Three leaders elected to League Board of Directors

Jim Baross

I wish to serve you on the League Board to support the League and to further my personal goal: to “help save the world by and for bicycling.” By that I mean that more and better bicycling can help to “save” our world in several areas – reducing dependence on a fossil-fuel sourced economy and a polluted environment; reducing negative traffic impacts – collisions and fatalities from motor vehicle crashes, congestion, and pollution; and encouraging healthy active travel and recreation. Just as with the safety benefit from having a “canary in a coal mine”, where a community has little or no bicycling that community is at risk.

My qualifications include experiences as an instructor — Certified as an Effective Cycling Instructor 1986 (#185); 2002, named as a League Cycling Instructor (LCI) Coach conducting more than 45 training seminars certifying more than 400 LCI including 9 Smart Cycling courses to more than 75 Calif. Highway Patrol officers in five California cities, and certifying 11 officers as LCIs.

As an advocate, I have and continue to serve on bicycling advisory committees and advocacy organizations including – Chair, Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Working Group for the San Diego regional association of governments 1995 to 2013; Vice Chair, California Bicycle Advisory Committee for the State Dept. of Transportation 1992 to 2017; Current President. California Association of Bicycling Organizations; Board member, California Bicycle Coalition 1998 to 2011; California State Ambassador, League of American Bicyclists 2009; Co-Chair, California Strategic Highway Safety Plan, Bicycling Challenge Area.

Jackie Martin

Jackie is a registered nurse working in public health. She is also a distance cyclist who has bike-toured through Arizona, Michigan, Puerto Rico, and Virginia. Since 2015, she has served on the board of directors of Tempe Bicycle Action Group, the area’s bicycle advocacy 501(c)3 non-profit, acting as President since 2017. She is also an advisor to the Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists, Arizona’s state-wide advocacy organization. Jackie has combined her professional skills as a nurse with her passion for cycling, focusing on improving cycling safety and accessibility for women and families. Under her leadership, TBAG has expanded education programs to families, and worked closely with police, city council, Arizona State University, and local governments on safety and infrastructure projects. Her proudest achievement is developing and implementing an evidence-based safe-cycling program for families, called the Bunny Hop, which will launch nation-wide in 2020.

The national conversation around active transportation is shifting from personal responsibility and safety, to the health and wellness of communities, which is Jackie’s specialty as a public health nurse. With the League, Jackie’s goal is to advance public health messaging in bicycle advocacy through research, development of best practices, and collaborations with healthcare professional organizations. She is thankful for your consideration, and is looking forward to working toward integrating public health strategies and messaging into the League’s bicycle advocacy.

Beth St. John

I currently split my time between Minneapolis and Amsterdam where I launched Aspire Institute.  Aspire helps academics travel with their students to the Netherlands to learn more about the urban planning, policy making, and civil engineering that are integral to creating and maintaining the pervasive biking culture of this country.  Enabling academics, students, and municipal leaders to experience the most successful cycling city on the planet, will help inspire and mobilize future cycling advocates across America.

Learning about the new strategic plan at the Summit is what prompted me to step up and become a candidate for the Board. I am excited about the opportunity to help the League “transition to an intentional listening and learning driven organization that aims to serve and add value across America’s diverse communities.” As a previous marketing and nonprofit executive, I have experience that will benefit the Board pertaining to fund raising, campaign building, and driving the success of mission-driven organizations.

My participation on the Board would extend the listening and learning of the League outside of the United States to a nation where bicycling has been strategically woven into the cultural fabric of people’s lives.  In the 1970’s, The Netherlands committed to making a societal shift away from being car centric to become acutely focused on improving the wellness of its citizens by supporting cycling. By having an international ambassador, the League will be better able to lead the charge of creating a more healthy, equitable, and sustainable America.