Board of Directors

RALPH MONTI, Chair

Osprey, FL

 

Ralph is President/CEO of Special Interest Media, Inc, an international media advisory firm. He’s the past president of The Bicycle Touring Club of North Jersey, one of the nation’s largest bicycling clubs, and is a certified League of American Bicyclists LCI. He is very active in bicycle safety education and bicycle advocacy. He recently helped create and launch a monthly series of bicycle safety education workshops throughout the greater Sarasota County, Florida area. He teaches a monthly bicycle safety session at the Sarasota Boys and Girls Club. Ralph is also an active member of the Florida Bike Association, and lobbies for better bicycle infrastructure for the state of Florida. He’s a board member for the Sarasota Bicycle Pedestrian and Trail Advisory Council, and the Bicycle Director for The Friends of Osprey Junction Trailhead Park in Osprey, Fl.

 

KEN PODZIBA, Vice Chair

New York, NY 

 

Ken Podziba is the President and CEO of Bike New York, which is the nonprofit bike education organization that organizes the TD Five Boro Bike Tour (the world’s biggest charitable ride) and produces Bike Expo New York (the country’s most-attended consumer bike show). Podziba says he is most proud of the growth of Bike New York’s education program—the largest of its kind in the country—which offers free bike education classes, after-school programs, and summer camp activities throughout the five boroughs of New York City. He earned an MS at Columbia University’s School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, and a BS at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications and Whitman School of Management.

 

MAX HEPP-BUCHANAN, Secretary

Richmond, VA

 

Max Hepp-Buchanan is the director of Bike Walk RVA (RVA = Richmond, VA), a program of the Richmond-based active living nonprofit, Sports Backers. Bike Walk RVA advocates for comfortable and connected biking and walking infrastructure throughout greater Richmond. Max also serves on the City of Richmond’s Planning Commission and Safe and Healthy Streets Commission. Max grew up in Seattle, Washington, where he received Urban Planning and Public Administration degrees from the University of Washington. He has been working in the field of non-motorized transportation policy, planning, and advocacy since 2007. He was previously employed as the Advocacy Campaigns Manager at Cascade Bicycle Club in Seattle before moving his family across the country for the opportunity to direct Bike Walk RVA in early 2013. Since then, Max and his wife and two boys have settled into Richmond nicely, where they hike, bike and eat their way through the mid-Atlantic. 

 

MARK THOMAS, Treasurer

Redmond, WA

 

As an avid randonneur (long-distance cyclist), Mark Thomas spends over 900 hours a year on the seat of his bicycle exploring the roads of America and the world. Perhaps as a result, Mark feels passionately about the need for bicycle-friendly roads, communities and leadership in America. Mark received a degree in physics from Harvard College and a law degree from the University of Virginia. He has a diverse professional background, having worked as a high school science teacher, lawyer and finance executive. Along with his wife Chris, Mark owned a successful bicycle shop in Redmond, WA (one of the great bicycle-friendly towns in the northwest) for 11 years before selling it in 2010. Mark has served as president of the Seattle International Randonneurs and as president of Randonneurs USA. He has also been a board member and treasurer of the Bicycle Alliance of Washington. Mark grew up on the east coast but has made his home in the Seattle area since 1995.

 

NICOLE PRESTON, At Large

Washington, D.C. 

 

Nicole is President and CEO of Special Olympics DC. Previously, she was Managing Director of Tour de Cure, a fundraising campaign with 90 cycling events nationwide that has grown from 26,000 riders to more than 62,000. Through the Tour de Cure, Nicole promoted 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.

 

DANIELLE ARIGONI

Arlington, VA

 

Danielle Arigoni is Director of Livable Communities at AARP, where she works to support AARP’s 53 state offices -- and the hundreds of localities (and several states) enrolled in AARP’s Network of Age-Friendly Communities -- to create great places for all people of all ages. Danielle is an urban planner by education, and has nearly 20 years of professional experience contributing to more sustainable and resilient federal, state and local policy, including prior leadership positions at USEPA and HUD. Originally from California, Danielle currently lives in Arlington, VA where she advocates for even more outstanding bike infrastructure to keep her and other families safe on their rides to work and school.

DAVE BELDE

Richmond, VA

 

Dave serves as the Vice President of Community Health for Bon Secours Mercy Health. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Bon Secours Mercy Health is one of the largest Catholic healthcare systems in the country with over 1000 care sites across seven states. In his role, Dave oversees the organization’s community health leaders, teams, and operations in four states along the East Coast. A native of Minnesota where cycling is as much a part of one’s blood as hockey or fishing, he grew up riding bikes as a kid and continues this passion as an adult. As a community health professional and healthcare leader, he sees biking as central to the health and well-being of individuals and communities and as a core element in advancing comprehensive economic and community development.

MARIA BOUSTEAD

Brooklyn, NY

 

Maria is the founder and CEO of Po Campo, an internationally-distributed brand of bike bags for people who love using their bike to get around and refuse to compromise on style or functionality. Since May 2013, Po Campo has partnered with World Bicycle Relief, donating a portion of sales to funding the purchase of bicycles for girls in developing countries so that they can get to school.  An in-demand speaker, Maria has presented about her entrepreneurial journey in the bike and outdoor world at the League’s National Bike Summit, the Industrial Designer Society of America (IDSA) National Conference, and the Outdoor Retailer Trade Show, among others. Prior to founding Po Campo, Maria worked as an industrial designer and brand strategist, solving problems for brands as varied as 3M, Pampers, and Yellowtail. A reluctant office dweller, she prefers to spend her time bicycling around town, traveling abroad, reading books and drinking coffee in cafes, all of which can now, thankfully, count as "work."

HARRY BRULL

Salida, CO

 

Harry Brull served on the League’s Board from 2005 to 2014. Professionally, he served as Senior Vice President of Personnel Decisions International (now part of Korn/Ferry), an international consulting firm grounded in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. During his 37-year tenure, he designed selection and promotional processes for organizations ranging from Ford Motor Company to the Peace Corps. His particular areas of specialty are services to government and non-profit organizations. As an educator, he has taught kindergartners, undergraduates, and graduate students. He has delivered national and international addresses on a variety of topics. He currently lives in the small Colorado mountain town of Salida which he and his wife discovered on 2006 Ride the Rockies.

 

BOB OPPLIGER

Iowa City, IA

 

Bob Oppliger from Iowa City, Iowa. Bob has been a leading bicycle advocate in Iowa, holding many local and countywide advocacy positions. Oppliger is also a very active LCI, hosting numerous bike rodeos in grade schools and working with local administrators to create a K–12 bike education program. 

 

MIKE SEWELL

Louisville, KY

 

Mike Sewell, P.E., is the Director of Active Transportation and Louisville Office Transportation Leader at Gresham Smith and Partners, an award-winning planning firm. Mike has helped establish GS&P as a leader in multimodal design, complete streets and network planning. Under Mike’s leadership, GS&P’s Louisville office received gold-level bike-friendly business status, as awarded by the League.

 

TORRANCE STRONG

Irving, TX

 

Torrance, a Louisiana native, holds a BS in Psychology from Southern University - Baton Rouge, LA. He has maintained his love for cycling since childhood and has emerged as a successful entrepreneur. Mr. Strong operates a bicycle based business, T. Strong Transportation. As a current Bike Texas board member, he has been involved in several bicycle infrastructure projects on the city level throughout the Fort Worth/Dallas Megaplex. His goal as a League of American Bicyclists Board Member is to expose more individuals to cycling as a safe, useful, alternative form of transportation. Mr. Strong is a commuter and participates in various bicycle rides throughout the country. He is also LCI #2850.

 

KARIN WEISBURGH

 

Karin Weisburgh is a non-car owner and lifetime bike commuter, and an LCI since 2015. She’s attended and lobbied at the National Bike Summit for many years, and has been a League member since 1982. She’s received several awards and press coverage (including in The New York Times) for her devotion to bicycle commuting, and has written a how-to manual on year-round bicycle commuting.

 

 

A.J. ZELADA

 

A.J. Zelada’s bicycle advocacy started in the late 1990s with the Bicycle Transportation Alliance in Portland, Oregon. The BTA helped create the three-foot rule, and in 2005 Zaleda was selected by the Governor of Oregon to be a member of the Oregon Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee to the Oregon Department of Transportation. He continues to serve in many bicycle advocacy positions and is looking forward to contributing to the League.  

 

KAREN JENKINS, DIRECTOR EMERITUS

New Haven, Connecticut

 

Karen Jenkins is the Managing Principal for Development4Good, LLC, a consulting firm specializing in fundraising, public affairs, and board development for NGOs and internationally focused non-profit organizations.  She has over three decades of executive positions with NGO/non profit and higher education organizations.  Karen received her J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law and an M.A. in International Relations from Yale University.  Her undergraduate work was at Fisk University.  From 2010 through 2014, she served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the New Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition. Previous board service includes the International Education Research Foundation (IERF), Model UN/HBCU of the United Nations Association, Scandinavian Seminar, and Minnesota International Health Volunteers.  Ms. Jenkins, who is a League Cycling Instructor, is a member of the Major Taylor Cycling Club of New Jersey, the Princeton Free Wheelers, and the Central Jersey Bicycle Club.