Katie O'Keefe, a 28-year-old Web designer/developer at Case Western Reserve University, might be our city's most dogged cheerleader. After growing up in Avon Lake, her family moved to New Jersey in 2001. She went with them. "One of the biggest mistakes of my life," she says. Now back home for good -- "Cleveland is the best place, and the only place, I will ever call home" -- O'Keefe is slowly getting an ambitious Cleveland montage tattooed on her arm. She recently answered some questions from PDQ's Michael Heaton about her city . . . and her ink.

Is it true you left a guy because you wanted to stay in Cleveland and he didn't?

That is true, for the most part. There were other issues, but Cleveland was the deciding factor. I wanted to come back and make a difference in my city, and he thought I was crazy. But in the end, Cleveland is my true love.

Why are you so optimistic about Cleveland?

Because I get such a positive response when I talk about my love for the city and my ideas for how to make it better. Clevelanders have been fed doom-and-gloom and bad news for far too long. What did negativity ever build? We need to start seeing more of the positive -- and there's so much positive to see.

What makes you such a rabid fan of this city?

Cleveland has amazing energy. People who love this city really love it. They want to make a difference. And we have so much here -- incredible, motivated people; great sports teams (win or lose); vibrant neighborhoods; fabulous food; one of the nation's best research universities; world-renowned health care; an amazing park system. And all this at remarkably low costs. Plus, we're a city but have this intimate, small-town feel. You really get to know people, network and get involved in things that matter. You can totally customize Cleveland. You make it your own.

What does Cleveland need to do to overcome its economic woes?

Stop trying to be something we're not. Cleveland needs to stop looking back to the city it was in the 1950s. We need to focus on where we are now and where we should be in the future. Geographically speaking, Cleveland is huge. Our population will never be what it once was. And it probably shouldn't be. Major manufacturing centers don't exist in the United States anymore; they never will again. Instead, let's focus on what we do well: health care, food, entrepreneurship, to name a few. We're not New York or Chicago. We don't need to be.

What's your idea for a quick fix for Cleveland?

There are no quick fixes, that's the problem. You can't throw a Band-Aid on a problem and expect it to be sustainable. We need to think long term. Problems don't happen overnight. Neither do solutions.

What do you have that's more long term?

Education. Education. Education. Not just for students but for our work force. Again, manufacturing will never be what it was, and neither will the jobs associated with it. But we have sectors that are growing, like health care and technology and green energy. We need to educate our children and retrain our existing work force to work in those industries.

Do you ever feel discouraged by this city's lack of progress, county corruption, the school system, losing sports teams?

I see nothing but progress. Having left the region in 2001 and returned in 2009, I see so many new and awesome things. Cleveland State is a whole different place; University Circle and the Clinic have grown profoundly; areas of downtown are just bustling. People were afraid of getting shot on West 25th 10 years ago. Now, you can go there and have an amazing meal and truly enjoy the whole neighborhood. The same is true about East Fourth and the Warehouse District. Where there were desolate alleys, wig and pawn shops, we now have people. That's progress.

Tell us about your tattoos.

I give full credit for the design of my arm -- and the "216" behind my ear -- to Dave Wulff at Tattoo Faction in North Olmsted. The only direction I gave him was that I wanted the city skyline and part of the quote from the side of Public Hall, "A Tribute to the Ideals of Cleveland," on my arm. He did the rest, and he did an amazing job of it. My arm is still a work in progress, much like Cleveland, although both my tattoo and my beloved city are beautiful now, they will each only get better as more time, effort and vision is invested in them.

How many tattoos do you have?

If you count my arm as one big tattoo, then, in total, I have four tattoos: my arm, the "216" behind my ear, the outline of the state of Ohio (with a star where Cleveland is) on my right wrist, and a shamrock on my left foot. After all, I'm a part-Irish girl from the West Side.

Are you getting any more Cleveland tattoos?

Absolutely!