Changemaker Spotlight: Gloria Craig, Cleveland VOTES

Gloria LaJoy Craig is the Civic Engagement Strategist at Cleveland VOTES. She has done impactful work in community organizing, research, and facilitating of civic dialogue. She is also a poet, and has recently begun a journey in directing short films, with the release of her first documentary A Walk In My Shoes, which recently won the 2024 Audience Choice Award at the Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival. 

Gloria attended Wittenberg University for her undergraduate degree in Sociology, with a concentration in Criminology and a minor in Justice, Law, and Public Policy. She received her master’s in social work from Case Western Reserve University through the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. She believes that healing is imperative to uplifting and empowering different communities and groups of people who have been oppressed, mistreated, and who have been made to feel unworthy.

As the Civic Engagement Strategist at Cleveland VOTES, Gloria is the primary lead for their Equitable Civic Engagement Fund and also takes lead on the planning for civic holidays, such as National Voter Registration Day and Vote Early Day. Holding these responsibilities gives Gloria the opportunity to create, maintain and nurture community partner relationships and also provides her the space to utilize her creative mind for events and programming that uplift democracy building and equitable civic engagement in non-traditional ways. 

A special message from Gloria Craig:

“With this major election approaching rapidly, I urge people to make sure their voter registration is up-to-date and ensure they are well versed on the issues and candidates that will be on the ballot in this upcoming election. While the president is an important seat, there are also many other equally important issues and seats that are up for re-election that deserve just as much attention as the presidential candidates. 

Don’t just register to vote. Don’t just go vote.
Get informed and go vote with intention.“