Profile

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.

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.

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.

Board Member from 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.

Board Member from 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.