BWTB Coalition
Bike/Walk Tampa Bay is a regional coalition of citizens, advocates, professionals, and allied organizations created to make walking and bicycling the preferred modes of transportation in the Tampa Bay region. The Coalition was formed by a partnership between the following:
- New North Transportation Alliance
- Tampa Downtown Partnership
- Westshore Alliance
- Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority
- St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership
- Florida Department of Transportation
- Community Traffic Safety Teams of Tampa Bay
- Metropolitan Planning Organizations of Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties
What the community can expect
We will work to make walking and bicycling safe, healthy, and fun for everyone who lives, works, or plays in the Tampa Bay area.
- We tell the story of why walking and bicycling benefits everyone in the Tampa Bay area
- We are the regional resource for the E’s – education, enforcement, engineering, encouragement, evaluation
- We advocate for a culture change: walkable and bikeable communities
To accomplish this goal, we engage and empower local communities and stakeholders to achieve our region’s vision for a better transportation future.
Pedestrian and bicycle safety presentations given
Ambassadors who have taken the Pledge to WalkWise, BikeSmart and DriveSafe
Key to Safety cards distributed to Gulf Blvd. hotels
Dave Andreychuk

Chair
Rob Zimprich

Vice Chair
Channing Bickford

Westshore Alliance Representative
Joe Freeman

St. Petersburg Representative
Prior to moving to Tampa, Joe attended college at Florida Gulf Coast University in Ft Myers, with a major in Environmental Studies. He was very involved in the cycling scene in the SWFL area, including helping to relaunch Critical Mass in Ft Myers. Joe sees cycling not only as a fun, healthy activity, but also as a tool of empowerment.
Billy Hattaway

Regional/At Large Representative
J. Steele Olmstead

Regional/At Large Representative
Lena Pacheco

Tampa's Downtown Representative
St Petersburg Downtown Partnership
Tampa Downtown Partnership
Westshore Alliance
Community Traffic Safety Teams
Armed with carefully developed missions, goals and objectives, the Teams undertake traffic safety-related projects and activities and serve as a resource to any and all communities, local government agencies and roadway users to assist in the reduction of traffic crashes and the related injuries and fatalities on our roadways.
Alert Today Alive Tomorrow
Armed with carefully developed missions, goals and objectives, the Teams undertake traffic safety-related projects and activities and serve as a resource to any and all communities, local government agencies and roadway users to assist in the reduction of traffic crashes and the related injuries and fatalities on our roadways.
TBARTA
Hillsborough MPO
Pinellas MPO
The MPO seeks to improve transportation in the county for all principal modes of travel, including mass transit, walking, and bicycling, as well as automobile. The MPO prioritizes capital improvements to address the county’s travel needs and allocates federal funding to implement the projects as identified in the TIP and the LRTP.
The MPO relies extensively on public involvement to guide the development of its plans and programs. Staff members regularly appear before professional and civic groups to discuss transportation topics and issues related to its planning program. Staff also attends public events such as community forums, workshops and festivals to share information about MPO plans and to collect feedback from citizens regarding their transportation concerns and interests.
Nicole Roberts

St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership
Community Outreach Coordinator
When Nicole interviewed for the position of Community Outreach Coordinator with the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership, the CEO, Jason Mathis, shared about its rich history in Downtown St. Pete, and how the founders were particularly instrumental in bringing the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus to the community. “As a recent USFSP graduate, I felt compelled and honored to have the opportunity to give back to this organization that was responsible for the reason I had come to this city I love so much to begin with,” Nicole shared. “After being in my role only a few weeks, we gathered the transportation providers in the area and kicked off the Car-Free St. Pete campaign, which I now feel is some of my most important work in this role! I feel so honored to be involved in helping our city become more car-free, resulting in better sense of place, healthier individuals, safer streets, a cleaner environment, and a stronger economy.”
“My best moment [in my role] so far was earlier this year when we were selecting applicants to put together our Car-Free St. Pete Committee. Honestly, I thought we would be struggling to get 12 individuals to sign up, which is how big we wanted our committee to be, but we ended up having over 20 applicants! While it was awful to have to turn people away, it was so exciting to see how many people are passionate about transportation in our community!”
Laura Cisneros

Love to Ride
Region Manager, North America
Love to Ride was a very natural fit for Laura. As a CEO and long-time health and fitness professional, she spent years building service and consumer goods brands to spread the great word about exercise. Along with being eco-conscious, her love for biking made Love to Ride a heavenly fit. “I could not be happier.”
“Most moments are great on a bike,” said Laura. Some of her best are when she has no particular place to be, no particular pace to ride, and nothing on her mind. “On those rides, I’m just aware of everything––the leaves shimmering on the trees, the bug crossing my path, the smell of bread from the bakery, the breeze in my hair (under my helmet of course!).”
Joy Hancock

Bike Florida
Executive Director
Originally from Oklahoma, Joy and her husband discovered Florida when they competed in a triathlon at Clearwater Beach in 2009. The combination of beach, perfect November weather, and the Pinellas Trail was all it took for them to fall in love with the Sunshine State. Now they spend as much time as possible outside, whether it be bicycling, running, walking, or kayaking.
Joy’s other interests include photography, learning foreign languages, creative writing, and travel, and she can’t wait to begin her next adventure.
Paul Schlimme

Tampa Bay Cycling
Group Leader
I started riding five years ago after my son did the triathlon on Honeymoon Island and I saw there were people of all different ages and abilities also participating––and they were happy! I told my son at his event I would do a sprint triathlon with him the next year, and he said “okay, dad.” I went from an overweight couch potato at 58 to figuring out how to swim a half mile, bike 12 miles, and run a 5K. I loved the biking––running, not so much.
I became a ride leader right away as there were very few introductory (slower) group rides. I also love variety so I could do different trails every weekend (if you lead a ride, you get to choose when, where, what, how far, how fast, etc.). It has been very rewarding for me to lead rides. I lost 60 pounds, am off all medications, including anti-depressants and cholesterol meds. Riding has been my fountain of youth and I have made dozens of new friends.
The group I lead, Tampa Bay Cycling, used to be called Pinellas Pedalers, but that name was limiting and misleading as we love variety and lead rides not only in Pinellas County, but also Hillsborough, Pasco, Manatee, and occasionally in other counties, too. Because we offer over 50 group rides a month, have a friendly non-trash-talking environment, and are free to participants, our growth has been phenomenal. We have doubled our participation in the past year to over 2,100 members on Meetup and over 2,800 on Facebook.
With Bike/Walk Tampa Bay’s support, we just added a third tool to Tampa Bay Cycling’s group growth: Love to Ride Tampa Bay, which includes ride tracking and periodic contests. In just three months, our Love to Ride group has logged the second-highest number of miles worldwide of any size group. Hopefully that recognition will help Tampa Bay Cycling grow even further and make folks aware that Tampa Bay is the place to bike!
Tampa Bay Cycling is different than many groups as we have no dues, we offer rides at a variety of speeds, and in many varied locations throughout Tampa Bay. We aren’t limited to one town or neighborhood. All rides are guided by volunteer leaders. We foster group safety on rides, and truly do not allow trash-talking about other riders. The vast majority of rides are social, not race types, or with pacelines. It is a group where folks can start biking and grow in ability all while having fun, making new friends, and biking new places throughout Florida.
Riding the waterfront in St. Pete and Pass-A-Grille are favorites. One great ride with four distinct sections is Courtney Campbell Causeway to Bayshore, then Ream Wilson Trail, then on to Phillippe Park. Truly amazing and so varied. We live in paradise.
My personal goal for 2021 is to surpass my mileage of 6,511 in 2020 by at least a mile, continue to find and give free rides to blind stokers via the Blind Stokers Club on my tandem, and keep the rubber side down at all times! I am also contemplating becoming ride leader for Fuller Center Bike Adventure, including cross-country fundraising bike rides for the homeless. I also hope to once again spend a week riding with my nine grandchildren at a Delaware beach.
Ginger Regalado

Florida Department of Transportation District Seven
Bicyclist and Pedestrian Program Manager
Rodney Chatman

Forward Pinellas
Planning Division Manager
Rodney has always been very active throughout his life. He even earned a scholarship to play basketball for Eckerd College. After graduation, he continued to play basketball and lift weights. Rodney also started cycling casually; he bought a Trek 1000 so that he and his wife could ride the Pinellas Trail together. A basketball injury to his Achilles heel redefined activity level, however. “After I recovered, I went back to lifting weights at the gym and running on the treadmill, because it was something to do, but found that pretty boring and was never able to get into a good routine.” His eating habits also changed as his work responsibilities and family commitments increased and he found himself slowly gaining weight. “My ‘wake-up’ moment occurred a few years ago when one of my wife’s friends from college died of a sudden heart attack in his mid-40s. That tragedy really impacted me because I thought I was heading down the same road,” he shared. “I found that cycling was exactly what I was looking for and it even inspired me to drastically change my eating habits. I now am back down to the weight that I was in high school and my last physical exam was really good.” He has since purchased a Cannondale SuperSix Evo road bike and now strives to ride 100 to 130 miles each week.
“I feel that my quality of life has vastly improved by being able to bicycle along the many connected trails and bike lanes in the Tampa Bay region,” said Rodney. “Cycling allows me to live a healthier lifestyle, relieve stress, and enjoy the outdoors.”
Tina Russo

Metropolitan Planning Organization Planning and Development Department Pasco County
Active Transportation Planner
She’s also a League of American Bicyclists league certified instructor (LCI). As an LCI, Tina has taught bicycle education to hundreds of people, from members of law enforcement to children at bicycle rodeo events. Tina has also coached the USA Disabled Cycling Team at two Paralympics events and at several international championship events.
Tina enjoys riding her bike on roadways, multi-use shared paths, and off-road trails. She has had the honor and privilege of riding in the Police Unity Tour and the Law Enforcement United Ruff Ride.
Paula Flores

Greenman-Pedersen, Inc.
Transportation Planning Practice Leader at GPI
“So, why do I ride? Because my job isn’t complete until our children can ride to school, our residents feel safe riding to parks, work, and play. In the meantime, we have a lot of work to do until we no longer experience fatalities and serious injuries on our streets.”
Heidi Ferraro

Advocate
Heidi received her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Florida State University. Prior to the birth of her son, Alexander, she worked in cash and treasury management at a local Tampa Bay company. When Alexander arrived, she became at stay at home mom, enabling her to pursue additional training in the therapies Alexander participated in to help him be the best he can be. She incorporates these therapy techniques into all aspects of his life. She has served as Alexander’s one-on-one aide in both school and camp settings prior to him now participating in these type of settings much more independently. “It’s been an amazing, fulfilling journey seeing him learn, grow, and make daily strides,” she said.
Heidi’s motto: “Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.” —Jennifer Lee
Michelle Cyr

AARP
Florida Associate State Director for Community Outreach
Michelle also works in collaboration with elected officials, business and community leaders to create Age Friendly Communities where people can safely and affordably live, work, learn and explore as they age. The AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities encourages states, cities, towns and rural areas to prepare for the rapid aging of the U.S. population by paying increased attention to the environmental, economic and social factors that influence the health and well-being of older adults. AARP Florida is pleased to have wonderful partners statewide to make the Sunshine State more age friendly to residents of all ages and abilities. Currently, there are 34 Age Friendly Communities and just this year Florida was designated an Age Friendly State.
Michelle has been an AARP employee for over 20 years. She is a native of Tampa Bay and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Eckerd College.
Cyndi Raskin

TBARTA
Director of Commuter Services
Before coming to TBARTA in March 2019, Cyndi served the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority for nearly 21 years with increasingly responsible roles in the marketing department, and the last four years as their Director of Communications and Marketing. In that role, she led a marketing team of seven staffers and was responsible for all aspects of marketing, communications, public relations, and branding for the agency.
Cyndi holds two Associates degrees, with honors, from St. Petersburg College, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Humanities and Literature from Eckerd College, where she graduated with distinction. She is the chair of the City of Dunedin Public Relations Advisory Action Committee, secretary of the City of Dunedin Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee, and a 2016 graduate of the prestigious Leadership Pinellas program. A Dunedin native, Cyndi has a long history of volunteerism including leadership roles with her daughter’s school PTA organizations, and as a Girl Scout troop leader.
Steven Cherpock

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
Corporal
“I believe as Hillsborough County continues to grow we must all work together to make our roads safer for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians.” Corporal Cherpock says, “Having the combination of representatives from enforcement, engineering, and educational groups is the key to improving the safety of our roadways.”
George Edmiston

Transportation Safety Consultant
Mahshid Arasteh

American Quality Consultants, LLC
Transportation Planner
Prior to starting AQC, she held highly responsible state, county, and municipal positions for 22 years. These include serving as director of transportation for Pinellas County, public works administrator and city engineer for City of Clearwater, and assistant district drainage engineer and Project Development and Environment project manager for FDOT.
She has been married to her husband, Abdi, for 38 years. Their sons, Cameron and Keon, are also aspiring engineers. Ms. Arasteh is active in her community and participates in many fundraisers and marathons for charitable causes.
American Quality Consultants, LLC of Safety Harbor was founded in 2009. AQC is a minority women-owned business that provides local government with high-quality project management, planning, and design and construction phase support with roadways traffic control, intelligent transportation systems, drainage, and utilities. AQC’s staff is also experienced in feasibility, grant funding application assistance and Community involvement and coordination.
Kyle Simpson

City of St. Petersburg
Transportation Planner
Kyle’s favorite bicycle and walking events are those that allow people to experience the city outside of an automobile. One event he would like to see happen in Tampa Bay someday is a “Slow Roll,” a bicycle ride started in Detroit as part block party, part bike ride, with a focus on bringing the community together around bicycling. The ride pace never goes above 10 mph, which serves to make the ride accessible to people of all ages and abilities. He had the opportunity to participate in Slow Roll Buffalo (NY). “It was a powerful experience biking with that many people across a variety of neighborhoods and roadways,” Kyle reminisced.
Kyle started bicycling in his teens when his cousin talked him into going on a Teen Treks trip, a program that operates bicycle tours for middle and high school students. On his first trip, he was introduced to the geographic feature called “mountains,” which were quite a bit longer than the bridge over the interstate in Cocoa, FL. After that first trip from Albany, NY to Provincetown, MA he attained a fervor for bike touring and went on to bike across the United States in 2010 and across 11 countries in Europe in 2015 after graduate school. It was the trips he did as a teenager that led him to the Urban Planning field. Kyle said, “I’ve never looked back.”
Ric Hartman

City of Clearwater
Senior Transportation Planner
Deborah Sickmon

Safe Kids Greater Tampa
Coalition Coordinator
Deborah has also played an integral role in the Safe Routes to School program. She has trained elementary and middle school physical education teachers on bicycle safety topics and has assisted with bike clinics during classes. Through her efforts, more than 12,500 students have received hands-on experiential education on bike and pedestrian safety topics. The Safe Kids Greater Tampa Coalition also supports International Walk to School Day each October and Bike to School Day each Spring by partnering with schools throughout Hillsborough County.
“Teaching children of all ages ways to keep themselves safe while walking or riding their bike or scooter in their neighborhood is very important,” said Deborah. “Many concepts seem simplistic, such as wearing a bike helmet, looking both ways before crossing the street, crossing at crosswalks, and putting away distractions while crossing. However, as adults, many of us forget to follow our own advice. We should make an ongoing effort to model the behaviors we want our kids to imitate in order to keep themselves safe.”
Deborah is a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician and Instructor, an American Heart Association First Aid and CPR Basic Life Support Instructor, and she leads the adolescent education team, providing classroom education on numerous topics from hand washing and safe baby to puberty education and nutrition. Prior to working at SJCH, Deborah was a science teacher in both public and private school sectors for a combined 14 years in Tampa.
Michael Maurino

Westshore Alliance
Director of Transportation and Planning
As Director of Transportation and Planning, Michael focuses on improving mobility options within and to Tampa’s Westshore District. Michael started working on transportation issues as a volunteer on the 2010 Hillsborough transportation referendum. He has advocated for better roads, safer pedestrian access, and more transit options in policy positions with the Tampa Bay Partnership, Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, and United Way Suncoast.
Michael serves on the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission as a City of Tampa appointee. He holds degrees in Political Science and Telecommunication-News from the University of Florida. His goal is to be able to walk to a train station near his house in Port Tampa City with his wife and daughter.
Michael Case

Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority (TBARTA)
Principal Planner and Project Manager
In addition to managing the operations of the Authority, Michael serves as a voting member of the Metropolitan Planning Organization Technical Advisory Committees of Pasco, Hernando-Citrus, and Hillsborough counties. As a committee member, he is able to bring a regional perspective to the development and delivery of county-based transportation products and services, as well as help coordinate efforts across counties where needed. He also serves as an alternate advisory member to the Tampa Bay Transportation Management Area Leadership Group and works closely with area legislators to advise on planning-related issues and to develop policies that further the efforts of cross-county transit and transportation services.
Prior to TBARTA, Michael worked in economic development and small business assistance with the University of South Florida (USF) Research Foundation and has conducted on-site sponsored research on native-based public participation strategies in Alice Springs, Australia. He has a B.A. in Organizational Communication from the University of Michigan, a M.A. Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from USF, and specializes in bringing an interdisciplinary approach to transportation planning by combining economic development, engineering, land use, and social marketing. He has also served as a touring and recording musician with several national artists.
Erica Nelson

University Area Community Development Corporation
Contract and Grants Coordinator
Prior to joining the UACDC, Erica worked at the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) on the ITS, Traffic Operations and Safety program. She assisted with managing pedestrian and bicycle grants in addition to naturalistic driving studies, motorcycle safety, and wrong way driving research. She mainly worked on the Alert Today Florida campaign that founded the Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Coalition to advance the purpose of Florida’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Strategic Safety Plan (PBSSP).
Erica was born and raised in Tampa, Florida where she also completed her Master’s in Public Administration with a certificate in Nonprofit Management at the University of South Florida. She is passionate about people, safety, health, and community. In her spare time, she teaches yoga and meditation classes to assist others in living a happy, healthy lifestyle.
Peter Hsu

Florida Department of Transportation
Traffic Safety Engineer
Adam White

University of Tampa
Data Analyst
“I bicycle because it allows me to engage with the communities I ride through.” Adam says. “I can speak to and get to know the people on my route that I wouldn’t if I were driving. Through this, bicycling keeps me healthy in body and mind. I wanted to become an LCI, because bike safety is crucial not only for me, but for all road users.”
Chad Hill

USF Police Department
Corporal
Corporal Hill is a part of the Hillsborough Community Traffic Safety Team and actively participates in safety initiatives in the University area, including partnering with the Center for Urban Transportation (CUTR). He is a League Cycling Instructor certified by the League of American Bicyclist.
Tiffany Sabiel

Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital
Safe Routes to School Supervisor
Her certifications include League of American Bicyclists Cycling Instructor (LCI), Certified Regional Bicycle Helmet Trainer, Regional Trainer for Florida Traffic Bicycle Safety Education and Certified Car Seat Technician. She received her Bachelors of Arts in History from the University of South Florida. In 2016 she won the annual 2016 Educator of the year award from the Florida Bicycle Association.
Mara Latorre

City of Plant City
Planner
Mara is a passionate resident of Hillsborough County, Florida. In 2016, she received her Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning, and Certificate of Community Real Estate Development from the University of South Florida. Since then, she serves as a Planner for the City of Plant City’s Planning & Zoning Division. Latorre is also a City of Plant City representative for the MPO’s Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee, and proudly facilitated Plant City’s Inaugural Bike with the Mayor Ride with Mayor Rick Lott this past March, with support from the Bike/Walk Tampa Bay Coalition. Aside from biking around small Florida towns, her lifelong calling is to help bridge the public to visual, written, and performing arts opportunities by implementing and supporting effective community planning and inclusive economic development opportunities within the public realm.
Gena Torres

Hillsborough MPO
Executive Planner
Alex Henry

Florida Department of Transportation, District 7
Bicycle Pedestrian Safety Specialist
Prior to joining FDOT, Alex worked at the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR), managing education and enforcement programs in support of the Florida Pedestrian and Bicycle Strategic Safety Plan.
Alex is a 4th generation Floridian and is currently pursuing a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of South Florida. His professional interests include promoting safe, equitable, and healthy communities through active transportation planning and context sensitive design.
Becky Afonso

Florida Bicycle Association
Executive Director
She has over 20 years of cycling experience in project management, route logistics, event directing and marketing from positions at Bike Wisconsin, Bike MS Breakaway to the Keys and Bike Florida. Her certifications include League of American Bicyclists Cycling Instructor (LCI), certified bicycle helmet fitter and graduate of CyclingSavvy. Upon becoming executive director of FBA, Becky vowed to join FBA member bicycle clubs and is now a member of over 30 Florida bicycle clubs.
In addition to being a Florida Senate appointed and current vice-chair to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Florida Greenways and Trails Council, she is the vice-chair of the Forward Pinellas Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee and chair of the Bicycle/Pedestrian Safety committee of the Florida Suncoast SAFE KIDS Coalition (Pinellas Council). Becky’s position at FBA keeps her busy with education and advocacy across the state to ensure the safety of all Florida bicyclists.
Lucas Cruse

City of St. Petersburg
Bicycle Pedestrian Coordinator,
He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering. He is the father of twin girls.
William Porth

Chair, Hillsborough CTST
Traffic Studies and Safety Coordinator, City of Tampa
Porth chairs the Community Traffic Safety Team for the FDOT’s educational component of traffic safety, and is a Vision Zero Team Member for the Hillsborough County MPO. Porth works with City Design and Planning staff to implement the Complete Streets Project, is a Bike/Walk Tampa Bay coalition member representing the CTST for Hillsborough County, and a League Cycling Instructor certified by the League of American Bicyclists.
Marc Hanger

Chair, Pinellas CTST
Transportation Planning Analyst, Forward Pinellas
Marc also brings his skills to other groups he is involved with such as Bike/Walk Tampa Bay and the Pinellas Community Traffic Safety Team, groups he supports because they work to improve quality of life in Tampa Bay. He is currently excited about expansion of the Pinellas Trail, which is planned for construction close to his home in the walkable community of Countryside.