Meet Our Staff – Community Cycling Center

Learn more about the people that help make this place special!

Ruben Alvarado, Executive Director

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With a passion for nonprofit leadership and community development, Ruben Alvarado brings extensive experience to the role of Executive Director at the Community Cycling Center. Ruben has successfully led various organizations through significant growth and transformation.
Before joining the Community Cycling Center, Ruben served as an executive leader, elected official, and in various roles providing direct services to communities. He holds a Master of Public Administration from Arkansas State University and a B.S. in Urban and Regional Planning from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Ruben is excited to enhance program effectiveness and broaden access to bicycling and its benefits for all Portland residents. Outside of work, he enjoys creating music and exploring the city by bike.

Alec Ballweg, Programs Specialist

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Alec spent the summer of 2021 teaching kids how to ride bikes and, from there, they were hooked. They joined CCC as a Bike Club Instructor in October of 2021 and have been lending their teaching and cycling skills to our Youth Programs team ever since. They are a passionate advocate for empowering youth to explore their community and get out on two wheels. They absolutely love connecting with their community through cycling.

Born and raised on the (sometimes) frozen lakes of Madison, Wisconsin, they moved to Portland to pursue their degree in English at Lewis & Clark College and fell in love with the (almost) never frozen rivers of the PNW. When not riding bikes for work, you can find them climbing rocks, writing stories, baking bread, watching too much hockey, or riding their bike for fun.

Bob Bartholomew, Instructor Mechanic

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Bob started working at bike shops in ‘89 in Southern California. He’s worked on everything from beach cruisers to pro race bikes. From local bike shops, he went on to work at REI. There he was sent to Barnett’s bike school where he was trained in bike mechanic education. For the next 35yrs, Bob used that education to open REI service departments across the country and train mechanics.

Sophie Crosby, Volunteer & Events Coordinator
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Sophie grew up in Minneapolis where her love for playing outside and biking around started. She went to Gonzaga University to study Environmental Studies and Sustainable Business and moved to Portland in 2022, where her passion for community engagement began. She joined CCC in March 2024 and is so excited to be a part of the team and helping CCC’s mission of getting more folks on bikes to provide sustainable and equitable transportation. In her free time, she loves to draw and go to art museums, hang out with dogs and animals, listen to a bunch of music, and spend as much time as possible outside hiking, skiing, biking, or relaxing in parks and at the river.

Brian Davies, Production Manager
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Brian has been working in some part of the cycling industry since 1998, where he started working at a shop in the suburbs of Chicago as a part time job. He’s been a bike messenger in multiple cities, organized Bicycle Film Festival and the North American Cycle Courier Championships in Austin, Texas, and worked in too many bike shops to remember. He has been a Demo Driver for Cannondale, Santa Cruz, and Propain Bicycles. During his time as a demo driver, he has visited just about every major city in the continental US, and a few in Canada. He would like it if you’d bring your dog to him for pats, and your mountain bike to him to make it run better.

William Francis, Programs Director
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William began with the Community Cycling Center as a Safe Routes to School Coordinator in 2018, and has been serving as Programs Director since December 2021. William has been involved with the organization in various capacities over the past 15 years as a customer, volunteer, Bike Camp Instructor, interim ABC Coordinator, and partner when he was working for the Street Trust. William is inspired by the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and supports the Community Cycling Center’s ongoing commitment to transportation justice, especially on behalf of underserved communities. William loves playing/ watching/ talking basketball, backpacking and bikepacking, cooking (and eating!), being a cat parent, and riding bikes all places.
William@CommunityCyclingCenter.org

Hanna Howsmon, Grants Manager
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Hanna joined the Community Cycling Center in April 2020. They grew up in Texas where they studied Geography and Urban Studies at UT Austin and discovered their love of active transportation (car-free since 2014!). More recently, she taught social studies to some of the world’s best kiddos at a public high school in Brooklyn, NY while earning her master’s in teaching. They’re excited to join the Cycling Center because they believe that bikes and bike safety education provide tools for achieving inclusive, meaningful change by strengthening community ties, empowering youth voices, and building climate resilience. Outside of CCC, Hanna enjoys reading, cooking, hiking, camping, and biking around town.

Hanna@communitycyclingcenter.org

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Cole Lalomia, Communications & Marketing Coordinator
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Drawn by the moss and big trees, Cole found Portland to be home after moving from New Jersey. While studying Community Development at Portland State University he spent time working as a student mechanic and instructor at the PSU Bike Hub and leading the PSU Cycling Team. Cole rides bikes mostly because he hates walking. He is also pretty serious about not being too serious while racing bikes at a serious level of competition. He sees bikes as being the most convenient, quickest, and downright best way to get around and hopes that by making cycling more accessible more people will be able to experience the same enjoyment.
Cole.Lalomia@CommunityCyclingCenter.org

Pax Lloyd-Burchett, Education Manager
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Pax’s current role in CCC’s Programs Department has them teaching students bike mechanics at two alternative high schools in Portland. Their goal in teaching, and developing classes for adults is to inculcate a sense of competence in anyone who feels as though “bikes aren’t for them” or that “they’re not mechanically inclined.” Pax started working on their own bike as a commuter in middle school, and began professionalizing that experience by working as a tour guide, and bike mechanic at a family owned and operated bike shop.

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Natania “Natty” Pillias, Community Engagement Coordinator

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Natty joined the Cycling Center team in February 2018. As Safe Routes to School Coordinator, she coordinates inspiring bike clubs in North Portland, specifically at Rosa Parks Elementary. She is excited to create healthy living options and to inspire groups in the New Columbia neighborhood to get on a bike or get back on one. Natty brings her experience working in communities towards building new mindsets for struggling mothers and/or single parents. She is here to bridge our communities together gear by gear, to shift thinking, and to tune everyone into new opportunities through riding. When not working at the Cycling Center, Natty can be found riding with her child, Nevaeh, and their puppy, Dexter. She also loves just sitting in her neighborhood and watching everything in action; it feels great to just be a part of a community that stays very active and in which everyone knows each other. She identifies as obsessed with adventures and survival and foraging foods we can grow locally or find right in our own backyards. Natty loves to eat.

Natty@CommunityCyclingCenter.org

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Nat Sheffler, Training & Evaluation Supervisor
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Nat came to the CCC in 2018 after working for several other programs (Boston bikes, YMCA Ybike, and REI outdoor school) as an instructor. What do these organizations all have in common? Getting people on bikes and teaching them how to do it safely! When she’s not teaching kids how to use both brakes, she’s off riding on some dirt and/or way too cold in a tent on a bikepacking adventure!

Carl Wilson, Bicycle Mechanic, Salvage Sunday
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Carl Wilson has a very long history with the Community Cycling Center, having worked as a mechanic here since 2003. He does all kinds of mechanic work, like refurbishing bicycles for sale, booking repairs, and taking in donations, and he does a fantastic job at it. He enjoys getting paid to do what he loves – fixing bikes. Prior to joining our team, he worked in construction, telemarketing, and landscaping. Outside of work, he enjoys building bikes, fixing clocks, and watching movies. His favorite ride in Portland is Zoobomb, because it is fast, fun, and goes through beautiful Forest Park.
Carl@CommunityCyclingCenter.org

Elizabeth Wilson, Bookkeeper
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Elizabeth grew up riding her bike in suburban New Jersey, and has been car-free since 2005. She has
spent most of her adult life crunching numbers for small businesses, with non-profits being her favorite. In 2009 Elizabeth was the #2 candidate for a job with the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition (Santa Rosa, CA), so working with CCC is a dream come true for her! When she isn’t crunching numbers (or even when she is), she is out traveling and exploring the world- her greatest joy in life.