The Thunderhead Alliance Board - Thunderhead Alliance

The Thunderhead Alliance Board

  • Noah Budnick, Transportation Alternatives
  • Dan Grunig, Bicycle Colorado
  • John Luton, Capital Bike and Walk Society
  • Eric Gilliland, Washington Area Bicyclist Association
  • Randy Neufeld, Chicagoland Bicycle Federationb
  • Barbara Culp, Seattle Children’s Hospital
  • John Gideon, Esq., Bike/Walk Ohio
  • Laura Hallam, Florida Bicycle Association
  • Rob Sadowsky, Chicagoland Bicycle Federation
  • Leah Shahum, San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
  • Mark Wyatt, Iowa Bicycle Coalition
  • Scott Bricker, Bike Pittsburgh
  • Jeff Rosenblum, LivableStreets Alliance

Contents

Noah Budnick, Chair

Noah is the Deputy Director of Advocacy at Transportation Alternatives (TA) in New York City where he focuses his composed passion on local initiatives for better bicycle and pedestrian facilities in one of the world’s most vibrant cities. New York begs for people to walk and ride its streets and Noah is determined to make these everyone’s preferred modes of travel. He is a perceptive strategist who often pinpoints solutions where no one else had considered looking.

Deputy Director of Advocacy
Transportation Alternatives
127 West 26th Street, Suite 1002
New York, NY 10001

 

Dan Grunig, Vice Chair

Dan took the reins of Bicycle Colorado from Martha Roskowski as she headed to DC to fire up the America Bikes Campaign. Since that fateful exchange, with Dan as Executive Director, this hell-bent western state organization has been riding herd on any transportation official who dares to try and run bicyclists out of town. Dan brings to the Thunderhead Board a deep history of organizational experience in the arts and other sectors. His quiet, western style allows us to fumble just a bit before he sidles in with his silver bullets of advice and know-how.

Executive Director
Bicycle Colorado
1525 Market Street, Suite 100
Denver, CO 80202-1661

 

John Luton, Secretary

As the Executive Director of the Capital Bike and Walk Society, John works tirelessly to build on Victoria’s many victories for bicycle access. His political savvy and unpredictable ingenuity set him apart from other bicycle advocates in his area as the one to turn to for vision and setting the highest goals for bicycling in Victoria. He brings these qualities to our board, keeping us at the ready for brilliant tactics or sidesplitting laughter.
Executive Director
Capital Bike and Walk Society
22 Philippa Place
Victoria, Canada V8S 1S6

 

Eric Gilliland, Treasurer

Eric Gilliland graduated from Lehigh University in 1993 with a BA in International Affairs with minors in Economics and History. After brief stints on Capitol Hill, in local law firms, and as a bicycle messenger, Eric was hired by the Washington Area Bicyclist Association in the fall of 1999. Starting first as a part-time data entry clerk Eric quickly made his mark in bicycling in the Washington region through his work on BikeDC, Bike to Work Day, and numerous other advocacy initiatives. With the departure of long time Executive Director Ellen Jones, Eric was hired by the WABA board of directors to take the reigns of the organization in January of 2004.

Executive Director
Washington Area Bicyclist Association
1803 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC 20009

 

Randy Neufeld, Founding Chair

Randy is the Chief Strategic Officer of the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation (CBF) and a founding member of the Thunderhead Alliance. Randy is often sought after for his talents that have grown CBF and the Chicago area into one of the most significant successes for bicycle advocacy as he and his organization strive for even greater accomplishments. We are truly lucky to have his leadership. Randy’s specialties cover the spectrum of bicycle advocacy, but hit their mark in creative strategy and leveraging of transportation funding for bicycling.

Chief Strategy Officer
Chicagoland Bicycle Federationb
9 W. Hubbard St.
Chicago, IL 60610

 

Barbara Culp, Member At large

Barbara became a bicycle advocate at age 6 while riding the back roads of a teeny town in North Central Washington. She advocated then as now for slower moving traffic and more chocolate cake. Her professional career was truly launched from atop Mount Rainier when in a moment of oxygen deprivation, she realized that she couldn’t make a living as an event planner but most certainly could make a fabulous living as the Executive Director of a bicycle advocacy organization. Thus began her attempts to scale the heights of entrenched bureaucracies while juggling fundraising, membership development, policy and legislation passage. She left the Bicycle Alliance of Washington in the summer of 2007 in search of a restful and different path. After seven months of smelling the flowers, economics sent her in search of a paycheck. You’ll find her at Seattle Children’s Hospital promoting bicycling to the employees and this summer she gave away 100 bikes to increase those numbers!

Bicycle Program Lead
Seattle Children’s Hospital
1056 25th Ave East
Seattle, WA 98112

 

John Gideon, Esq., Member At Large

John Gideon, Esq. first connected with Thunderhead in 2002 and attended our Retreat that year. Even then, as President of the Central Ohio Bicycle Advocacy Coalition (COBAC), John shown with the Thunderhead spirit, working with even newer leaders that he believed he could help. John is one of our most helpful members, always ready to offer his experience for the benefit of others. His 2003 triumphant complete streets policy campaign is featured in Thunderhead’s Guide to Complete Streets Campaigns.

Cofounder
Bike/Walk Ohio
250 E. Stanton AVE
Columbus, OH 43214-1268

 

Laura Hallam, member At Large

Laura joined Florida Bicycle Association as the first full-time executive director in 2001 bringing over 14 years of experience in non-profit management. Having worked for the Florida Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and the Sunshine State Games Foundation, promoting healthy, active lifestyles was her passion. This passion was easily transferred to bicycle safety education and advocacy. Laura is especially proud of FBA’s programs and publications to educate law enforcement and the general public on the rules of the road. Their annual ProBike/ProWalk Florida Conference and inaugural Florida Bike Summit in 2009 are ways they bring people together to promote change. Laura’s passion and enthusiasm can be seen on and off the bike as she motivates people to get involved at the local and state level to make their communities a better place to live, bike and play.

Executive Director
Florida Bicycle Association
P.O. Box 718
Waldo, FL 32694-0718

 

Rob Sadowsky, Member At Large

Rob Sadowsky became the executive director of the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation in June 2004. Previously, Rob served as director of corporate and foundation Giving at the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs and as the director of the Community Ventures Program, an innovative program linking private investors in affordable housing and economic development projects. Prior to working for JCUA, Rob was the founding executive director of the Chicago Mutual Housing Network, a nonprofit agency developing affordable housing cooperatives. He conducts training and strategic planning workshops for emerging organizations and is a board member of the Training for Trainers Cooperative. He also serves as a member of the Executive Committee for the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children.

Executive Director
Chicagoland Bicycle Federation
9 W. Hubbard Street, 402
Chicago, IL 60610-6545

 

Leah Shahum, Member At large

Leah Shahum is the Executive Director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, a 7,500-member organization promoting bicycling for everyday transportation. She has been helping the SFBC grow and succeed since 1997. Before coming to the SFBC, Leah worked as a journalist for a local newspaper and a national magazine. She graduated from Duke University in North Carolina with a degree in political science and a focus in women’s studies. Leah currently serves on the Board of Directors of the SF Municipal Transportation Agency, which oversees the City’s transportation systems. She previously served for five years on the Board of Directors of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway, and Transportation District. She is also a San Francisco representative to the state Democratic Party.

Executive Director
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
995 Market St., Ste. 1550
San Francisco, CA 94110

 

Mark Wyatt, Member At Large

Mark Wyatt attended our Chicago Training in 2004 that helped him found the Iowa Bicycle Coalition (IBC) using the momentum of a battle against a bike ban threat. Following Thunderhead’s models he and his Board took the organization to a sustainable and effective level in just two years. In early 2006 he was hired as IBC’s first Executive Director. He has innovated several of Thunderhead’s programs offering what he learns back to our members and us. His success with innovating our founders circle model has now set him out as our top expert on this subject. He finds great satisfaction from offering his expertise on this and his other successes to Thunderhead members.

Executive Director
Iowa Bicycle Coalition
P.O. Box 572
North Liberty, IA 52317

 

Scott Bricker, Alternate

Executive Director
Bike Pittsburgh
33 Terminal Way
Pittsburgh, PA 15219

 

Jeff Rosenblum, Alternate

President
LivableStreets Alliance
70 Pacific Street
Cambridge, MA 02139