California Bicycle Coalition Chooses New Director

After a long search, California’s premier bike advocacy group, CalBike, has chosen a new Executive Director: Kendra Ramsey, of Sacramento, California.

She comes to the organization with professional experience managing active transportation projects and complete streets plans and corridor studies, and according to CalBike is “a nationally recognized expert in planning active transportation networks that meet community-identified needs, as well as developing policy and programs to help diverse constituencies choose walking and biking for daily trips.”

Says Ramsey: “Working with agencies and community members throughout California to plan bicycling and walking networks, I’ve seen the disconnect between policy and implementation, as well as the gaps left by historical investment patterns and our current oversubscribed funding programs.”

The CalBike press release points to Ramsey’s “track record in spearheading equity initiatives…. Over the past decade, she has worked with dozens of communities throughout the state to prioritize the transportation needs of underserved communities, primarily low-income communities and communities of color. Further, she understands the critical nature of meeting the transportation needs of caregivers and families as a way to shift away from auto dependence and toward active transportation.”

Congratulations to Ramsey, and to CalBike. She does indeed join the organization “at a pivotal moment,” as stated by outgoing Interim Director Kevin Claxton, who will become the organizations Operations Manager.

California has been inching towards understanding that policies, funding, and infrastructure that encourage people to ride bikes is key to meeting many of its climate, equity, and mobility goals, but there is still a lot of work to do to truly make this a bike-friendly state.

Streetsblog looks forward to seeing what direction Ramsey will take CalBike.