It’s Meghan McCorkell’s lucky 13th year living in Baltimore, and she’s starting it off by taking over as executive director of Live Baltimore.

McCorkell, a former WJZ reporter who’s worked in marketing and communications at the Enoch Pratt Free Library for the last eight years, follows Annie Milli, who was Live Baltimore’s director for seven years.

McCorkell will serve on the mayor’s cabinet but will be paid by the organization.

In a statement, Mayor Brandon Scott said Live Baltimore is one of the city’s “most important institutions.”

“Meghan has proven herself to be a leader who loves Baltimore after years of helping to lead the incredible work at the Enoch Pratt Free Library system,” his statement said. “I know she shares our vision for a growing Baltimore and will excel in this new role, and I am thrilled to welcome her to my cabinet.”

Live Baltimore works to attract residents, businesses and homeowners to the city, by helping them find grants and other incentives for homebuyers and by connecting residents to resources like community organizations and classes about homeownership.

McCorkell will begin her new job Feb. 10. She spoke with The Banner about what she learned from her time at The Pratt, what she’s most excited for in her new job, her favorite places to take out-of-towners and more.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Does the shift from the Pratt Library to Live Baltimore feel like a big shift?

In some ways it is certainly a big change, but in some ways there is so much crossover with these two organizations. That’s what really attracted me to the position. I’m really motivated by mission-driven organizations that are helping our city and that I can see real tangible results from.

Looking back, what are you most proud of from your time at the Pratt Library?

That’s such a hard question. I feel like the Pratt Library is one of the most trusted institutions in the city. I think any of us that got to work here have that privilege of being in this organization that is literally making life-changing moves every single day.

One of the things I’m most proud of, we didn’t even have a marketing department eight years ago, it was just communications. Now we’ve got eight people that work in marketing, and that team was named Library Journal’s Marketer of the Year in 2023, so we set the national standard for marketing.

Overall, when I first got here eight years ago, Pratt Library statistics were facing 12-year lows. And we’ve been able to turn that trend around by really focusing on the data and focusing on providing resources, and breaking down barriers of access.

What most excites you about the new job?

I’m really thrilled about the team they have there. They have people who are so passionate about Baltimore, about loving city life. Their core values are things that I feel like I already live out in my own life, and I’m just so excited to be able to join that team.

What do you like most about living in Baltimore?

When I was a reporter, I really was in every single neighborhood in the city, and just — how vibrant some of our neighborhoods are, how much pride and passion people have in their neighborhood always stood out to me. I bought a house in Baltimore and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done, was plant roots in this city.

You’ve said before that Live Baltimore helped you purchase a home in the city. Can you talk a bit more about that?

Homebuying can be so confusing, especially for a first-time homebuyer. Navigating that process was incredibly difficult.

At the time, I was a city employee, so I qualified for the city employee down payment assistance, and that is available through Live Baltimore, so I was able to go through their homeownership classes, which were incredibly informative and helped me navigate that process of buying a house. And then I was able to get that $5,000 grant and put that toward the first home that I’ve owned.

How do you see Live Baltimore working to reverse the trend of people moving out of the city, and marketing the city so that more people want to put down roots here?

The declining population is an issue that’s generations old, and it goes way back to Baltimore being sort of the epicenter of redlining. Understanding the history can give you an idea of how big the issue is.

I think Baltimore has so many assets and we have so many things going for us right now, like the tech hub designation bringing more jobs to Baltimore. We are perfectly placed on the Eastern Seaboard, a port city that has affordable housing. That’s not available in so many places.

But I’m not naive, because I do know that you can’t solve a generations-old problem in a year or two.

If you could entirely decide where to direct public money in the city, where would you put it?

Selfishly, obviously the library. We have so many assets that are community-driven assets. I would love to see that community-driven aspect of what you need in your neighborhood. I think Johnston Square is a beautiful example of that.

There’s going to be a library in Johnston Square because of the residents of that neighborhood and their commitment to wanting a library, and now they’re going to the first brand new Pratt Library in more than 15 years. Just following what the neighborhoods need.

Where do you take someone from out of town when you’re trying to show off Baltimore to them?

Everyone first, when they come here, we go to Fort McHenry. I love making people — not making people, giving people the opportunity to watch the move in the visitor center, because right at the end the screen goes up, and ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ starts playing and you actually see the flag flying over Fort McHenry. You feel this overwhelming patriotic pride, that’s where I usually start.

It’s hard to pick a great Baltimore restaurant, because there’s so many of them. You wind up eating entirely too much food because you’re trying to hit every spot that you love. There’s always something going on, there’s always a festival or a market or something.

I love showing it off. I have friends I grew up with in New Jersey, who come down here and then say Baltimore is their favorite city. And I’m like, ‘You’re correct, that’s right.’