Annual Member Meeting: New Faces for League Board, Equity Advisory Council

This is no longer you father’s or you grandfather’s League of American Bicyclists, president Andy Clarke said this week at the 2013 National Bike Summit.

It shows: With the League’s new branding efforts and larger goal of changing the face of bicycling, there was much to discuss at the League’s Annual Meeting Wednesday during the National Bike Summit.

Three new board members and representatives of the new Equity Advisory Council were on hand, and staff members took questions from League members. The staff, board, League members and others discussed the League’s new branding efforts, the quality of speakers and workshops at the Summit and the excitement around the equity work ahead.

(Board member David Madson introduces himself, as new board member, Tania Lo (blue jacket) looks on. Photo by Brian Palmer)

The new board members include:

• Jay Ferm, Director of Advocacy at Planet Bike. Jay is an active bicycle advocate at the local and national levels, having served on the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin Board of Directors and as co-chair of the Mayor of Madison’s Platinum Bicycle Planning Committee from 2006 to 2008. He is an active year round bicycle commuter.

• Tania Lo, Co-owner/Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Momentum Mag. Momentum Mag is an independent media company that celebrates the growing transportation cycling movement in North America with an emphasis on women and families. Tania is also the producer of award winning feature documentary Long Road North — from Patagonia to the Arctic, the story of discovery, personal endurance, cultural identities and family trials and tribulations from behind the handlebars. She is a dedicated bicycle commuter in Vancouver, British Columbia.

• Nicole Preston, Managing Director at Tour de Cure. Tour de Cure is a fundraising campaign with 90 cycling events nationwide that has grown from 26,000 riders to more than 62,000. Through Tour de Cure, Nicole promotes cycling to new audiences as a means to improve health and reduce the incidence of diabetes. Nicole rides regularly, in various modes: at low speed with family on the paths around the Washington, D.C. area, at moderate speeds in various cycling events around the country and in high-speed pace lines on timed segments.

Members of the Equity Advisory Council also gave a glimpse into their work to advance cycling — and inclusion — in Long Beach, Richmond, Seattle, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New York City, Atlanta and Miami — and their excitement to be working with the League at the national level. The council, along with Women Bike, is part of a broader goal: To change the face of bicycling by fostering true equity in the movement. Stay tuned for much more about that effort in coming weeks…

(Equity Advisory Council member Neil Walker speaks to the crowd. Photo by Brian Palmer)

The Equity Advisory Council members’ full bios can be found here.

Here’s to the important work ahead!