Knowing how to access public records is a way of participating in our democracy. It’s a role we all can play. 

Public records are power, and accessing them is YOUR right. You can use public records to find useful information for yourself and your community. 

Read through this short six-lesson course to learn about local public records and how you can access them. 

Rachel Dissell, Community + Special Projects Editor

Community and Special Projects Editor (she/her)
Rachel leads our special projects work on topics that demand deeper coverage, and works with Cleveland Documenters and Signal staff to report those stories for wider understanding and accountability. She is our liaison with the Marshall Project in Cleveland where she focuses on including residents' voices in criminal justice reporting. Rachel has reported in Cleveland for more than two decades on stories that have changed laws, policies, hearts and minds. She was part of the team that helped launch Cleveland Documenters in 2020, and she was a John S. Knight Community Impact Fellow in 2021. Dissell is a two-time winner of the Dart Award for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma for narrative stories about teen dating violence and systemic failures with rape investigations.