Board of Directors/Exec.Director

Are you interested in joining us ?

CABA encourages the widest possible diversity of interests, age level, gender, ethnic and racial backgrounds to join our Board. What better way to represent the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community….

* * * * *

Martin Zimmerman / Executive Director

Executive Director since 2004, Martin wears many hats (a.k.a. helmets !) from fundraising to website coordination. He also represents CABA to the League of American Bicyclists, the Alliance for Biking and Walking, the North Carolina Active Transportation Alliance, Charlotte Center City Partnership and Sustain Charlotte. Martin learned the hard way , biking through snow to class at the University of Michigan. He has kept the everyday bike habit living in St. Louis, Cambridge , Mass. , metro Washington D.C., western Massachusetts (burr!). During a career as an architect and city planner, he worked with citizen activists to plan and promote the Metropolitan Branch Trail alongside the Washington D.C. METRO tracks, linking downtown D.C. to the Maryland suburbs . As Director for Facilities Planning at UNC Charlotte, Martin successfully obtained state funding for first-ever bike facilities for the campus.

In his spare time (ha!), he has written over 70 articles and reviews on city design and smart growth, transportation mobility and sustainable urbanism. See Vancouver B.C.’s green transportation vision - (Mar/Apr 2010 / Urban Land mag ). He is currently working on an article on bike sharing in the USA and abroad. When his 4 x 4 Takoma was towed to its final resting place in 2005, Martin vowed to never own a motor vehicle again; he relies instead on his trusty rusty Trek, walks, takes CATS buses or the LYNX rail. (On very rare occasions he borrows his wife’s blue Beetle).

Dan Faris / Chairman

Dan is a native Charlottean having attended CMS schools and taught English in the CMS system for thirty years. Dan did not get serious about cycling until he retired in 1996 (he had been a runner until then). He quickly perceived that something had to be done about the not-so-friendly roads of Charlotte . This led him to attend a public meeting at the Government Center about the relationship of city government to cycling needs and interests.There was an unexpected groundswell of enthusiasm and interest shown that night.In early 1997, after subsequent meetings took place, Rob Cannon and Dan took on the co-leadership of Charlotte ’s first bicycle advocacy group appropriately named “CABA”, and a new era of bicycle advocacy for Charlotte was launched.Dan enjoys a combination of recreational riding inhis neighborhood,some organized rides, and riding once in awhile as a true means of transportation. His wife, Helen, has put her foot down, so he doesn’t ride at night (her concern is not bad roads or aggressive motorists, but muggers!). Dan will continue to help CABA in the hopes that he (and others like him) will see Charlotte become a truly safe, bicycle- friendly community .

Bill Short / Secretary BOD

Many of Bill’s friends remark that he bears a striking resemblance to Lance Armstrong, an assertion that Bill vehemently denies. Bill grew up in Charlotte and had his first bicycle ride as a child, learning to ride by the “push-and-pray” method. Later in life, Bill rediscovered bicycling when he was given a hybrid bicycle. Eventually he purchased a real road bike and he uses it as a wonderful way to get exercise, see the world and meet people. Bill is a “recreational roadie”, riding in Charlotte and occasionally in timed rides, charity rides, and out-of-town rides with friends. He also enjoys riding in Watauga County where the roads are less traveled and the climbs substantially more challenging. Bill is no stranger to crashes (three total), and that is why his objectives as a CABA board member are to improve bicycling for Charlotte area residents: 1) make the riding environment safer and more pleasant for cyclists, and 2) educate cyclists and drivers about the correct and safest way to ride bicycles and to accommodate them safely on our streets. Bill recently retired from Premier Inc and lives in the Quail Hollow neighborhood.

Jon Harding / Treasurer

Jon is the current treasurer of CABA and is obsessive about all kinds of bikes. He’s a full time transportation cyclist/commuter, weekend roadie, mountain biker, and bicycle tourist. Jon spends his time off the saddle as a technology manager working for one of Charlotte’s big banks. He discovered his love of bicycling along the country roads of north eastern Pennsylvania on a BMX bike in the 80s, and is a life-long athlete who attended high school and college in Pennsylvania. After finishing college and a NCAA swimming and water polo career, Jon dabbled in triathlon for a few years, but came away with a renewed itch for all forms of bicycling. In 2003, Jon choose to relocate to Charlotte and brought his love of bicycling with him. After completing his graduate degree from UNC Charlotte in 2009, Jon started his year long journey committed to selling his car and using primarily a bike for transportation and documenting the journey at http://carfree.us. You may see Jon around Charlotte’s Cotswold neighborhood with his wife Katie and son, Graham, bicycling for lunch or coffee.

Daniel Bennett / Member BOD

I put in about 10 to 12 thousand miles a year. Now that’s

a combination of group rides, work miles as a courier and me just commuting everywhere.Its the only way to be green for me anyway. I have biked in 7 states and one foreign country ( South Korea). I also work as a bike messenger in Uptown Charlotte and have been doing it for over three years,and I am also working with Charlotte NC Tours. Bike advocacy and CABA are new area for me. I have always thought that you you have to have a presence on the roads to make a difference but I now realize that you have to work with the people who get things done to make an even greater impact.”

Weldon Weaver / Member BOD

Weldon learned to ride a bicycle in New Jersey from the neighborhood kids using the “push-into-the-pole method.” He turned and missed the pole. Now he makes avoiding poles, pot-holes, train tracks and cars part of his daily regime commuting to work. Weldon believes strongly that this is an exciting time for cycling in America. The monetary price of gas, the ecological price of gas and the political price of gas is a powerful justification for a cycling as a logical choice. He joined CABA to collaborate on solutions with like-minded people and get involved in enhancing the cycling experience of his neighbors. Weldon spent 2007 in four cities – London, Dublin, San Jose, CA and Charlotte. Only one city is dominated by large SUVs and has only a handful of commuter cyclists. (guess which one !). He feels qualified to help CABA and the Charlotte community identify and communicate local cycling infrastructure deficiencies. As a natural critical thinker, he’s quick to dial 3-1-1 and report transportation issues or speak at a City Council meeting. Weldon has a large portfolio of digital cycling related photos on Flickr.com – - many from his extensive travels.

Keith Sorensen / Member BOD

Keith fell in love with cycling at age 15. He discovered a new freedom a bicycle exploring the west

coast of Michigan on all-day bike rides during his summer vacations. At age 16, Keith was quickly disabused of the romance of car ownership when he found that he was pouring all his hard-earned money into keeping his old clunker running. While in college, Keith interned with Transportation Alternatives in NYC, and the Northwest Bicycle Alliance in Seattle, Washington. In Cleveland, Ohio in 2001 he helped start an Earn-A-Bike program for underprivileged kids. Moving to Charlotte in 2004, Keith, then a bike messenger, got the notion to start another community based bike service – the Trips for Kids ReCyclery - where Keith served as the shop coordinator. He has a Masters in Geography/Transportation Studies from UNCC and works as a community planner for the Town of Indian Trail.

Horace (“Tobe”) Holmes /BOD Member

For Tobe, cycling has been a gradual progression. The epic neighborhood journeys as a kid

slowly

evolved to extensive tours around the southeast (as well as a few more bike-friendly locales) and daily bicycle commuting. Of course, with increased frequency and distance came the need for better gear and more bikes, leading to a brief career in the cycling industry. After spending a few years in Charleston, SC selling bikes, pulling wrenches and running a couple of shops, Tobe realized that although it was rewarding to get people on bikes, safety and infrastructure were the key limiting factors to helping people get out and ride. This, in part, led Tobe to Clemson U. for a Masters in City and Regional Planning and a profession as a Transportation Planner. Tobe takes every opportunity, not only get people on bikes, but also keep them safe in the process.

Ann Groninger, Attorney /Consultant to the BOD

Ann is currently a partner in the Charlotte office of Copley Johnson and Groninger LLP. In 2008 she teamed up with mybikelaw.com founded by Attny. Peter Wilborn of Charleston S.C. She and Peter provide pro bono legal advice to school groups, law enforcement personnel, cycling clubs and teams – about insurance, organizational structure, advocacy efforts, bicycle safety and more. They also offer fee paid services for victims of bicycle crash situations in North and South Carolina. Ann graduated cum laude from Tulane University School of Law where she was an editor on the Tulane Environmental Law Journal and a Public Interest Law Foundation grant recipient. Ann is active with the North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NCAJ), where she serves on the Board of Governors. Ann has prepared amicus briefs on behalf of the North Carolina ACLU and NCAJ. She is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association, the American Association for Justice, the League of American Bicyclists. Ann’s son Max is the youngest member of the CABA Board of Directors, although Ann categorically denies that she has had any influence whatsoever in the Board’s tender of approval on Max’s behalf.

Max the Mighty / Member BOD

The Board had to meet in a closed door session to decide if the bylaws could be interpreted to admit members who are under the legal drinking age. Their decision was a resounding “YES” as announced at the 2009 CABA annual picnic. Max is serious about life’s pursuits. Rumor has it that his personal day-care trainer has him on a special diet and workout regimen to prep for his first century ride. Remarks Max: ” I’ve always felt that CABA’s Board needs to be energized by a new generation of activists. All they’ve got now is a bunch of old farts.”