League Board Candidates

The League’s Board of Directors serves a critical role in guiding the organization to a sustainable and vibrant future. The following candidates are up for election for member-elected Board positions. Additional information provided by the candidates is available at https://bikeleague.org/candidates.

Maria Boustead

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Maria Boustead first fell in love with biking when she studied abroad in Germany and started using her bike to go everywhere. Unlike her university town in the U.S., where only college students biked, in Germany she was biking alongside mothers taking their children to school, grandmas and grandpas out getting some exercise, and businessmen on the way to the office. For the first time, she considered that she may actually be able to ride her bike forever, and not trade it in for a car at some point as she always assumed she would.

In 2009, Maria started her business Po Campo with the vision to help women use their bikes for more types of trips. The first problem Po Campo tackled was how to carry things on a bike, which, as we all know from League research, is a major hurdle for women trying to integrate bicycling into their lives. With its line of unique bike bags, Po Campo has since grown into an internationally distributed brand with a loyal following. This experience has taught Maria innumerable skills that will be of value to League leadership, including growing and maintaining an audience, budgeting, building teams, and strategic planning.

Rob Gusky

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I am running for the League of American Bicyclist’s board to help transition our nation to be a place where more and more people recognize the bicycle as a solution to a number of issues. I have experienced the joy of biking in areas around the US and world where the goal to become a more bicycle friendly community has been realized. I believe one key to a more Bicycle Friendly America is to help more people, regardless of whether or not they ride a bike, recognize the value cycling brings and elect representatives who will take appropriate action to increase bicycle mode share. 
I have the following experience to help me serve the League. I am an engineer with 32 years of experience and commute year round to my job in Wisconsin, where I serve as the Ambassador of Cycling for my employer, a Fortune 500 company. I helped establish and currently serve as the president of our local bike advocacy group and am also a member of my city’s Bicycle and Pedestrian advisory committee. My enthusiasm for biking and desire to share this with others inspired me to create the National Bike Challenge, offered free to everyone in the US. Finally, my experience as a League board member the past 3 years have prepared me well to continue being a contributor to this exciting work.

Stephen Heinrichs

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As Director of Education since 2008 for the non-profit organization, Bike Newton, I am tasked at steering committee meetings with
creating and implementing a curriculum for bicycle safety instruction, inaugurated in the spring of 2013, for all public school sixth graders in Newton, Massachusetts. I have also served since 2012 as a member of the Massachusetts Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board, an ongoing commitment requiring attendance at Department of Transportation meetings in order to advise the Commonwealth on strategic planning and built environment issues related to alternative transportation initiatives. I propose to serve the LAB Board in implementing the League’s ‘Evaluation and Planning’ mission by sponsoring and funding data-driven efforts to quantify bicycle trip and infrastructure utilization. As a career research scientist and educator, I am passionate about knowledge creation and persuasive communication of findings to a mixed audience. For example, in our community I have coordinated group efforts to generate year-over-year bicycle trip count and and rack location data for the benefit of bicycling promotion and transportation planning. Thus, my professional and advocacy skills would be instrumental in fulfilling the League’s responsibility to monitor and report on the effectiveness of bicycling programs and services.

Max Hepp-Buchanan

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Max Hepp-Buchanan is the director of Bike Walk RVA, a program of Sports Backers that advocates for comfortable and connected biking and walking infrastructure in Richmond, Virginia. He also serves on the City of Richmond’s Planning Commission and Highway Safety 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. If and when Max gets free time, he loves a good solo bike tour. But not always: Max took his son Lars on his first 100 mile bikepacking trip when Lars was just three years old.

Terry Lansdell

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Experience:
6 years Transit Services Advisory Committee 
Notable accomplishments: bike racks on all city buses, bike racks at park and rides, bicycle accommodations Lynx Light Rail line.
 
5 years Mecklenburg County Air Quality Commission
Notable accomplishments: support and participation in Clean Commute Challenge to reduce vehicle miles traveled by bicycling and walking. 
 
Trips for Kids Charlotte-Earn A Bike Program/Recyclery Manager
Notable accomplishments: successful grant writing, creating sustainable donation streams, board development, fundraising, creating successful retail shop and increasing program engagement that garnered national attention on CBS Evening News.  
 
Safe Routes to School National Partnership-North Carolina State Advocacy Organizer
Notable accomplishments: effective strategic planning, program sustainability by executing federal funds for $3 million to create 10 Active Routes to School managers. 
 
Clean Air Carolina-Program Director
Notable accomplishments: successful grant writing, partner development, human resources, strategic planning, board development, marketing, program management for Particle Falls and incredible fundraising advancement.  
 
Other notables:
Financial supporter of NC’s Bike Summit 2015 and 2016 through Clean Air Carolina. 
Built over 25,000 bike for Toys R Us.
Three time finisher of RAAM (Race Across America).
Cycled in 40 of 50 states.

Fernando Martinez

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I’m honored to continue to work in the area of South Texas with bike projects such as in Harlingen, and Brownsville Texas where things are rapidly moving forward. I’m enjoying organizing the 2016 Raul Alcala Gran Fondo event in Brownsville / South Padre Island that will go across the causeway to SPI and trough Lower Rio Grande Valley cities bringing cyclists from all over US and Mexico. Glad to be a Brownsville Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Board Member a partner and continue our work with the new LRGV Active Transportation and Tourism Master Plan that is creating a transportation network and connecting 10 cities in this area. We continue creating encouragement programs so people use the bike as transportation in the colonias and also help people learning more about bike safety, get to know our new bike infrastructure and to get more active by participating in organized weekend rides for all ages.

I was also pleased to attend Interbike in Las Vegas as well as the NACTO Conference in Seattle, Washington this year, broadening my range of experience.  We are applying with Harlingen CISD for funding to create a C.Y.C.L.E – Creating Youth Cycling Learning Experience (Bicycles in Schools Program) to teach every first grader how to ride a bike!  I’m very excited about this project and hope to move ahead with the funding so I can manage the program in our local elementary schools. I’m working for Harlingen Wellness Coalition to help with bike initiatives, as we just purchased 100 bike racks to start a program to give away to businesses, schools, libraries and organizations that want to provide bike parking. We continue doing our best to help our communities and, with the support of my family and friends, I’m proud to be a part of the local movement. 

Bob Oppliger

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As an exercise scientist Bob appreciates the benefits of cycling personally and professionally. He’s an avid bike commuter and tour cyclist, LAB Life Member, LCI, and included LAB in his estate plan. He’s participated in the last six National Bike Summits.  Locally, he  co-founded Bike to Work Week in 1990, organized 40 bike rodeos at area grade schools in the past three years reaching several thousand kids, and convinced the city council to make platinum-level Bike Friendly Community part of the five year strategic plan. As a leader in the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), he hosted LAB staff at ACSM’s national meetings discussing topics of mutual interest including the League’s Bike Friendly and equity initiatives. In 2016 with his encouragement, LAB and ACSM reached agreement on cooperate efforts especially related to advocacy, education, and research. As LAB has identified in its Strategic Framework, there’s significant synergy when like-minded organizations partner to promote a common agenda.  He believes the LAB’s mission benefits when a consistent message resonates with the public and policy makers. Bob’s personal and professional experiences and commitment would benefit the LAB and he would consider it a privilege to serve as a board member. 

Lisa Portelli

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Ms. Portelli has been a Program Director at the Winter Park Health Foundation since 2002. Lisa is also an adjunct instructor at the University of Central Florida teaching in the Masters in Non Profit Management program.

Lisa Portelli has a Bachelor’s degree in journalism from University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Central Florida. 

Lisa Portelli has been employed in the non-profit sector since 1986. Ms. Portelli began her work in affordable housing and homelessness in central Florida and moved to Jacksonville where she was the executive director of the I.M. Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless. Upon her return to central Florida, she was the director of the Workforce Centers heading up the implementation of welfare reform in our area. 

Ms. Portelli currently serves on the boards of the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute (WALC), Bike/Walk Central Florida and the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce. She is co-founder of Health News Florida and Bike Walk Central Florida.

Lisa is married, has two children and is an avid cyclist, runner and an Ironman triathlete who can be seen commuting on bike most days.

Nicole Preston

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I have been proud to serve on the Board of the League of American Bicyclists and respectfully submit my candidature for re-election. I bring my 30 years of experience in the corporate and non-profit sectors, including the 12 years I served as National Director of the Tour de Cure cycling event, growing it from 20,000 cyclists to more than 60,000. As a board member, I gave advice to the CEO regarding issues with contracts and funding with two of the League’s major partners. I worked diligently on developing the Strategic Plan and I serve on the Finance committee assisting with the League budget and forecasting. To help the League operate more efficiently, I helped staff implement detailed work plans and budgets by program to better align resources and monitor return on investment (ROI). I have been pleased to represent the League as a speaker at the Bicycle Leadership Conference, the Bicycle Tourism Conference, and our own Women’s Bike and National Summits. At the National Brotherhood of Cyclists conference I helped extend the equity work of the League with broader constituencies. I look forward to continuing to bring value to help the League thrive and grow to fulfill our mission.

Tim Rowe

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I bring to the League a wide and varied view/voice of bicycling and advocacy from Nevada and the west. I also bring a unique perspective from state government, including both bicycle and pedestrian programs, such as State Safe Routes to School. My connection to Bicycling and Transportation started by serving for 8 years on the Nevada Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board. I keep abreast of bicycle and pedestrian issues by attending the National Bike Summit, ProWalk ProBike ProPlace, Alliance of Biking and Walking Leadership, and regional summits. 
I am an avid bicyclist and have been riding for 30 years as an adult and many years before that as a child and student. Bicycling has been and continues to be my number one passion of mine. I also have enthusiasm for the League as the premier bicycle organization in the country. 
I have been a member of many non-profit bicycle and community organizations since 1990 and served in many leadership roles. I bring 25 years of experience regarding the organization and operation of large bicycle events, such as The Death Ride. I am also a member of USA Cycling and have served as a bicycle race official since 1992.
I believe bicycle and pedestrian safety education is a key strong point for the League. I have been a League Certified Instructor (LCI 2787) since 2010 and have taught many classes. I have also organize/teach many bike rodeos and serve a Boy Scout Bicycling Merit Badge Councilor.

Torrance Strong

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Torrance Strong, a Louisiana native, holds a Bachelors of Science 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. 
His earlier fundraising efforts were with the Monroe, Louisiana Jaycees as the Community Outreach Board Member. A few of the projects included a Christmas Shopping Tour for elementary students and assisting in raising funds for the 4th of July fireworks show. 
He has been involved in several bicycle infrastructure projects on the city level throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth 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. He also envisions The League of American Bicyclists being directly involved in more community cycling events in the near future.
Mr. Strong is a commuter and participates in weekend bicycle rides throughout the country. He is also a League Cycling Instructor (LCi), certified through the League of American Bicyclists. 
Mr. Strong recently gave presentations about Bicycle Equity at the Texas Planners Convention and the Texas Trails & Active Transportation Conference. He is currently in his second term as a Board Member for Bike Texas, the only statewide bicycle advocacy group in Texas. 

Mark Thomas

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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 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.