Pennsylvania Walks & Bikes Wins Advocacy Advance Start-Up Grant!

by Michele Barrett

PA Walks & Bikes received one of only seven awards from Alliance for Biking & Walking totaling over $125,000.  These funds are granted to grassroots biking and walking advocacy organizations throughout the nation. The Advocacy Advance Grants will be used to jump-start emerging advocacy organizations and to fund innovative campaigns with the potential to dramatically increase biking and walking. These grants are a key part of the Advocacy Advance Partnership with the League of American Bicyclists.  Launched this year, the grants are made possible with generous funding by SRAM, Planet Bike, Bikes Belong, and Cannondale. Nearly 100 proposals totaling over $2 million were received in this first round.

Pennsylvania Walks and Bikes will put the $30,000 matching grant to work to help build the first statewide coalition for biking and walking in Pennsylvania. The coalition will work to ensure state bicycle and pedestrian laws, policies, and funding are enacted.  Jointly, we will build Livable Streets across Pennsylvania!

PA Walks & Bikes made its debut at the State Capitol in Harrisburg on May 5, 2009 for the first PA Bike Summit.  Michele cooperated with the leaders from the Lebanon Valley Bicycle Club, Bike Pittsburgh, The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and many others to host the event.  More than 100 cyclists rallied on the stairs of the CapitolBuilding to advance Safe Passing Legislation, Complete Streets and Safe Routes to School.  The rally hosted guests speakers from both the State House and Senate, Rails-to-Trails, and the State’s Secretary of Community and Economic Development among many key stakeholders in PA who support the advancement of pedestrian and bicyclists

Meet the new Board of Directors

Name

Board Title

Area of Expertise

Alex Doty

Treasurer

Non-profit leadership, advocacy, membership, eastern PA needs

Alex has been the executive director of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia since 2004 and was the events and membership coordinator for two years before that. During his tenure, membership grew from 450 to 1,350 members in three years and the BCGP budget has grown from $125,000 in 2004 to a projected budget of $700,000 in 2009. Alex has conducted membership workshops for the Alliance and hosted the Alliance’s first development staff retreat in 2006. Trained as a League Cycling Instructor, Alex is a leading critic of the road-centric bicycle advocacy and education that has been practiced in Pennsylvania.

Alex also serves on the board of the Schuylkill River Park Users Alliance.

Hans van Naerssen

Chair

Organizational leadership, advocacy

§      League of American Bicyclists - Vice Chair, Board of Directors.

§      Pennsylvania Pedestrian and Pedalcycle (Bicycle) Advisory Committee - 2006 Governor’s appointment. Initiated a successful request requiring consideration of bicyclists and pedestrians on all state highway projects.

§       DelawareValley Regional Planning Commission Regional Citizens Committee – member. Review regional transportation plans and recommend improvements for pedestrians and bicyclists.

§       Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia - Board President. Improving bicyclist facilities, conditions and education in southeast Pennsylvania (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties) southern New Jersey, and Delaware.

§      Retired partner of a management and technology consulting practice.   Hans bicycled 30,000+ miles in North America, Europe.  He was the first bike commuter in corporate headquarters, 1990’s;  Officer USArmy, Vietnam, Bronze Star;  MBA, New YorkUniversity

John Boyle

  Director

Bike and pedestrian advocacy, laws

John has been a commuting cyclist for more than 20 years. In 1994 he began working as a volunteer for the Bicycle Coalition of the Delaware Valley and served as a board member from 1997 to 1998. John moved to CharlottesvilleVA in 1999 and helped establish The Alliance for Community Choice in Transportation (ACCT) a bicycle and walking advocacy group. John also worked with the city of Charlottesville to launch a yellow bike program.

John moved back to Philadelphia joined to the staff of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia in 2001 He was the project manager for the Regional Bicycle Map and the Philadelphia School District’s Bicycle Education and Enhancement Program. Since 2004 John has served as the Bicycle Coalition’s Advocacy Director.

Megan Auman

Director

  Lebanon Valley Bicycle Club Education Chair

Scott Bricker

Director 

Non-profit leadership, advocacy, western PA needs; board recruiting.

Scott is a co-founder of Bike Pittsburgh and has been the Executive Director for nearly four years. He is a passionate bicycle commuter, tourist, racer and advocate for safer bicycling conditions in Pittsburgh. He sits on the board of the national advocacy organization, The Alliance for Biking and Walking. Scott graduated with honors from CarnegieMellonUniversity in 1999 with a B.S. in Policy and Management.

Michele Barrett

President/ Executive Director

Community leader, pedestrian needs, planning and education.

Michele is the founder and President of WalkBikeBerks, serving both positions for two years.  As a student, her primary transportation was her bicycle.  She has hiked the Australian Outback as well as the mountains of PA and North Carolina.  She established and serves on a local Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory board, actively promotes and hosts SRTS programs within her county, and serves as a liaison to local, city, and county government regarding pedestrian and bicycle needs.  Most recently, Michele completed the LAB Road I course.  Michele hopes to encourage teachers and parents to walk and bicycle.  Michele received her M.Ed: Curriculum and Learning from the University of Missouri-Columbia as a Teaching Fellow.