Kevin Chill Heard covers social equity stories in the Greater Cleveland area for The Land. A lifelong journalist, he is completing his second term as President of the Greater Cleveland Association of Black Journalists. He is Executive Director of the nonprofit My Cool Solutions Inc. and worked at the Call and Post newspaper as an award-winning entertainment editor, Managing Editor and General Manager.
Heard has appeared on news stations WKYC, WEWS, FOX 8, WVIZ, WOIO and PBS radio station WNPR. During the summer he is an adjunct instructor at Case Western Reserve University. Known as Cleveland’s pioneering rap artist M.C. Chill, he attended Cleveland’s John F Kennedy High School, (and inducted into its Hall of Fame) and Kent State University. A member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, he has served as Assistant Editor of its International publication, the Kappa Journal. Heard is also co-founder of the Los Angeles-based African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA).
Beat: Cleveland neighborhoods
This reporter is responsible for covering neighborhood news and reporting on health, the environment, voter and civic engagement, arts and culture and other topics from an equity perspective. They aim to ensure that every neighborhood is covered, residents are engaged in The Land's community journalism, and those who have traditionally been underserved by the media have a voice in the public square. Practicing solutions journalism, the social equity reporter helps to convene community events for The Land and represent The Land at community gatherings.