BikeWalk NC’s Current Board Members and Staff
BikeWalk NC is a statewide organization with Board representatives from all regions — mountains, piedmont and coast.
Charlotte, NC
Terry comes to BikeWalk NC from Clean Air Carolina where he held several positions, most recently that of Public Policy Manager. His background uniquely qualifies him to lead BikeWalkNC. In addition to his work with Clean Air Carolina, Terry has extensive experience with non-profits, including work with both Trips for Kids and the Safe Routes to School National Partnership. Terry’s work to advance sustainability is well known and was recognized by Sustain Charlotte in 2015 when he received their Outstanding Leader Award. His experience with large-scale event planning as well as grant writing will be invaluable to BikeWalk NC as we continue to grow as an organization. Terry’s background with bicycle advocacy is substantial, and his passion for both sustainable transportation and a cleaner environment made him the ideal person for the job. Terry is also an accomplished distance cyclist who has competed in four solo Race Across America events (RAAM), the Race Across the West on a fixed gear bicycle and holds the UMCA state record for North Carolina.
Charlotte, NC
Laila manages BikeWalk NC's Bicycle Friendly Driver Safety program, as well as other educational programs. Laila has always had a passion for the outdoors and enjoying the community of Charlotte where she has grown up. She began expressing an interest in active mobility and sharing the road with others at a very young age when a member of her immediate family was diagnosed with a degenerative disease that would ultimately remove their ability to walk. Through occupational therapy, as well as the help from a variety of organizations that specialize in disability care and rights, a deeper understanding for active mobility was expressed. Through more experiences with other organizations, Laila was drawn to the mission of BikeWalk NC and its longstanding dedication to provide mobility equity and equality for all. With a BS in Community Health with a focus on Exercise Science, and a Master's degree in Public Health (both from Lenoir-Rhyne University), Laila is ready and eager to apply her knowledge and experience from other nonprofit organizations, and her knowledge regarding health and wellness of the public, to BikeWalk NC's programs.
Raleigh, NC
In this role, Oliver will execute the organization's social media strategy, while building and sustaining partner relationships to support programs and grant initiatives. Oliver grew up exploring the Raleigh Greenways system, which led to a love of cycling in all forms. After receiving his BS in Parks and Recreation Management from North Carolina State University, he worked extensively in community recreation programming before pursuing a Masters of Public Administration at Florida Gulf Coast University. While enrolled in the program, Oliver concentrated his studies in planning, in particular issues related to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. In addition to several years of experience working in private sector planning after the completion of his masters degree, Oliver has extensive professional experience in event management. He looks forward to applying the skills and knowledge gained from this diverse experience to his new role with BikeWalk NC.
Banner Elk, NC
Ted is chair of the Banner Elk Bike/Ped Committee and Program Coordinator for the country’s only academic bicycling minor degree at Lees-McRae College. A Licensed Certified Instructor (LCI), he doesn’t like to sit on the sidelines – he’s been actively involved in bike advocacy as a member of bike clubs and organizations ranging from the Randonneurs USA (member number 341) to president of the largest bike club in Miami, Florida. He also served as Chairman of the Miami-Dade County Bike/Ped Advisory Committee (advising the Miami-Dade MPO) for almost 10 years before retiring from law and moving from the flat topography of Florida to the mountains of North Carolina; he road rides as often as he can. With his legal background, and cycling knowledge and experience, he hopes to help accomplish the mission and goals of BikeWalk NC for safe and sustainable cycling and walking.
Banner Elk, NC
Deana Acklin serves as the Campus Bicycle Coordinator and adjunct instructor teaching cycling specific certifications within the Outdoor Recreation Management Major at Lees-McRae College. Deana also serves as co-chair on the Banner Elk Bicycle/Pedestrian Committee and is a certified League of American Bicyclist Cycling Instructor. Deana has ridden a bicycle since the age of 5 while recovering from open-heart surgery, to benefit her own health and gain the confidence to challenge her body. As an adult, riding a bicycle has allowed her to continue to pedal toward her best self. Her love of biking has enabled her to travel and explore the United States and Europe by bicycle, lead cross country bicycle tours, and to genuinely connect with the environment and the communities she has lived in. She is dedicated to connecting people with the simple joy of riding a bicycle for one’s personal health, to encourage discovery, and to bring people together.
Deana completed advanced bicycle mechanics courses at the United Bicycle Institute in Ashland, Oregon to further her goal of empowering individuals with the skills and knowledge necessary to choose a bicycle as an environmentally friendly option for commuting and for the lifelong health benefits.
Winston-Salem, NC
Dan is an attorney who recently completed 19 years of service on the Winston-Salem City Council. As a city council leader, he focused much attention to improving local transit service and expanding safe walking and cycling opportunities, including expanding greenways, connecting and extending sidewalks, improving intersection safety, and creating bike lanes and routes. He served as chair of the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) and vice chair of the Winston-Salem Urban Area Transportation Advisory Committee. Personally, Dan learned the streets as a lifetime runner, and has recently added cycling to save his aging and aching knees.
Greenville, NC
Debra Franklin is a retired bus driver with the Charlotte Area Transit System. Originally from Chicago Heights, she brings a great perspective to BWNC from her daily work with folks that use alternative transportation – encouraging transit passengers to consider biking to the bus vs. walking when they have long trips or could benefit from a backup plan. Debra is also a bike mechanic at her company, the Bicycle Oven Company, You Go Bike; and her non profit, Bike Routes 4 Fitness Inc. Debra is a League of American Bicyclist Certified Instructor (LCI) and has helped facilitate the training of others. She took Steve Goodridge’s Traffic Bicycling Skills class not once but twice! In her spare time, she is a Bicycle Friendly Motorist instructor and AARP Smart Driver instructor. Debra has participated in the NC delegation to DC as part of the National Bike Summit for the past several years.
Cary, NC
Steven Goodridge lives in Cary where he works at Signalscape, Inc. as an electrical engineer developing audio, video, and radio technologies for law enforcement and intelligence applications. A pedestrian and bicyclist advocate since his days as a starving “car-free” college student 30 years ago, he is committed to improving conditions for people who travel under their own power. Steven enjoys bike commuting and is a League Certified Master Instructor through the League of American Bicyclists and a certified Cycling Savvy Instructor through the American Bicycling Education Association. Since first joining the BWNC board in 2010, he has focused on cycling education issues by developing the Bicyclist Safety and Law Enforcement training program with local police departments and teaching the Traffic Bicycling for Transportation Professionals course. Dr. Goodridge holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from NC State University and has previously served on the Cary Planning and Zoning board and the CAMPO Bicyclist and Pedestrian Stakeholders Group.
Charlotte, NC
Ann Groninger has been a consistent supporter of BikeWalkNC and has been a board member since 2016. As a North Carolina attorney since 1995, she has been representing cyclists around the state for over 20 years. She is a member of Bike Law, a national network of attorneys who focus on advocating for individual bicyclists and their families, and work to make cycling safer.
In 2016, Ann authored the Ride Guide, a compilation of the North Carolina laws that apply to bicyclists, and the explanations for how they apply. The Ride Guide’s second edition came out in 2019. Ann also speaks to groups to educate cyclists about their legal rights and has been involved in local advocacy groups to promote cycling and improve cycling safety. Ann lives and works near Center City Charlotte and loves getting around town by bike. She and her husband (and sometimes her son) also enjoy the outdoors, riding a road, mountain or gravel bike.
Farmville, NC
Steven is a passionate cyclist and advocate for safer, more accessible and equitable streets for all vulnerable road users, greenways, and trails. Trained as a school psychologist and sign language interpreter, Steven strives to use those skills on the BWNC board, and while advocating at the local, county, state, and national level for greater awareness, accessibility, and safety for cyclists and pedestrians of all types, ages, and abilities. He has served on numerous and varied committees and groups striving for safer roads for rides with his friends, family, and friends not-yet-met. He has ridden across the U.S. in a self-supported fashion and has biked, hiked, run, strolled, and rolled in several other countries with an observing eye to build more inclusive and just communities through physical and emotional connections with the world and each other.
Charlotte, NC
Garet loves to walk and bicycle and believes that making walking and cycling safer, and accessible to more people, will help to strengthen the social, economic, and physical well-being of the community. She has spent most of her professional career working to make the built environment more conducive to bicycling, walking and transit use. She served as the Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator for Tampa, and most recently Assistant Director for Long Range Planning for the City of Charlotte. She managed a staff of professional planners focused on land use planning, the coordination of regional transportation policy, and providing information and analysis related to growth and development. Being part of BWNC provides Garet the opportunity to continue working to improve conditions for cyclists and pedestrians not only in Charlotte, but throughout North Carolina.
Huntersville, NC
Brendan is fairly new to North Carolina, and is passionate about cycling, walking, running, hiking and most activities that allow him to spend time outside. Growing up in Michigan, he is familiar with cycling, running, and walking as methods of transportation as well as ways to explore new areas. He loves to compete in local duathlons, marathons, and other events.
Brendan is an advocate for making walking and cycling more accessible and safer for everyone in North Carolina, knowing that these activities are important for strengthening individuals and communities.
He has a background in finance and has previously served on a Student Athlete Advisory Committee in 2018. He is eager to be a part of BWNC and to help support its many efforts.
Raleigh, NC
Sarah works as a Communications and Public Involvement Specialist for WSP, with a background in community development and transportation planning. She is an avid walker, runner, and hiker who can be found out on the Capital area greenways or hiking trials every day after work. Sarah has a strong passion in advocating for community access to safe biking and walking facilities for recreation, health benefits, and economic opportunities. She believes that giving people a voice to shape their environment to fit their needs is the most important aspect of our work in the transportation field and hopes to achieve that goal through supporting the BikeWalkNC mission.
Carrboro, NC
A long-time bicycling advocate from Carrboro, Heidi is a founding member of the Carrboro Bicycling Coalition (BikeCarrboro). She has worked on several BWNC statewide BikeWalk Summits, and has participated in the NC delegation that lobbies once a year on Capitol Hill. She is engaged in BWNC’s safety advocacy work (BMUFL, HB232) and participates in our ongoing education program development work with NCDOT. Heidi was the recipient of the 2011 NC American Planning Association’s Marvin Collins Award for her contributions to Carrboro’s Planning program.
Heidi has been a League Certified Instructor (LCI) since 2013, and uses the bike as her main form of transportation. She embraces the idea that a community that walks and bikes is a healthier and more equitable community. Retired from a career in book publishing, well-designed and well-written books still bring her much joy.
Asheville, NC
Ritchie gets twitchy when he goes longer than a day without riding a bike. It's his exercise, therapy, and entertainment. As a dad, riding his son to school or on errands, on his cargo bike, is a favorite part of parenting. As a part-owner of The Flying Bike, an ebike tour company in Asheville, bikes are also his livelihood. When Ritchie was a kid and through college, he saw bikes primarily as a toy that extended his range of play. It wasn't until moving to Washington DC and committing to commuting by bike everyday for 4 years that he saw bikes as needed transportation. When he moved to Asheville in 2012, he continued functional cycling despite the impediments of hills and lack of bike lanes. The hills can't be changed, but the bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure can, and he committed to improving road safety through work with BikeWalk NC, Asheville on Bikes, serving as Blue Ridge Bicycle Club's Board Vice President, and as Asheville's Greenway Committee Secretary.
Wilmington, NC
Carol is a passionate cyclist with a strong desire to improve cycling facilities and cyclist safety in North Carolina. She is a member of the Cape Fear Cyclists and serves as Pender County’s Representative on the Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization (WMPO) Bike and Pedestrian Committee as well as the Chairwomen. Carol retired in 2017 from General Electric Corporation’s Commercial Aircraft Division with extensive management and technical expertise in supply chain planning. Carol continues to be a competitive track athlete which began in high school with recent world rankings in several sprinting events. During her employ at GE, she managed their very successful running program for 25 years. Her retirement plans continue to include road bike trips with other area cyclists in North Carolina and sprinting competitions. She continues to work with fellow board members to advance the mission of BWNC.
Hickory, NC
Bruce is a Naval Intelligence Officer veteran, lifelong avid cyclist, scrappy runner and owner of Breitz! “be bright, be seen!” cycling and run performance wear. He currently represents the BikeWalkNC Western North Carolina Hickory area, serves on the Western Piedmont Council on Government Movability Advisory Committee and is president of the Hickory Velo Club. Bruce came to North Carolina from Westborough, MA, where he served as a school board member, selectman, bike and pedestrian advisory committee (BPAC) chair and Earth Day coordinator.
Raleigh, NC
Kenneth, a transportation planner for the North Carolina Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), has been involved in all phases of transportation planning, programming, and funding. He is AICP certified, a member of the NC Chapter of the American Planning Association, and is a National Center for Safe Routes To School (SRTS) trained course instructor. He hopes to grow BWNC’s involvement in advocating for SRTS infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects, recognizing their essential role in improving our overall bicycling and pedestrian network. In addition to bicycling, Kenneth enjoys jogging, playing acoustic guitar, bass guitar, cello, as well as many other civic activities.
Joining our Advisory Board:
- Mary-Jo Gellenbeck, Raleigh, NC
- Nicole Van Baelen, Davidson, NC
- Ed Harrison, Chapel Hill, NC
- Roger Henderson, Raleigh, NC
- Thomas Henson, Raleigh, NC
- Dale Tiska, Raleigh, NC
- Lisa Vulinec, Cary, NC
- Martin Zimmerman, Charlotte, NC
BikeWalk NC would like to thank recent Board members for their contributions to the organization:
- Julie White, Black Mountain, NC
- Simon Walker, Morrisville, NC
- Bill Hulbert, Cary, NC
- Roger Henderson, Raleigh, NC
- Ed Harrison, Chapel Hill, NC
- Martin Zimmerman, Charlotte, NC
- Dianna Ward, Charlotte, NC
- Constance Davis, Wake Forest, NC
- Dale Diska, Raleigh, NC
- Jennifer Baldwin, Durham, NC
- Al Schroetel – Wilmington,
- Evan Brigham – Raleigh
- Don Kostelec – Asheville, NC
- Dick Winters – Charlotte, NC
- Bill Bussey – Pittsboro, NC
- Dylan Horne – Raleigh, NC
- Esther Lumsdon – Cary, NC
- Steven Hardy-Braz – Farmville, NC
- Mark Ortiz – Kannapolis
- Alison Carpenter, Durham
- Kathryn Cross, Kernersville
- Blake Lambert, Greensboro
- George Perkins, Wilmington
Board Makeup
Based on the BikeWalk NC Bylaws, the Board consists of
- up to 19 board-elected members
Seven of the Board Members will be elected according to DOT division districts according to the following formula:
- at least 2 Board Members from the area encompassing districts 11-14 (the mountains);
- at least 2 Board Members from the area encompassing districts 1-3 (the coast); and
- at least 3 Board Members from the area encompassing districts 4-10 (the piedmont).
