland. In 2013 I moved to Hollywood, Florida, for 10 years. [But then] my daughter had a baby and I wanted to help her and be a grandma. It was her first child, and she really wanted the baby to be born in Cleveland so he could get to know his family as well, [so we moved back]. It’s been a great experience. I have two children.

I love Cleveland. I see us being in the midst of a renaissance. I am really into the arts, so I enjoy going to Karamu Theater and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Our art museum is phenomenal. I’ve seen a lot of art museums across the country, and I have yet to find one that is as exciting as ours.

How did you first hear about the Cleveland Documenters?

Whenever I would come to Cleveland, I would look up Neighborhood Connections to try and find out what was going on in the city. I was in their think tank, which was tasked with helping people participate in more activities in their communities. I really enjoyed that experience because it taught me that things can work if we work together. 

Neighborhood Connections informed me about Signal Cleveland and that you could become a Documenter. I am a writer. I used to have an arts & society column in an old newspaper called the Neighborhood Voice. [Note: Signal Cleveland Editor-In-Chief Lila Mills was at one time the editor of the Neighborhood Voice.] I didn’t realize that with Documenters you just take notes, and you aren’t necessarily doing a lot of investigative work. It was a switch for me to just do that, but I saw where Documenters were needed, especially with newspapers going away.

Documenters send a weekly list of meetings available to cover. What meetings do you enjoy covering the most?

I like covering the Metroparks and the RTA meetings. I like to go in person to the Metroparks meetings because they take place right next door to the zoo and you get that zoo feel. Even though you don’t see the animals, you can feel them in the atmosphere. I plan to leave the Metroparks meeting one day and take myself to the zoo to have some fun. 

As far as the RTA, I don’t have a car. I am a rider of RTA paratransit. I don’t have to wait on the regular bus anymore, and they take me pretty much anywhere I want to go in the city. Sometimes, I have to wait on them for a very long time to pick me up, … but it’s worth it in the end. Being a frequent rider made me interested in what was going on in the organization behind the scenes, so I usually try to cover those when I can.

You shared that documenting is one of your many side hustles. What other things do you do for work?

I do many things. I work as a standardized patient for Case Western Reserve University and Ohio University. Basically, my job is to act out symptoms of an illness with the doctors and students of those universities during their training and residency programs. They attempt to identify what my ailment is based on my performance. Some people laugh when I tell them this, but it’s actually a lot of fun.

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I’m now the arts ambassador for the Larchmere Arts Cultural Festival. I am also a Cleveland ambassador for the City of Cleveland, which helps new residents and visitors navigate their way through the city. I consider myself a part of the gig economy, so I’m always doing something.

Has there been a meeting you covered where something happened that really stuck with you?

Learning about the golf courses and how much money the Metroparks makes off of them each year really surprised me. I didn’t realize the golf business here in Cleveland was such a big deal, but it is. It’s a growing sport.

What would be your elevator pitch to someone who was considering becoming a Documenter?

Documenting is a nice skill set to have. Cleveland has a lot of powerful people that are doing extremely competent things. We don’t always necessarily know about it. Being a documenter gives you a firsthand knowledge of what is really going on and who is making those major decisions. You get to decide what meetings you cover and where you want to get involved.