Nick Abreu is a third-year medical student at Harvard Medical School. He lives in Brookline and bikes to Cambridge and Boston for his studies. After rediscovering his childhood love of bicycles, he’s been hooked, rallying classmates to commute by bicycle and working with administrators to make HMS a greener, healthier community. He is currently a member of the BCU Organizing Committee.
Noelle Janka is program coordinator for the Middle East Initiative at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Before that she was the recruitment director for Green Corps, a training program in grassroots environmental organizing. Noelle has worked on multiple political and environmental campaigns, including the campaign to elect President Barack Obama. She is a resident of Jamaica Plain, an avid gardener, and assistant editor of the Union Rider, the Boston Cyclists Union e-newsletter.
Mea Johnson is an artist, writer, and community arts educator and activist, and brings with her community connections and outreach, program development and a passion to build sustainable systems that empower all sectors of our community and environment. With a background in arts therapy and a 15 year focus in working to create empowered families, that are the bedrock for healthy, functioning communities, Mea hopes to encourage more families to join her on the streets and sees safe, sustainable transportation is a fundamental right, not an act of privilege. Mea is a weekend rider that hopes to feel safe enough to ride during the week with her son to school!
Kiersten Kaye is an organizational development consultant with her own practice. Her work focuses in three primary areas: leadership coaching and teambuilding; corporate training and performance programs; and talent acquisition programs. Kiersten resides in Medford Square and is a member of the Northeast Bicycle Club (NEBC) and a ride leader for their Tuesday Night Women’s Paceline Ride. This summer she is learning to mountain bike. Additionally, Kiersten teaches indoor cycling at the Boston Sports Clubs in Davis Square. Whether riding in the city, on a country road, or in the woods, with a group or on one’s own, Kiersten believes that safety is the foundation for all cyclists and hopes her work with the Boston Cyclists Union will benefit cycling safety and awareness for cyclists and non-cyclists alike.
Jasmine Laietmark works in fundraising at Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE), an environmental justice organization based in Roxbury. Prior experiences: founder of the Boston Bicycle Reflector publication, outreach coordinator at the City of Cambridge’s CitySmart social marketing program, and director of grassroots fundraising and events at Bikes Not Bombs, where the bicycle is not just a mode of sustainable transportation –it is a tool for solidarity, empowerment, and transformative change. She is a member of the BCU Organizing Committee and has been with the organization from its inception.
Jonathan McCurdy had his eyes opened to cycling as transportation when he moved to Jamaica Plain in 2004 and started volunteering at Bikes Not Bombs. He was a year-round bike commuter from 2005 to 2010, when changing work requirements caused him to start driving. Looking longingly at cyclists while stuck in traffic has reinforced his faith in the bicycle as transportation. Jonathan has been a member of the City of Boston Bicyclist Advisory Board since 2000. He is a member of the BCU Organizing Committee and has been involved with the organization since its inception. He is also one of the organizers of the Halloween Bike Ride; you might see him leading the costumed wheeled masses around the city on Halloween night. Jonathan works for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health providing direct services and case management to homeless families in the greater Boston area.
Remy Morrison is an analyst and senior consultant with MaPS, where he develops and manages custom marketing research studies for Fortune 500 companies. His personal relationship with biking began in middle school (when most of his friends lived on the other side of town), but he found his legs and love for the city in 2004 when he became a Boston bike messenger. Though rarely sighted downtown on a weekday these days, Remy still commutes from Brighton to his office in Waltham, and is in the saddle at almost any other non-work related opportunity. He looks forward to helping continue what the Boston Cyclists Union has started: making biking a safer option for others, reworking Boston’s transportation culture, and helping spread bike-knowledge.
Stefanie O’Shea is a case manager at a vocational rehabilitation non-profit in Boston. A transplant from the West Coast, Stefanie enjoys riding the bike-friendly roads and trails of Boston and New England with her husband, and is interested in making even safer and friendlier routes for everyone. An avid volunteer with Boston Cares and the Hands on Network, Stefanie joins the BCU Board with the hopes of furthering the BCU’s mission by increasing volunteerism and fundraising event opportunities.
Dana Ostberg can be seen riding down the Southwest Corridor in JP to her position as the nurse in the Adolescent Clinic at Martha Eliot Health Center in Jackson Square, encouraging her patients on the way to bike safely and choose health! She worked previously with young people at Bikes Not Bombs, Boston Public Health Commission, and The Steppingstone Foundation. In her spare time, she trains for the World Four Square Championship as part of the squarefour.org league and participates in the local agriculture scene as consumer, volunteer, and friend!
Ray Porfilio is an architect and principal with Epstein Joslin Architects where his work focuses on the planning and design of sustainable solutions for civic and institutional clients. A resident of West Roxbury, he rides his bicycle for his commute to Cambridge, for good causes, and for fun. He has been involved with the Boston Cyclists Union since its inception, is a member of the BCU Organizing Committee and the Finance and Operations Committee, and currently serves as treasurer.
Gerald Robbins has over 10 years experience working in nonprofit settings in the areas of social services, community health, and employment/vocational training. He has also worked on transportation and land use planning projects for regional and local governments, and has been involved in many community-organizing events over the years. Gerald got rid of his car 19 years ago and has been primarily cycling, walking and taking transit ever since. He currently serves as president of the BCU and on its Finance and Operations Committee. Gerald grew up in Massachusetts and currently lives in Charlestown.
Luis Sanchez is a retired civil engineer with most of his career endeavors in the Boston area. Since his retirement he has been devoting much of his time to bicycle advocacy. He believes in bicycling as a way to empower people and build closer communities.
Alex Sugerman-Brozan is a labor lawyer with Krakow & Souris, where he represents unions in the construction industry and their benefit funds. He commutes by bike year-round (except in the rain & snow), and is trying to go car-free as much as possible.
Phi Tran is currently attending UMass Boston double majoring in studio art and sociology. Phi’s main passion is community organizing with the youth community of Boston to address social injustices such as teen dating violence, homophobia, and gang violence. Phi has become environmentally aware ever since getting involved with green initiatives on and off campus, and he rides his bike to and from school instead of driving to reduce his carbon footprint. Phi has recently been volunteering with the Boston Cyclist Union and hopes his youthful energy will make up for his lack of experience.
Noël Twigg is the associate director at the Charles River Conservancy, a Cambridge-based nonprofit focused on improving the parklands that surround the Charles River Basin. She loves riding her bike as often as possible, both during her daily commute to the office and on the weekends as she explores the city. Noël lives in Brighton and is a member of the Finance and Operations Committee.
George Ulrich is a senior database programmer for the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development Information Technology Services where his work focuses on the design, implementation and support of application software for the Massachusetts Division of Professional Licensure. George has been involved in the Boston bicycling community for many years. An active member of the Boston Cyclists Union, Mass Bike and the Charles River Wheelmen, George is also a founding member of Rozzie Bikes and a long-time fundraiser and rider for many charities including the PMC (Pan Mass Challenge), the MS Ride for Multiple Sclerosis, the Memory Ride for Alzheimer’s Research, the Boston Brain Tumor Research Ride, the Tour De Cure for Diabetes Research and the Boston/New York Aids Ride. He commutes by bicycle in all seasons from his home in Roslindale. In addition, George is the BCU ride coordinator and a member of the Organizing Committee for the Boston Cyclists Union.