Summer 2008 Annual Meeting

Resources

Bikestation Long Beach, Andrea White . Read more.

New bike-sharing fleet rolls onto Capitol Hill, Robin Bravender , April 15th, 2008. Read more.

Bike Share Programs Hold US Promise, Lynette Carpiet , January 1st, 2008. Read more.

Get Behind It: The Bike Box, City of Portland Office of Transportation. Read more.

Traffic Calming and Crime Prevention, Dayton, OH, September 1st, 2007. Read more.

Increasing Active Living: A Guide for Policy-Makers, Leadership for Healthy Communities, September 1st, 2007. Read more.

Speakers

Ian Lockwood is a transportation engineer and principal with the Community Planning firm, Glatting Jackson. He has Bachelor and Masters Degrees in Civil Engineering from Carleton University in Ottawa.  His undergraduate research was on pedestrian safety and his graduate work was on traffic calming. Ian has been a transportation consultant since 1987, except for a five-year period in the middle of his career when he headed the Transportation Planning Division in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Ian’s work takes him across the USA and Canada and it focuses on context-sensitive street projects, community design projects, and related education and awareness. Some of his current projects include the revitalization of downtown Trenton, NJ, which includes replacing Highway 29 with a boulevard; economically revitalizing part of the historic Route 66 in Albuquerque, NM; and retrofitting large suburban commercial areas in North Bethesda, MD, to become urban, mixed use, walkable, and transit-oriented.

Scott Bernstein is the President of the Center for Neighborhood Technology and a cofounder of the Surface Transportation Policy Project. Mr. Bernstein was appointed by President Clinton to the President’s Council for Sustainable Development, where he served as the Co-chair of the task force on State, Local and Regional Initiatives, and its Metropolitan Strategies Working Group.

Tanya Seaman, Executive Director of PhillyCarShare (co-founder and board member) Beginning in 2002 without staff and with modest working capital, Tanya organized volunteers and board members to wash PhillyCarShare’s cars, perform outreach, and manage finances, while donating months of her own time to launch the organization. As thousands of businesses and residents have joined, Tanya has employed technology advances to automate internal systems, improve customer service, expand membership, and promote productivity. Tanya builds on her background as a designer to develop technology enhancements and marketing materials; and her education and passion in urban planning to promote car sharing in all aspects of living and working in Philadelphia. Tanya holds a Masters in City and Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelors degree in Environmental Design from the University of California at Davis. In recognition of her assertive leadership, technological prowess, and unequivocal commitment to PhillyCarShare, the Philadelphia Business Journal has recognized Tanya as one of Philadelphia’s outstanding “40 Under 40”. In her spare time, Tanya enjoys reading on a variety of topics, as well as traveling to cities around the world.

Resources

Bikestation Long Beach, Andrea White . Read more.

New bike-sharing fleet rolls onto Capitol Hill, Robin Bravender , April 15th, 2008. Read more.

Bike Share Programs Hold US Promise, Lynette Carpiet , January 1st, 2008. Read more.

Get Behind It: The Bike Box, City of Portland Office of Transportation. Read more.

Traffic Calming and Crime Prevention, Dayton, OH, September 1st, 2007. Read more.

Increasing Active Living: A Guide for Policy-Makers, Leadership for Healthy Communities, September 1st, 2007. Read more.

Speakers

Nate Kvamme is the Director of Humana’s Innovation Center. A former football player at Colorado State University, he left college with a degree in Civil Engineering and an MBA. Nate helped to develop bike sharing program Freewheelin for Humana Hospitals in Louisville, Kentucky.

Jim Newberry was elected Mayor of Lexington in November 2006 by the largest margin since the city and county governments merged in 1974.

In his first six months in office, Mayor Newberry:

• Improved working relationship between the Council and Administration.
• Unanimous passage of a budget that addresses goals identified by the Council and Administration and charts a new course for Lexington.
• Reorganized government to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
• Unshackled code enforcement to enforce standards.
• Launched community clean-up campaign.
• Expanded Summer Youth Employment Program.
• Corrected problems with computer system to allow for accurate, reliable budgeting.
• Worked toward goal of making Lexington most bike friendly city in Kentucky.
• Visited elected officials in surrounding communities to underscore importance of regionalism.

Although this is his first elected position, Newberry is not new to public service, having served as an Executive Officer in the Office of Lieutenant Governor Brereton Jones, focusing on agriculture, economic development and health care issues. Later, he served as Acting Secretary of Kentucky’s Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet.

In 1990, Newberry co-founded Newberry, Hargrove & Rambicure, where he practiced law until 1998, when he joined Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs. Newberry received both his undergraduate and law school education at the University of Kentucky. He has served on numerous volunteer boards and as Deacon Chair at Calvary Baptist Church. Newberry and his wife, Cheryl Ann, have two sons, Drew and Will.

Barbara McCann coined the term ‘complete streets’ and serves as Coordinator of the National Complete Streets Coalition, a broad-based coalition working for the adoption of policies to ensure that roads are routinely designed built, improved and operated for the safety of all users.  The Coalition includes the American Public Transportation Association, American Planning Association, AARP, and many other organizations. In addition to coordinating the Coalition’s work, Ms. McCann researches the effectiveness of complete streets policies around the country, and has delivered numerous presentations, workshops and web seminars on complete streets.  She is also an accomplished journalist and author, and has co-authored several books, including Growing Cooler (ULI) and Sprawl Costs (Island Press).   As Director of the Quality of Life Campaign at the Surface Transportation Policy Project she authored a series of high-profile reports, including the first documentation of the relationship between sprawl and obesity and the Mean Streets pedestrian safety series.

Resources

Bikestation Long Beach, Andrea White . Read more.

New bike-sharing fleet rolls onto Capitol Hill, Robin Bravender , April 15th, 2008. Read more.

Bike Share Programs Hold US Promise, Lynette Carpiet , January 1st, 2008. Read more.

Get Behind It: The Bike Box, City of Portland Office of Transportation. Read more.

Traffic Calming and Crime Prevention, Dayton, OH, September 1st, 2007. Read more.

Increasing Active Living: A Guide for Policy-Makers, Leadership for Healthy Communities, September 1st, 2007. Read more.

Speakers

Tim Blumenthal is the executive director of the Bikes Belong Coalition, the U.S. bicycling industry association dedicated to putting more people on bicycles more often. He has led this growing national organization since September 2004. He also directs the Bikes Belong Foundation, an affiliated 501c3 national non-profit group that supports children’s bicycling and bike safety projects.

Andy Clarke was appointed to the position of Executive Director in April of 2004 after successfully leading efforts to create, interpret and implement the various transportation programs that are available to improve conditions for bicycling and walking as the League’s State and Local Advocacy Director. Before joining the League in February 2003, Clarke was on contract to provide technical assistance to the highly regarded Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center on site at the Federal Highway Administration. In addition to his strong policy background, Clarke has managed a range of bicycle and pedestrian planning projects at the state and metropolitan levels and has worked extensively with state and local advocacy groups. Clarke is a 1984 graduate of the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom with an undergraduate degree in Law. He is on the Board of Directors for America Bikes, and a member of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycling Professionals.

Jay Ferm grew up in Rock Island, IL. After graduating college with a degree in Physics, he moved to Madison. Passing through careers in woodworking and cabinetmaking, which he loves, and IT management, which got boring, Jay finally decided to put his money where his mouth is and helped fund and start up Community Car, Madison’s car sharing business. From Community Car, Jay came to Planet Bike as Advocacy Coordinator, operations guy and policy wonk. “I wanted to work for Planet Bike because I believe in the mission and the people are some of the most creative and driven I’ve known,” Jay says. In addition to being a means from A to B, for Jay the bike is a medium for solving problems. “When I’m noodling on a problem, riding my bike allows me to reflect and to get to a clear state of mind.”

Resources

Active Living and Social Equity: Creating Health Communities for All Residents, Internatioanl City/County Management Association, January 1st, 2005. Read more.

Exploring Innovation: Experts Take Conference Attendees on Creative Journey, Linda Fischer, Bridges, July 1st, 2007. Read more.

Elements of Best Practice in Poverty Reduction Programs, Portland Economic Opportunity Initiative, July 1st, 2007. Read more.

Keeping the Neighborhood Affordable: A Handbook of Housing Strategies for Gentrifying Areas, Diane K. Levy, Jennifer Comey, Sandra Padilla , Urban Institute, March 17th, 2006. Read more.

Speakers

Alan Mallach is a Senior Nonresident Fellow at the Metropolitan Policy Program of The Brookings Institution, a visiting scholar in the community affairs department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, and a visiting lecturer in the graduate city planning program at Rutgers University.  He has been a consultant, advocate and public official; he has taught and a number of colleges and universities, and served as Director of the Department of Housing & Development in Trenton, New Jersey from 1990 to 1999, where his work on brownfields reclamation earned the city a federal designation as a Brownfields Showcase Community and a HUD Homeownership Zone award. His current research and policy work focuses on equity and sustainability in urban and neighborhood change, inclusionary housing, and strategies to address the neighborhood impacts of the foreclosure crisis. He is the author of Bringing Buildings Back: Turning Abandoned Properties into Community Assets as well as many other works on city planning and housing as well as Italian opera. He is a member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners, and holds a B.A. degree from Yale University.

Brian Solomon was elected to his first term as 10th District Alder on April 3rd, 2007.
He has lived in the 10th District for about eight years and has spent much of that time working to make our community a better place. Brian has been actively involved in the neighborhood (Chair of Transportation Committee, Vice President and President of Neighborhood Association), as an AIDS activist (co-founder of the Wisconsin AIDS Ride, AIDS Network Board of Directors, and nine time participant in the AIDS Ride), and in city issues (Study Circles on Race Relations, Verona Road / West Beltline Committee, Equal Opportunities Commission).

Madison is one of the greatest cities in the world — it is beautiful, active, alive, and engaged. Brian believes that it is the active involvement of our citizens and neighborhoods that make our community and city thrive. However, many citizens in the 10th district and throughout Madison do not enjoy the same quality of life or the same opportunities as the rest of us. Therefore, Brian is committed to quality economic development (attracting family supporting jobs) and equal opportunity for all Madisonians. Brian has been an active writer, speaker, and advocate for equal rights.  He is thrilled to continue this work as a member of the Madison Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC), the Community Services Commission (CSC), and the Allied Drive Task Force.

Brian is very interested in transportation issues. He is the founder of the Wisconsin Employment Transportation Assistance Program (WETAP), which combined four state and federal funding sources into a single program to encourage municipalities to help their workers and employers overcome the spatial mismatches between where people work and live. As Co-chair of the Dudgeon-Monroe Neighborhood Association (DMNA) Transportation Committee, Brian helped bring the “pedestrian crossing flags” to the City of Madison. Brian was also active in forming the “Friends of the Park and Pleasure Drive,” a group which helped turn the Edgewood Park and Pleasure Drive from an auto throughway into a biking and pedestrian refuge. Brian is excited to continue this work as a member of the City’s Transit and Parking Commission (TPC).

Brian’s other passions include environmental protection, writing, travel, and spending time with his wife (Lynne), children (Kaiya and Tamirat), and dog (Taz). He is excited and honored to serve as 10th District Alder and continue his commitment to a better community and a better world.

Baye Adofo-Wilson, executive director of Lincoln Park/Coast Cultural District (LPCCD), Newark, New Jersey, is a lawyer, urban planner, housing developer, community organizer, a husband and father. He is a leader in the current revitalization and restoration of the Lincoln Park area in downtown Newark, bringing together a diverse coalition of community residents, business and civic leaders and professional designers, architects and engineers to establish a vibrant community of homes, shops and arts and cultural activities in the south end of Broad Street and the area of Newark Symphony Hall.

On beginning his association with the organization in 2003, Mr. Wilson was unique as a young “30-something” professional faced with the job of bringing shape to a restoration/revitalization project that was first conceived almost 20 years earlier by people who were several years his senior. Significantly the originators of this plan had lived in the area and had experienced firsthand the history that Mr. Wilson sought to revive.

Mr. Wilson formed relationships with key influencers in community development and financing, drawing on his earlier work with the Regional Plan Association, his knowledge of regional planning and his legal training. Prior to his work as executive director of LPCCD, Mr. Wilson was New Jersey Director and Senior Fellow of Community Development for the New Jersey office of the Regional Plan Association (RPA), the nation’s oldest private, non-profit regional planning organization. In addition to covering the general New Jersey issues of implementation of the New Jersey State Plan and Brownfields redevelopment, Mr. Wilson had oversight for the genesis of LPCCD that was anchored around Newark Symphony Hall.

Mr. Wilson’s organizational ability and insight in establishing effective relationships with financial institutions—banks, corporations, foundations, the City of Newark and individuals helped him acquire needed funding for construction of over 300 green mixed income housing units on an 11-acre, four-block site.

Mr. Wilson assembled a capable team of consultants, architects, and engineers to perform the work of devising plans for developing and revitalizing the Lincoln Park area to create a vibrant, fully productive community of many facets—mixed-use, mixed-income, pedestrian-friendly and ethnically-diverse. He is the designer/producer of the Master Developer plan that contributes to expansion of economic and housing opportunities in the historic Lincoln Park. The housing units include two-family homes, artists’ live/work studios, condominiums and affordable rental units. Mr. Wilson has oversight of an estimated $150 million budget for this project. These efforts began to materialize on April 26, 2006, at a groundbreaking event hosted by Mr. Wilson and LPCCD for the Phase I housing portion of the project.

Mr. Wilson’s tenure at LPCCD also included devising a plan for building the Museum of African American Music (MoAAM), a Smithsonian affiliate project, estimated to cost $70 million—with distinction as the first museum in the world to house the genres of gospel, blues, hip-hop, rock and roll, rhythm and blues and jazz in one location. Mr. Wilson developed project descriptions and projections and he was a driving force for the completion of the Master Plan for MoAAM in 2006.

The absence of neighborhood stability over a period of more than 35 years was a major consideration of Mr. Wilson and the LPCCD organizers seeking to revitalize the Lincoln Park district. From the outset, he and the Board of Directors and their supporters clearly pointed out that LPCCD wanted “good neighbor” status in the community. To accomplish these aims, Mr. Adofo-Wilson led several initiatives to assure they would succeed.

Regular meetings were scheduled with residents in the community to open up lines of communication and gain insight into their thinking and desires; organized community quality of life projects—Neighborhood Watch and LPCCD Arts Organization; directed publication of a community newsletter featuring programs and activities of organizations based in the LPCCD neighborhood titled, The Coast News, that is also distributed around the city and surrounding communities to provide information about activities in the LPCCD area. Also, Mr. Wilson led a drive to design and install banners in the LPCCD neighborhood that clearly identify the area as an arts and cultural district; completed early in 2006.

Executive Producer of a hip-hop art and music exhibition, FRESH: A Kaleidoscope of Sound, at City Without Walls Art Gallery, located directly across the street from LPCCD which served to establish an important connection with a major organization in the community. Significantly, over the five days of the exhibition, the average attendance per day was more than 300 persons. LPCCD’s signature event, The Lincoln Park Music Festival is currently in its third year featuring an outdoor music concert celebrating various genres of African-American Music including jazz, gospel, house and hip hop music.  In 2007, over 15,000 people attend the event.

University of Pennsylvania, The Law School, Juris Doctorate, Philadelphia, PA, 1997; City University of New York (CUNY) Law School—Community Economic Development Internship/Semester, New York, NY, Fall 1996;
Cornell University, College of Architecture, Art & Planning, Masters in Regional Planning, Ithaca, NY 1994;
University of Natal-Durban, South Africa—Housing Development Internship Spring, 1994; Rutgers-The State University, Newark College of Arts & Sciences, Bachelors of Arts, Newark, 1992

Mr. Adofo-Wilson has been a prolific organizer of political and community events in the United States and other countries that incorporate the ideas and creativity of young people for leadership roles. These activities have had strong impact on the political process as it involves young people, while at the same time having a positive effect on the general public. These varied activities include:

Founder/creator of the first National Hip-Hop Political Convention Project aimed toward funneling the cultural and political impact of the hip-hop generation into participatory politics. Newark, NJ, March 2003 – July2004; Executive Producer of the four-day National Hip-Hop Political Convention, June 16-19, 2004, attended by 6,000 persons from 33 states and 10 countries; 55 workshops were conducted, 250 media outlets covered the event and 25 music performances provided entertainment, including appearances by world renowned personalities who are among the most elite in the hip-hop industry; Managed acquisition of funding, staffing and implementation of the complete range of activities associated with the National Hip-Hop Political Convention main events; Organized “Get Out The Vote” operation in four states for readiness in the 2004 election resulting in the registration of 350,000 voters in 13 states for participation in the 2004 election; Staff Attorney, Essex-Newark Legal Services August 1997 – April 1999; Created and staffed a community development section that provided free civil legal services to non-profit organizations, community development corporations and community-based organizations in Essex County, New Jersey; Interim Director of the “Weed and Seed” Program in Newark, NJ, and gained funding of $750,000 for operating costs; achieved designation for “Weed and Seed—Newark” as a national pilot project for Economic Development; Executive Producer, Black August Festival, New York, NY, August 1998 – September 2001; Co-founder Black August Festival, an international cultural exchange project, using hip-hop as a tool for issue-based political organizing around the issues of political prisoners, self-determination, the bombing of Vieques (Puerto Rico) and police brutality; produced Black August concerts in major cities of South Africa—Durban, Capetown, and Johannesburg; Havana, Cuba and New York, New York in the United States , with featured appearances more than 50 of hip-hop’s elite performers, August 2001; Board Member, NJ Public Policy Research Institute (NJPPRI); Advisory Board Member, Racial Justice Campaign, Progressive Majority; Board Member (Past), National Conference of Black Lawyers—National Co-Chair, 1999-2001; Commissioner, Board of Adjustment, City of Newark, 1999-2001. Recipient of Third Annual Rising Star Award from Grace Reformed Church, Newark, 2005; awardees are recognized as ‘up and coming” community leaders and scholars in business—politically and socially; Recipient of the Inspirational Community Advocate Award at the Third Annual New Jersey Neighborhood Achievement Awards presented by LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) in recognition of commitment to developing a healthy, vibrant community in Lincoln Park. Graduate—Leadership Newark, Class of 1998; Leadership New Jersey, Class of 2001; U. S. Army Veteran.

Speakers

Will Allen, is a former Professional basketball player in the American Basketball Association and European Professional League, the first African American basketball player at the University of Miami, Florida, and also a farmer and community activist, dedicated to supporting low-income and small family farmers and bringing healthy, affordable food to urban areas. Will, is the founder and president of the Rainbow Farmer’s Cooperative.  One of the only African American farmer’s in the State of Wisconsin, Allen has struggled vigorously to alleviate the plight of the small family farmer.  He works a 100-acre farm in Oak Creek, WI and is responsible for organizing most of the farmers markets in Milwaukee.

Will is also the CEO of Growing Power, a national not for profit organization supporting the development of community food systems. He has over fifty years experience in farming, marketing and distributing food and has shared this knowledge with youth, adults, community groups, immigrants, farmers, and consumers.
Will has developed an innovative bio-intensive growing system using worms.  This system is being used in urban and rural agriculture projects around the world. He has also developed a system to grow food in the winter without conventional heating system. Growing Power’s Community Food Center in Milwaukee, WI is considered a model for communities worldwide. Will believes that food is the cornerstone in building healthy communities and that we have a responsibility to pass on our knowledge to youth and adults about food for future sustainable food systems.
Will, is also leading the effort to vertically integrate our youth into healthy eating habits to end juvenile obesity. Will is also putting Growing Power in a position to become energy self-sufficient by installing solar and a high solid Methane producing Anaerobic Digester. Will was recently honored by the Ford Foundations Leadership for changing world Award and is a featured speaker on Food Systems worldwide.

Stella Chao is the Director of the Department of Neighborhoods for the City of Seattle. She enjoys working in this Department because “Neighborhoods is where it all happens, where it all comes together. It is the Department that allows us to look holistically at the health and well-being of our City and its residents.”

She brings a varied experience to the Department of Neighborhoods, most recently being the Executive Director for the International District Housing Alliance, where she developed housing and community building programs, including housing search and stabilization, homeownership, domestic violence shelter and transitional housing, environmental justice, and effective, multicultural community engagement.

Previously, her varied background ranged from ecology, animal behavior, and medical research, to youth development and international community development.

Stella studied Ecology and Evolution at the State University of Stony Brook, has a Masters in Social Work from the University of Washington, and completed a Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Community Fellows Program in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning.

Over the years, her work in numerous coalitions and committees has been to develop policies that increase cultural competency, equity, and justice for disadvantaged populations.

Her goal will always be to promote community engagement and build healthy communities.

Joan M. Reilly 
Senior Director of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Philadelphia Green program.
Joan Reilly serves as a Senior Director at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, overseeing its nationally recognized urban greening program, Philadelphia Green.

Joan co-leads the work of Philadelphia Green in utilizing horticulture to build community and improve the quality of life in Philadelphia’s neighborhoods and downtown public spaces. Program areas include community gardens and food production, parks revitalization, public landscapes, , urban tree canopy restoration, vacant land management, stormwater management projects, and open space planning. Joan leads these key urban greening strategies working in partnership with community-based organizations, local residents, civic organizations, the City of Philadelphia, and state and federal agencies using open space revitalization and greening as a community-building tool.

Joan has played a leading role in the development of a 15-year partnership among the Philadelphia Department of Recreation, Fairmount Park, community groups and Philadelphia Green to revitalize neighborhood parks in the city and create systems change in stewardship practices. The partnership referred to as the Parks Revitalization Project is recognized nationally as a model for private/public partnership. In the past few years, this partnership was recognized for its innovation by the Project for Public Spaces, Urban Parks Institute and the Pennsylvania Recreation and Parks Society.

Joan has a Masters in Education. She serves as a Board Member for the City Parks Alliance; The Philadelphia Parks Alliance; Keep Philadelphia Beautiful and Board Member Emeritus for St. Christopher Hospital for Children.