Meet Our New Community Organizer!

The team at Bike Cleveland has grown again! We’re excited to add Jerrod Amir Shakir to the mix as our Community Organizer. This is a new position, and one dedicated to developing and winning support for key biking and walking infrastructure improvements in Cleveland. Jerrod will be working closely with local community groups, businesses, and elected officials to develop support for improved streets as well as curating neighborhood-level bicycle and pedestrian committees.

Jerrod Amir Shakir | Community Organizer

As a grassroots Community Organizer hailing from the Buckeye Shaker neighborhood, Jerrod is passionate about creating inclusive environments that are culturally reflective live work communities with safe commuter biking and walking infrastructure.

Before joining Bike Cleveland, he was a Grassroots Organizer and Certified Health Insurance Navigator with UHCAN Ohio, a Buckeye – Neighborhood Ambassador with Burten, Bell, Carr and he recently completed an externship with the St. Luke’s foundation to be a Community Health Worker through A Vision Of Change. He’s an relational organizer by trade with a passion for storytelling and community uplift.

Nickname: Rod aka Jep 7:30 aka Tha Kid aka A Troublesome Presence aka Jay Buckeye aka Tha Kardiac Kid

What do “safe streets” mean to you? Safe environments that are ripe with opportunity at every turn, freedom to move unrestricted within urban infrastructures. Employment/small business opportunities in every neighborhood with multi resource centers and recreational centers. High literacy rates, high in vote turnout. Low violence, low crime. Thriving communities that are inclusive and accessible for the disabled. Families are able to be safe and grow to their fullest potential.

What inspired you to join Bike Cleveland? Driven by my passion to ride in my lane even though it seemed like a road and path less traveled, steering in the right direction even though there were things that grinded my gears, even when it felt like I had no breaks and had to switch up speeds, the wheels were always spinning, I had to take the handle..bars…

You can only eat one kind of food from today forward. What is it? I guess if I had to only eat one food forever it would be pizza. Because it’s so versatile , I can have all types of flavors to make up for only having to eat just that one thing. So I can have cheeseburger pizza, Philly cheesesteak pizza, barbecue chicken pizza and so on and so on. That seems like the most logical thing to me.

What is your top non-bicycle obsession? My favorite non bike thing is spoken word, storytelling and rap. I love the power of expression and how fun it is to play with words and captivate crowds with what and how I say things.

What is your favorite CLE location? My favorite location in Cleveland varies honestly because everything has it’s time and place, there’s nothing like having business to attend to downtown or going on an outing to team any of our teams, or visiting any of its unique neighborhood have all seem to have their own distinct charm but I have to say my favorite location in Cleveland in my neighborhood of Buckeye-Shaker, I think it’s the best neighborhood in Cleveland and I say as much all the time.

Most recently binged show? My last binge-watched show was probably Winning Time about the Showtime Lakers, I just love a good period piece and I love how team building and seeing the story of how a dynasty was made is always intriguing to me.

Jerrod can be contacted at 216 428-2364 or Jerrod@bikecleveland.org