13: Leading Change with PRIDE: MAYOR KAHLIL SEREN

Celebrating PRIDE month and recorded live on Memorial Day, I caught up with my friend Cleveland Heights MAYOR KAHLIL SEREN to talk about his vision and inspiration behind his historic 100-year win, his deep love of family, his admiration for his activist moms, and how his childhood shaped him to be the modern leader he is today. Named after a Lebanese poet and a certain pink water dragon, Serendipity – Seren for short! – by his 4-year-old-brother, we discover how MAYOR SEREN never wanted to run for office or become a politician. We also dive deep into “learning over knowing” and how facing our fears without flinching (and liking a little danger even...) can lead to your next thing in the new now. Kahlil Seren was sworn in as the 1st elected Mayor of Cleveland Heights on January 1, 2022. Born in Cleveland Heights, Kahlil grew up in East Cleveland and Beachwood before moving back to Cleveland Heights where he served on City Council from 2015 to 2021. During his time on Council, Kahlil focused on improving housing policy in Cleveland Heights by introducing legislation requiring banks to pay a bond to maintain foreclosed vacant housing and mandating that landlords pay their property taxes and code violations in order to renew their rental occupancy permits. As Vice Mayor, Kahlil also championed the adoption of grant-funded CitizenServe software, which streamlined the building permit and housing inspection processes of the city. Kahlil Seren previously worked as a Policy Advisor for Cuyahoga County Council, the legislative and budgetary authority for Cuyahoga County. In that capacity, he advised Council on policy design and program management, primarily in the areas of Workforce, Economic, and Community Development.  https://www.clevelandheights.gov/1448/Mayor-Kahlil-Seren https://twitter.com/kahlilseren https://www.instagram.com/kahlilseren/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/MayorSeren [email protected]