New League Staff: Meet Jakob Wolf-Barnett

The League is excited to announce the arrival of a new member of our staff: Jakob Wolf-Barnett. Jakob is our new Chief Operating Officer, and he brings years of experience in the biking industry to the League. What’s Jakob’s story? Here’s a quick Q&A on Jakob’s background…

What’s your first memory of riding a bike?

It was a feeling of total freedom and independence when I was five years old. Riding the ½ mile to a nearby bakery with no pesky, parent-imposed rules and no limit on how fast I could go was life-changing! Well, as life-changing as an experience can be for a 5- year-old. Checking out the world by bike was empowering for me as a kid and continues to provide me with the same feelings many years later.

What’s your background in the biking industry?

Working in retail. I was fortunate to be able to spend the past 5 ½ years working for an amazing group of IBD [indepedent bicycle dealer] shops in the D.C. metro area — Revolution Cycles — as their COO.

What got you interested in working for the League?

It’s simple: I love bikes and think that they can be part of the answer to many big problems faced by our society. I have a deep passion for getting more people riding and having cycling become a part of their life, however large or small. The League works towards those goal on a big scale and I believe in the mission and want to help.

What will your average day look like here?

Doing whatever I need to support the League staff and the mission.

What bike are you riding now and what inspires you about cycling?

I’m lucky enough to have more than one bike, and my favorite is an older Gary Fisher Simple City 3-speed. Fenders, big comfy bars and the ability to carry everything with me on my bike. What’s not to like?! What inspires me about cycling now is no different than when I started: The freedom and mobility that comes with experiencing D.C., the Shenandoah Valley or wherever I happen to be by bike.