MEET THE CANDIDATES FOR OUR 2025 BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTION

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17 Jan 2025 17:08

It’s time for the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition annual election of our all-volunteer Board of Directors. Here you will find information about the process, statements by the candidates, and links to questions you may have.

The timeline is:

Online voting begins on Jan 22, 2025 and ends Jan 31, 2025 at 9:59 pm PST.
Members will each receive an individual e-mail on Jan 22 with a code and link enabling them to vote. This code will be sent to the e-mail address on file through which the member receives communications from the SF Bicycle Coalition. Please add invitations@mail.electionbuddy.com to your contacts. If you do not see your invitation in your inbox, please check your spam folder.
Opportunities to meet and hear from candidates will be available at our Annual Member Meeting on Jan 22.
Only current SF Bicycle Coalition members as of Friday, Jan 10, 2025 at 11:59 pm PST may cast a ballot.
Results will be announced in the Biker Bulletin email and on our website.
If you have technical questions regarding voting, please contact our election administrators at boardvoting@sfbike.org.

ABOUT SF BICYCLE COALITION BOARD ELECTIONS

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is governed by an all-volunteer Board of Directors. Any SF Bicycle Coalition member can run for the board. The board is responsible for ensuring the organization’s financial health and achievement of its mission. The 15-member board is elected by the membership. There is a board election each year and terms are two years. Seven seats on the board of directors will be elected by the membership this year for the term beginning at the first board meeting following this election until the new board is seated following the 2026 board elections. A full timeline and detailed description of the process can be found here.

The SF Bicycle Coalition has elected board members using ranked choice voting for several years, giving members the chance to rank their votes in order of preference. Our board of directors adopted ranked-choice voting in the hope that it will encourage increased member participation in our elections and our work. For more information about multi-winner ranked-choice voting, click here.

If you are a member who is interested in learning more about board service in future years, please contact us at boardnomination@sfbike.org.

CANDIDATE STATEMENTS

All candidates completed an online questionnaire to declare their interest in running for the board. You can view all candidate questionnaire responses here.

JOANNA BATE

I am running for the San Franciso Bicycle Coalition Board of Directors as I believe in the importance of advocating for the safety and dignity of cyclists, pedestrians, and other vulnerable road users.

Originally from the UK, I have been living car-free in the Castro district since 2010. Since 2020, I have been the lead organizer for Streets for People, an advocacy organization advocating for fast, frequent, reliable transit and safe streets for cyclists and pedestrians. Professionally, I work as a data scientist with 16 years of experience in renewable energy.

I bike for everyday transportation, primarily using bike share, and also for recreation. I am also a frequent Muni rider. I deeply care about LGBTQ+ rights, and volunteer with several organizations focused on supporting trans people.

I would be honored to have your support. Let’s make San Francisco a city that works for all road users!

ERNESTO CUELLAR (INCUMBENT)

The last two years have been a transformative time for San Francisco streets, from our new parks and bikeways, to the changes of the political landscape. We are at a pivotal time in San Francisco, the people who lead our advocacy and relationships with our new government will set the tone for the coming years. I am proud to have been previously elected on my lived experience as a kid from the southeast projects who uses his bike as transportation, but now, I am proud of the work I have done with SFBike, I am proud to have lead (with a lot of help from our amazing staff) our endorsement process and our Bike the Vote mobilizations.

I know San Francisco and I know community. I serve as President of the San Francisco Young Democrats and serve on the advisory board of the Castro Cultural District and I would be proud to serve another term as a Board member of the Bicycle Coalition.

KRISTY FRILLING SKELLY

As a mom of 4 children ages six and under, I am deeply invested in doing my part to help make San Francisco a city where families not only survive, but thrive. San Francisco gets a bad rap for being a city that is not built for families. If I am elected to the board, I promise to bring awareness about biking and hope to families that this city can be safe and accessible while biking – that a car can be a supplement to getting around, not the primary and that a life in the suburbs is not the only solution. Thank you for your consideration.

CLARISSA GARVEY

I passionately believe the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition has a profoundly positive impact locally and beyond. A year ago, I was hit by a driver turning illegally. SFBike helped me push for related improvements, and I learned more about their work in the process. I was amazed how involved the SFBike is in infrastructure improvements throughout SF.

I am running for the board to support their incredible work. I bring work experience leading projects with limited resources and conflicting constraints, facilitating effective and inclusive meetings, and frugally planning and running social events, plus knowledge of disability and accessibility. See my candidate questionnaire for much more detail!

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is an incredible organization, so I encourage you to vote for whoever you think will best serve the board, even if that is not me, and, if(!) you are able and not already doing so, to consider even a small recurring donation.

ROAN KATTOUW (INCUMBENT)

As an immigrant from the Netherlands, I’ve been biking my entire life. Having grown up there, I know that safe infrastructure is what makes biking a part of everyday life. It’s what gave me the freedom to go places on my own as a teenager, long before I could drive.

I’ve been a member for 10 years, and a board member for 4 years. I’m currently the board president, and I’ve previously served as treasurer and led the endorsements process for the 2022 elections.

At my day job, I lead a team of software engineers at Wikipedia. I live in NoPa with my wife and our 4-month-old son, and I look forward to taking him for his first bike ride soon.

WILLIAM MEE

As a passionate sports and commute cyclist I’m a long time member of the Bike Coalition with a history of volunteering there. I’m actively engaged in the city of San Francisco via organizations like the Sutro Stewards and SPUR. As an engineer doing an MBA at Berkeley I’d bring practical knowledge of finance and marketing, together with organizational experience from other non-profit boards such as SF Tsunami.

POOJA MUDDASANI

Bike infrastructure is very important to me. I have never owned a car, so when I bought my first bike, I was suddenly able to get to so many new places in the Bay Area that I hadn’t been to before. I believe that better bike infrastructure can encourage more citizens to bike and share that experience with me. I would be a good candidate for the board because I am passionate about making San Francisco a more urbanist city. I have volunteered for Urban Environmentalists (part of SF Yimby), through which I helped advocate for more housing to meet the city’s climate goals. I hope I can bring that experience to the SFBike board.

ALEX THORNTON (INCUMBENT)

A San Franciscan since 2011, Alex loves getting around in anything besides a car. He is passionate about how accessible, safe bike infrastructure can be a tool for mobility, equity, climate impact, and just plain fun. He works on climate in roles that have spanned energy policy, solar, food waste, and carbon analytics. He lives in the Inner Sunset with his wife and two kids. You can see him most mornings and evenings using his trusty cargo bike as the family minivan.