Washington Bike Walk Roll Summit 2026

Announcing our Keynote Speakers!

Thursday, April 2

Image

A native of Oakland, California, Destiny Thomas, PhD is a legal scholar and anthropologist urban planner. Dr. Thomas is the founder and CEO of Thrivance Group, a socially responsible, for-profit firm dedicated to enhancing the safety, health, and accessibility of public spaces and services. Thrivance Group focuses on marginalized communities, including Black, Indigenous, and transgender individuals, as well as people with disabilities.

Holding a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Fisk University (2006), a Master of Public Administration with an emphasis in Public Health and Non-Profit Management from Tennessee State University (2008), and a Ph.D. in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the California Institute of Integral Studies (2016), and a J.D. from Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, Dr. Thomas is a distinguished socio-cultural anthropologist with nearly 20 years of experience indeveloping equitable systems within governmental and non-profit sectors. 

Dr. Thomas’ professional approach integrates dignity-infused community engagement, participatory governance, interdisciplinary praxis, racial equity, gender studies, andanti-displacement strategies. 

Friday, April 3

Image

Wes Marshall, PhD, PE, is a professor of civil engineering at the University of Colorado Denver, where he holds a joint appointment in urban planning. He plays a pivotal role as director of the CU Denver Human-Centered Transportation program and the Transportation Research Center at CU Denver. 

Wes is a licensed Professional Engineer and focuses on transportation teaching and research dedicated to creating safer transportation systems. Wes is author of the 2024 Island Press book Killed by a Traffic Engineer: Shattering the Delusion that Science Underlies Our Transportation System. He also has more than 80 peer-reviewed journal publications and book chapters to his name and has received millions of dollars in research funding. 

He was the winner of the campus-wide CU Denver Outstanding Faculty in Research Award, the University of Colorado Thomas Jefferson Award, and the CO-WY Institute of Transportation Engineers Professional of the Year Award.