Cascade Members, meet your Board of Director candidates!

E-ballots will be delivered to active Cascade members December 10, 2020 and must be submitted by December 24, 2020.

Sara Kiesler

Sara Kiesler

 

The Cascade Board of Directors represents the voice of its members and is responsible to the membership. Their role is to ensure that Cascade’s resources are being used to the greatest benefit for all members, as well as the larger community.

For 2021 we have five seats up for election. Over the past months, we’ve received great nominations. After review, the search committee is happy to present the following new and returning candidates to the Cascade Board of Directors. 

If elected (or re-elected), the board members will serve a three-year term beginning in 2021.

The candidates are:

  • Marley Blonsky, Prospective Director Candidate
  • Casey Gifford, Current Director
  • Kelly Koster, Prospective Director Candidate
  • Brice Maryman, Prospective Director Candidate
  • Margaret Moore, Current Director 

Bios below

Marley Blonsky, Prospective director candidate

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Marley Blonsky headshot

Marley Blonsky is a self-identified fat cyclist and an advocate for people of all sizes, genders, races, ages, income levels, and abilities to be included and welcomed in the bike community. She actively works with the bike industry, community groups and riders to create inclusive groups where all feel welcome to go for a ride

Marley’s bicycle journey started in 2014 with commuting to work and has grown to include bike camping, leading group rides, organizing community events for the WTF community, and advocating for underrepresented populations in cycling. Marley has previously served on the Board of the Bikery and is a key organizer of Moxie Monday and Moxie Summer Jam.

Marley is the Global Environmental Manager for Expeditors International, where she is responsible for managing, reporting, and ultimately reducing both the internal carbon footprint of a Fortune 500 logistics company and many customers supply chains. Her passions outside of cycling include gardening, cooking, and volunteering.

CASEY GIFFORD, current DIRECTOR

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Casey Gifford

Wheels: A cheap aluminum Trek for commuting, a second-hand Rodriguez steel-frame for touring, a Felt for triathlons, and a basic mountain bike for hitting the trails 

Rides: Casey sold her car shortly after moving to Seattle, so primarily gets around the city on two wheels. In recent years, she's started enjoying bike touring, including weeknight camping trips on Bainbridge. She's raced a few triathlons and completed her first century during Cascade's RSVP ride.

About Casey: Casey is driven by a desire to develop thriving communities and a healthy environment by making it safer and easier for everyone to bike.

Casey dabbled in bike racing in high school and began biking for transportation in college at the University of Oregon. After graduating, Casey moved to Denmark where she studied bicycle transportation as a Fulbright Fellow and learned how thoughtful decision-making and design can transform how people choose to get around. She received her masters in urban planning from Aalborg University.

Kelly Koster, Prospective director candidate

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Kelly Koster Board of Directors

Raised in small town Eastern Washington, Kelly couldn’t wait to get out and explore the density and diversity of New York City in her college years. Five years in America’s largest city did not jade this tree-hugger, but it did cause her to fall deeply in love with all things urban—especially mobility. At home in the PNW, Kelly’s found the right balance of nature, city, and cycling. She has a graduate degree in urban planning from the University of Washington (UW) and loves to nerd out on the psychology of behavior change.

Kelly discovered bike commuting during her first summer in Seattle. Her friend offered to ride with her and show her the ‘rules of the road’. She’s been hooked ever since. During her time teaching in the Community, Environment, and Planning (CEP) program at UW, Kelly created and led a study abroad course titled Sustainable Urban Mobility that took students to The Netherlands, Denmark, and England. These studies not only opened her students’ eyes, but also her own, to the power of the bicycle to improve urban mobility, equity, and quality of life.

Currently, Kelly is the Director of Marketing & Corporate Affairs at Luum, an enterprise Commute Management Platform that aims to get fewer people driving alone to work. Kelly also serves on the Associate Board for the Jubilee Women’s Center and as the Association of Commuter Transportation (ACT) Cascade Chapter President. Kelly will bring her expertise and passion for sustainable mobility to her service on the Cascade Bicycle Board of Directors. Together we can make happier, healthier, and more equitable communities through mobility!

Brice Maryman, Prospective director candidate

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Brice Maryman

In his work as a landscape architect, Brice works with communities around Puget Sound to create healthy places for people and the planet. He has worked with Seattle/King County Public Health and several suburban communities develop policies and build infrastructure to advance health equity, making activities like biking the easy choice for residents. He has also helped Washington's Transportation Improvement Board develop a Complete Streets grant program that helped dozens of communities across the state--large and small, urban and rural--adopt Complete Streets ordinances.

Brice's advocacy work has contributed to the passage of several ballot measures resulting in millions of dollars of new cycling infrastructure. He served on several citizen's advisory committees, Seattle's Green Ribbon Commission, and the Board of Seattle Parks Commissioners. In 2017, he was a Landscape Architecture Foundation Fellow exploring the intersection of homelessness and public space.

Brice lives with his wife and son on a neighborhood greenway. Though anyone with eyes tries to keep him away from the lycra racks, his wife's phone does have several sweaty pictures of him in too-tight clothes at the end of several Cascade rides including the Major Taylor, RSVP and STP.

Margaret Moore, current DIRECTOR

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Wheels: 2004 Rodriguez Stellar Race for road riding and 2007 Rodriguez Rainier for riding in the rain and for touring.

Rides: I have been a Cascade member since 2002 and have participated in the major Cascade rides. My favorite rides are RSVP and RAW (6 times each). I have been a ride leader with Cascade for around nine years and have been active with the Cascade Training Series both as a rider and as a leader. I have toured in California, Texas, Wisconsin (self-supported) and in France, Italy, and Portugal (pampered by a tour company).

About Margaret: I began riding seriously in Austin, Texas in 1983 with short bike tours and a local century event and continued riding tours and century events in San Diego, Calif. My husband Phil and I met in San Diego, introduced by mutual friends who knew we shared a love of cycling. We enjoyed cycling in San Diego, but the lack of safe bike infrastructure became a real barrier over time for me to access bicycling. Upon arriving in Seattle in the late ‘90’s, we discovered the terrific trails and other bike facilities that opened up this beautiful area for exploration and discovery by bike. Since then, when not riding, I have assisted as a volunteer with advocacy campaigns for transit and climate issues.

In the last 20 years, conditions for cycling have improved tremendously, but there are real issues with connectivity in the Puget Sound region that remain a barrier to access to cycling for many people. I believe that biking should be safe, appealing and accessible to all in this region. I believe that this goal is very achievable with the focus and effort by Cascade and with the support of its members.

My work as a research biochemist in the biotechnology industry brought me to Seattle. I am retired but still consulting, with over 30 years of experience in protein chemistry and molecular biology. The natural beauty of Washington and the great bicycling opportunities have determined to keep me here.

To vote 

Electronic voting will be available to all Cascade members on December 10, 2020 via email. Keep your eyes out for an email from Cascade Bicycle Club with your personalized voting link, and review your cascade.org account to keep your email address up to date. Please contact Cascade if your membership is active and you did not receive your personal e-ballot.
 

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