The Bicycle Alliance is powered by VOLUNTEERS

We work for you, but also, we NEED you. We need advocates in every county across the state. We have an ongoing need for office volunteers: data entry, filing and other tasks always need to get done. Our annual auction would not happen without over 100 people giving generously of their time. And there are always special tasks for special skills that can help the cause of bicycling in Washington. Your skill can help bicyclists across the state!
Call or email Donna if you would like to help out.

Volunteer Spotlight:   February 2010   Louise Kornreich

In 2001, Seattle resident Louise Kornreich volunteered to help during the Bicycle Alliance of Washington's annual auction. By the end of the evening, she asked to chair the 2002 event! Louise capably served as our auction chairperson for three years and helped us grow this annual fundraiser. Although she no longer chairs the event, Louise continues to serve on our Auction committee as our catering liaison.

Louise is a dedicated volunteer. She often drops by to help out at the month end work parties and has staffed our booth several times at Bike Expo. Louise also carries a supply of Bicycle Alliance literature in her car (which proudly displays Share the Road license plates) and distributes them to other cyclists on club rides.

Louise's most memorable volunteer moment was during her first year as the auction chair. "My family came from New York for the event to support me," she recalled. "When the numbers were tallied at the end of the night, I got a big thumbs-up from the team on how much we had raised. That felt great!"

Active in the outdoor community, Louise is a member of The Mountaineers, Washington Trails Association, and is currently the president of Cyclists of Greater Seattle (COGS). Besides cycling, she enjoys hiking, swimming in mountain lakes and photography.

Volunteer Spotlight:   December 2009   Brian Faller

Brian Faller of Olympia knew his countless hours as a cycling advocate with the Bicycle Alliance of Washington had paid off when his daughter's driver's education class watched the Share the Road video and did the accompanying lesson.

An Olympia resident, Brian worked tirelessly with the Bicycle Alliance to incorporate Share the Road information into driver's education curriculum. He met with Department of Licensing officials and driver's education representatives about including a Share the Road component in the curriculum. He testified before the state legislature in favor of a bill that would require its inclusion in driver's education classes, and he met individually with key legislators about the need to teach new motorists how to safely drive around cyclists.

"When my own daughter learned the Share the Road module in her driver's ed class, it sunk in what we had accomplished," remarked Brian.

Brian is a seasoned bike commuter and rarely uses a car. He is an active member of the Capital Bicycling Club and sits on their Government Affairs board. He is also a member of the Bicycle Alliance's Legislative and Statewide Issues Committee.

Bicycling and bike advocacy have transformed Brian's life. He started cycling with a serious back injury and was 20 pounds overweight. Today his back is hugely improved and he's dropped the extra weight. The bicycle advocacy has given Brian a voice and he knows he can make a difference.

"Contact the Bicycle Alliance if you have a bike issue that you'd like to work on," advised Brian. "They'll give you some ideas and help you get started."

Volunteer Spotlight:   September 2009   Eileen Hyatt

Nearly 20 years ago, Eileen Hyatt attended a Spokane outreach meeting organized by the Bicycle Alliance of Washington. She and other local advocates were assured that they were not alone in their quest for a better cycling environment. Eileen has been an active BAW member ever since.

Eileen's volunteer service is impressive! She has served on the Legislative Committee, helped plan the Footprints & Bike Tracks conference, and attended Bicycle Advocacy Day in Olympia several times. She currently sits on the BAW Education Committee and is a member of the Board of Directors.

Eileen's proudest moment as an advocate was bringing together David and Martha Jones and the Bicycle Alliance. When the Jones' son Cooper was hit and killed in a sanctioned bike race near Spokane, they wanted to do something to improve safety for all bicyclists. Working with the BAW, the Jones family was instrumental in the 1998 passage of the Cooper Jones Bicycle-Pedestrian Safety Education Act.

The most fun Eileen has as an advocate is empowering others to ride their bikes safely around Spokane. With encouragement and assistance from the BAW, she launched the successful Spokane Bike Buddy program. "Helping riders find the best available route and learn good traffic techniques is the most fun a rabid bike advocate could have!" she laughs.

Volunteer Spotlight:   August 2009   Phyllis Counts

Many Bicycle Alliance members may not know Phyllis Counts personally but they are familiar with her graphic design work-she is the creative mind behind our logo!

After commuting to work by bike for over 10 years, Phyllis became involved with the Bike Alliance through her friend and former BAW Executive Director Barbara Culp. She and her husband Dennis have been active volunteers ever since.

"Dennis and I have enjoyed being a part of BAW and see it as a great way to help make bicycling safer and more accessible for people throughout the state, especially our children and grandchildren," said Phyllis. "As more of our close friends and family buy bikes, and start using them for transportation and recreation, it's nice to be able to say, Here's a good organization to support!" she added.

Besides her graphic design contribution, Phyllis has served as our booth coordinator at Bike Expo and been a part of the auction set up team for many years. This year she is gearing up for a tasty new challenge: she is chairing the dessert auction.

Phyllis' strongest feeling of commitment to the Bicycle Alliance comes through the people she's met through her volunteer work. "I've had the great joy of getting to know and spend time with an interesting and dedicated community of volunteers," she stated.

Thank you, Phyllis!

Volunteer Spotlight:   July 2009   Rebecca Slivka

Rebecca Slivka has been an active member of the BAW since 1996 and her volunteer commitment has been enormous. She has attended numerous public meetings and testified on behalf of bicyclists, was instrumental in preserving the width of the I-90 bicycle path, supported the drive for the "Share the Road" license plate (including designing the new "Share the Road" bicycle jersey), helped us upgrade our office technology, and currently serves as our webmaster. She is also the founder of the Bicycle Watchdog website, which tracks bicycle hazards throughout the the state.

When she's not busy with activism or her computer consulting work, Rebecca enjoys long distance bicycle touring and plays SCRABBLE® (she is the director of the Seattle Scrabble Club and is nationally ranked as a competitive player).

Volunteer Spotlight:   June 2009   Claudia Mason

Claudia Mason dropped by the Bike Alliance office in October 2005 to volunteer her time and she has been a regular ever since. She frequently puts in time at mailing work parties, helps keep our stock of bike maps from around the state current, and helps mail out requests for bike maps. Claudia and her husband, Robb, have also volunteered at our annual auction four times.

When she's not helping out at the BAW, Claudia works in the business office at Elliott Bay Book Company. "I have no official title," said Claudia, "but I could be called an office manager."

Claudia is a bike commuter and touring cyclist. She has traveled through much of Washington State on her bicycle and especially enjoyed touring through the mountains. She and Robb hope to bike tour in Switzerland someday, which is where her brother lives.

Claudia wishes more people would give bicycling a chance so they could discover how much fun it is and how freeing it can be. "I've never owned a car," she adds, "and think I never will own one."

Volunteer Spotlight:   March 2008   Dave Shaw

Former racer and year round bicycle commuter Dave Shaw has given so many volunteer hours to the Bicycle Alliance that we long ago quit even trying to count them! He has been supporting bicyclists throughout the state in numerous ways since before BAW was founded. He can be seen at numerous events and public meetings, usually in bike gear.

Dave provides the office constant computer support, adding a bit of database magic to make everything easy in the office. The system he created as a volunteer to run our auction runs so efficiently that other organizations have asked to buy it! Dave is one of a group of volunteers that we can easily say BAW wouldn't be here if they were not willing to give generously of their time. We can never thank him sufficiently, so this month, we will just raise a beer to Dave.

Volunteer Spotlight:   September 2007   Ralph Wessels

A public engineer who lives in Gig Harbor, Ralph Wessels seems to be everywhere that BAW is. He is always a big part of our annual auction, his advice on working with the state DOT is invaluable, he is a very important part of the RAPSody team and this year he has taken on the huge task of actually captaining the Bicycle Alliance itself as president of the Board of Directors.

Ralph's commitment of time and talent is a big part of the reason the Bicycle Alliance is so effective creating and protecting a bike-friendly Washington State.

Volunteer Spotlight:   May 2007   Susan Hiles

Every Thursday evening, rain or shine, you can find legal assistant Susan Hiles at the Bicycle Alliance office working hard on membership. Susan is an STP rider who has started commuting by bike from her Bellevue home to downtown Seattle several times a week.

For over 4 years Susan has been committed to BAW and to helping bicyclists across the state of Washington have a more bike friendly state. It's a huge, detailed job and Susan is very good at it, staying until it's finished (sometimes ridiculously late!). We really don't know what we would do without Susan.

Volunteer Spotlight:   Feb 2007   Norm Tjaden

Volunteer Spotlight:   Jan 2007   Amy Carlson

There literally would not be a Bicycle Alliance of Washington without Amy Carlson a retired engineer from Seattle. Amy founded BAW in 1986 and has served on our board ever since, taking on the role of president on several occasions. She is leaving the board this year and obviously none of us can imagine what the organization will be like without her. However she will never really be gone; Amy's mark on bicycling in Washington is so huge, her legacy is BAW itself.

Volunteer Spotlight:   Oct 2006   David McCulloch

If you've seen the magnificent Jefferson county bike maps, you've seen the work of David McCulloch, a great Bicycle Alliance volunteer in Port Townsend. David is a tireless advocate who has devoted many hours to improving conditions for cyclists. He has worked on the growing Olympic Discovery Trail, and he keeps after the city and county councils to include bicycles and bicyclists in their plans. As a member of the Bicycle Alliance's Legislative committee, David has worked on such difficult issues as rumble strips, the event permit policies and accommodating cyclists in the Hood Canal bridge rebuild.

Volunteer Spotlight:   Sep 2006   Steve Keithly

Many people find creative and unique ways to support the Bicycle Alliance and help all Washington bicyclists. Steve Keithly has volunteered his time and talent as an electrician improving the Bicycle Alliance offices over the last year. We literally could not see what we are doing without Steve's skills! Steve proudly displays his Share the Road license plate on his Subaru and actively promotes the plate by distributing our flyers and cards to bike shops and at area trailheads.

Volunteer Spotlight:   Jan 2006   Will Chin

Will Chin has been active in the Bicycle Alliance for some time now, but this year he took on the huge task of running our annual Auction. Of course this year's Auction, in a brand new location, was a great success, raising over $70,000 for Bicycle Advocacy. Will's hard work and commitment really paid off, but we also love his positive attitude and big smile every time he is in the office. Thanks a ton Will!!!

Volunteer Spotlight:   Oct 2005   Julie Stohlman

It's hard to imagine how the Bicycle Alliance office could function without the amazing commitment of super volunteer Julie Stohlman. Julie is a stalwart at our Month End Work parties, in fact, she can run them! She helps out with the Auction and other events, she's in the office weekly processing important paperwork and sometimes even comes in on a moment's notice when something comes up, like happened this week.

Julie is a dedicated bicyclist who commutes almost everywhere by bike, two years ago she rode across the USA and this year she is just back from RAGBRAI! Her positive attitude always brightens up the office. Julie is a life member but her contribution of time is at least as important to us!

Volunteer Spotlight:   September 2005   Jim Hunt

Jim Hunt has been incredibly generous with his time the last few months, spending many hours at the Bicycle Alliance office helping to work out the kinks in our computer network, as well as stuffing envelopes and filing. And he's become a regular at our Month End work Parties!

Jim first contacted us because he wanted to make a contribution but at the moment was unable to contribute financially. His contribution has been exceptionally important to us.

Volunteer Spotlight:   Aug 2005   Cheryln Crowl

Cheryln Crowl interviewed in The Advocate.