Meet Kayleigh Lickliter, this month’s Featured Detroit Documenter

The Detroit Documenters program trains and pays Detroiters to attend local public meetings and monitor elected officials, in collaboration with local journalists. Hundreds of residents are active in the program, bringing more transparency to local government through their meeting notes, live tweets and civic participation.

Wherever Kayleigh Lickliter’s investigative journalism career may lead, she’s ready.

With 132 assignments under her belt , Kayleigh holds the record for documenting the most meetings of any Detroit Documenter in the network’s five-year history. She credits the impact of its skill-building workshops and on-the-job training for preparing her for the opportunities that have come her way.

“I don’t know if there’s a better opportunity to learn about local government than Documenters, and I mean that seriously,” she said.

She came to the network as an investigator. Working as a Documenter has helped Kayleigh gain a deeper understanding of the intricacies of local government and legislative process, and also prepared her to further scrutinize information and documents like contracts.

Kayleigh’s debut story, pitched as a member of Outlier Media’s freelance journalist network , was developed from an idea that came to her at a public meeting in her hometown Livonia, where she learned that cemetery dirt was used to backfill demolition sites in Detroit . Without a background in journalism, she said she had to be vulnerable and willing to learn, but she also had to be confident that her story idea had merit.

Becoming a Documenter and eventually a freelancer was equally exciting and terrifying for Kayleigh. She had to learn as she worked about “what to tweet or not, what’s a good source and what’s not, and especially the legal parts of journalism.” The editing process also taught her more about sifting through a lot of information to figure out which parts were important to share.

Recently, Kayleigh took on a consulting job, helping a national organization understand the City of Detroit’s budget process . She was hesitant about this type of work at first but came to view it more “like journalism in practice versus on paper,” she explained. “You’re making connections, connecting the dots, pulling together all the resources to inform an organization instead of the public.”

Now she feels equipped to take on work as a freelance reporter, investigator and consultant. She contributes regularly to BridgeDetroit , most recently continuing her investigation of Bobby Ferguson , a contractor convicted of corruption.

Documenters has “completely changed the course and the direction of my entire life in all the best ways,” Kayleigh said — a far cry from the girl who hated writing in high school.

Kayleigh said she hopes to see Documenters in every major U.S. city and at higher levels of government. “I believe in this.” The potential is unlimited.

Documenters can meet Kayleigh in person and get tips about how to pitch story ideas at the BridgeDetroit Story Pitch Workshop on May 2 .

Read more about Kayleigh and how you can connect with her.

Name:

Kayleigh Lickliter

Location:

Detroit

What I do:

I’m a freelance reporter and work-from-home mom! On the freelance reporting side, I work collaboratively with other reporters, and I also develop my own stories, including breaking news and investigative projects.

I’m also a mom to a 6-year-old boy and 7-year-old Labrador retriever who both keep me very busy! In the summer, we spend many weekends on Higgins Lake.

What I love about it:

I love the flexibility that freelance work provides my family. I also love the freedom to be as creative as I want to be and as often as I choose. I love being able to use my experience as a private investigator and in more impactful ways.

One thing I want to get from the Documenters community:

When I first joined Documenters, I was interested in local government and learning about the processes and the bureaucratic systems that people often find themselves lost in. Two years later, I’m still learning something new every time I attend a meeting. So I try not to limit myself to learning about one specific thing. I’m open to any collaboration, really!

One thing I can give to the Documenters community:

I’ve covered over 120 meetings, most as live-tweet assignments. I’m committed to using my experience to support others, whether that means helping a Documenter prepare for a meeting they’ve never been assigned to; finding information to help inform their work; navigating the City of Detroit’s government and the policies, processes and procedures; developing and pitching a story; offering insight about what the media is looking for, et cetera.

What is something people might not know about you?

I used to be a surveillance operative and private investigator. I have worked for major retailers and for a private firm that handled auto and property insurance fraud.

Growing up, I wanted to be a violent crimes investigator. It wasn’t until I started working in the investigative field that I became interested in corruption investigations, and I am still very interested in that work as a freelance reporter.

How you can reach me:

On X and Instagram .

Meet Kayleigh Lickliter, this month’s Featured Detroit Documenter · Outlier Media