Active transportation — walking, cycling, and transit — has been my main way of getting around since 1999 when a crash totaled the car I drove during my last three years of high school. From 1999 to 2006, it was just the way that I got around. I don’t like driving, and I liked not having the expense and hassle of a car, although it wasn’t always easy to get where I needed to go.

In 2007 I was taking Caltrain and riding my bike to work. When I heard about a group creating a commuter route along the Peninsula with a focus on accessing town centers and transit, I decided to get involved. I ended up spending a lot of time working with the Peninsula Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition, which later became the Peninsula Committee of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition. I served as chair of the Bikes on Caltrain Working Group in 2008-2009.

Somewhere in there I also discovered that I lived in one of the most amazing places to ride in the whole world, and started cycling for its own sake.

At the end of 2010, after living in Portland for about a year and a half, I left my job in speech technology to pursue a career in active transportation, with a focus on advocacy and encouragement work, including research and writing, so my former avocation has become my vocation. I’m very happy to be part of an amazing community for active transportation in the Portland metro area.

I’m currently looking for a job (if you’re hiring, my bio is available) and also working on starting an active trip design and consulting business.