BikeWalkNC

North Carolina’s advocate for safe cycling and walking

Profile

Welcome our summer intern, Nhi Huynh!

We’re excited to welcome Nhi Huynh as a summer intern with BikeWalk NC! As part of her time with us, Nhi will be supporting our communications and outreach efforts while deepening her understanding of sustainable and equitable transportation advocacy.


Hi everyone,

My name is Nhi, and I’m a senior at Davidson College, pursuing a degree in Environmental Studies with a minor in Art History. With my strong passion for sustainability, art, and social activism, I have been involved in environmental advocacy, particularly in climate policy and urban planning. I currently serve as a Sustainability Scholar with the Sustainability Office at Davidson College, where I focus on creating strategies to engage the campus community in sustainability initiatives.

I am excited to learn about the principles of safe and equitable human-powered transportation, especially for avid walkers like myself that actively seek out ways to avoid using cars. Through this internship, I hope to learn how organizations like BikeWalk NC advocate for pedestrians and cyclists, ensuring that we are both safe and informed about our rights. Additionally, this will be my first internship in the U.S. as an international student, so I’m looking forward to getting a feel for the work environment here and how things operate in a new setting!

I’m passionate about art, fashion, social media, and communications. For my Senior project, I plan to launch a sustainable fashion show on campus, showcasing clothes using recycled materials salvaged from landfills and waste. I’ll be asking college friends to volunteer as models for the event. Outside of school, you can usually find me sipping coffee at a local café, thrifting for unique vintage pieces, or hopping on the bus to Charlotte to explore the city with friends. I also really enjoy spending time in nature and would love to work in biodiversity & conservation at some point in my future career.

After spending some time looking at the Bicycle Safety Quiz that BikeWalk NC has to offer on their website, I realized there are still common mistakes I make when it comes to understanding street rules or my rights & responsibilities as a traffic commuter. Taking the quiz helped me refine my understanding and really opened my eyes to how much more there is to learn about advocating for myself on the road. During my time with BikeWalk, I hope to spread awareness and share this knowledge with my peers, contributing to a more informed and safety-conscious community of road users.

From Washington to Your Streets: How Federal Policy and Design Manuals Are Shaping the Future of Biking

We’re honored to welcome Ken McLeod, Policy Director at the League of American Bicyclists, as one of our keynote speakers at the 2025 NC BikeWalk Transportation Summit, taking place this September in Hickory.

Ken is a leading national expert in bicycle policy, design standards, and advocacy. Since joining the League in 2012, he has worked to advance legislative and regulatory reforms that prioritize safety and expand access for people who bike. He manages the Bicycle Friendly State program, oversees the League’s data platform at data.bikeleague.org, and provides strategic guidance to local and state advocates across the country.

A licensed attorney in Virginia, Ken earned his J.D. from William & Mary Law School and a B.A. from Pomona College. Outside of policy work, he serves as Chair of the Roanoke Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee and enjoys riding (and climbing) in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

At the Summit, Ken will lead two sessions:

Monday, Sept. 8 – Headwinds and Tailwinds in National Cycling Policy
With a change in administration there have been many changes to federal policy related to bicycling. The League of American Bicyclists is working hard to ensure that bicycling continues to receive federal investment and that our national crisis in traffic safety is addressed. In this plenary session, the League’s policy director will provide an update on all that is happening in DC and discuss how the bike movement can weather turbulent times.

Tuesday, Sept. 9 – Manuals, Acronyms, Design Guides, Oh My!
Over the last two years, three major technical manuals and guides that impact how streets are designed have received updates. For the first time ever, protected bike lanes are included across the board and numerous other changes reflect the normalization of planning, designing, and building for safer bikeways. Attend this session to learn how these technical changes can lead to better biking in your community.

Don’t miss your chance to hear from one of the foremost voices in bike policy. Register now for the 2025 NC BikeWalk Transportation Summit!

Connecting Communities by Trail: Meet Keynote Speaker Dennis Markatos-Soriano

The 2025 NC BikeWalk Transportation Summit is proud to welcome Dennis Markatos-Soriano, Executive Director of the East Coast Greenway Alliance, as a featured keynote speaker.

Since 2009, Dennis Markatos-Soriano has served as executive director of the East Coast Greenway. He and a staff of 16 work alongside volunteers, partners and elected officials to complete the 3,000-mile, Maine-to-Florida Greenway and promote its use.

Under his watch, the East Coast Greenway has grown from 18 to 37 percent complete, adding more than 500 new miles of Greenway. Markatos-Soriano has quadrupled the organization’s funding through his cultivation of foundations, corporations and individual donors. And he has conceived and led ambitious programming for the Alliance, from regional conferences that gather and energize thought leaders to the recent East Coast River Relay, a two-month series of public events that marked the organization’s 25th anniversary, while also strengthening its partnerships throughout the corridor. 

Markatos-Soriano holds a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead and Byrd Scholar; and a master’s in public affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School of Princeton University, where he received the 2008 Bradford Prize for Academic & Civic Achievement in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy. Prior to joining the Alliance, he served as executive director of two nonprofit organizations he co-founded: Students United for a Responsible Global Environment (SURGE) and Sustainable Energy Transition.

A native of rural Chatham County near the town of Pittsboro, N.C., he now lives in Durham, N.C. Markatos-Soriano enjoys basketball, soccer, riding his bike and time outdoors with his wife, kids, extended family and friends.

Annalisa Sims’ Research on Driver Education and Road Safety

How well are young drivers in North Carolina being trained to safely share the road with pedestrians, bicyclists, and other vulnerable users? That’s the question BikeWalk NC board member and UNC Chapel Hill student Annalisa Sims is exploring in her ongoing research.

On February 12th, Annalisa presented her preliminary findings at the 2025 NCDOT Research and Innovation Symposium, held at NC State’s McKimmon Center. Her study examines how North Carolina’s Driver Education program prepares students to navigate multimodal road environments, evaluating both the curriculum’s technical components and its influence on young drivers’ perceptions of non-motorized road users.

By analyzing North Carolina’s written curriculum, comparing it to leading programs in other states, and interviewing driver education instructors, Annalisa is identifying key gaps and opportunities for improvement. Her research underscores the need for a stronger emphasis on multimodal safety in driver education—aligning with NCDOT’s 2024 Strategic Highway Safety Plan, which prioritizes public education as a key strategy for reducing traffic injuries and fatalities.

As part of her work, Annalisa is developing a policy paper outlining recommendations to modernize North Carolina’s driver education curriculum. Her findings support BikeWalk NC’s advocacy for evidence-based policies that ensure all road users—whether on foot, bike, or behind the wheel—can travel safely and responsibly.

BikeWalk NC remains committed to advancing safer streets through education and policy change! We’re proud of Annalisa’s important research and her dedication to making North Carolina’s roads safer for everyone.

see annalisa’s research poster

Board Member Spotlight, Ed Barsotti

We are excited to welcome Ed Barsotti as the newest member of BikeWalk NC’s Board of Directors! Ed brings a wealth of experience in bicycle advocacy, infrastructure planning, and safety education, making him a valuable addition to our team.

Ed Barsotti has lived in Cary and North Carolina since January 2025, when he and his wife followed their daughter to the area. He has a long history working for state bicycle advocacy organizations in Illinois (2001-2025) and Florida (since 2020), semi-retiring to part-time in 2020.  In 2019, Ed was named League of American Bicyclists’ Advocate of the Year.  Efforts have included bicycle infrastructure planning and roadway design policies, state legislation, and online bicycle safety education including the BikeSafetyQuiz lessons that have been used by 400,000 Illinois students, young drivers, and adults. 

After helping to replicate BikeSafetyQuiz for BikeWalk NC in 2021, he’s now excited to join the organization’s board and to help improve bicycling and walking conditions in North Carolina.  Besides lots of biking, Ed enjoys tennis, history audiobooks, card and board games, and exploring baseball cities when the Chicago Cubs come to town.

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