The Community Cycling Center Board of Directors thanks Executive Director Alison Graves for outstanding years of service and leadership
The search for a new director will commence by March 1
Feb. 1, 2013 – Portland, Ore. – The Community Cycling Center board of directors announces that Executive Director Alison Hill Graves is departing the organization. She and her husband Jay Graves, who recently retired after 39 years at Bike Gallery, a business that he and his family started when he was 15 years old, plan to spend time traveling to visit friends and family before returning to Portland and charting their next course. Her last day will be March 14.
The board is grateful for Alison’s efforts and is excited about the strategic direction developed during her tenure. Anne Lee, the Center’s Deputy Director since 2009, will step in as Interim Director until an executive search is completed.
“Alison leaves the organization in great condition,” says board chair Kathryn Sofich. “We have clarity about our strategic goals, we have great people throughout the organization – from staff to board to volunteers to partners — and we are in a solid financial position.”
Graves has been with the organization since 2005. She started as a volunteer, then was hired as the Communications and Development Director in 2006 and was promoted to Executive Director in March 2010. Under her leadership the Portland-based nonprofit has shifted how it fulfills its mission of broadening access to bicycling and its benefits.
This shift was initiated in 2009 with the performance of the Understanding Barriers to Bicycling project, which identified issues of cost, safety and a lack of information as primary barriers. That work and further exploration of health and equity led to the development of community partnerships and programs focused on building community capacity and advocating for equity.
“I am deeply honored to have been given this opportunity,” Graves says. “I have so much respect and admiration for the Community Cycling Center. It is a very special organization that uses its creativity and collaborative nature to build healthy, connected communities – using bicycles as the tool. I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with so many passionate and committed staff, board, volunteers and partners. It has truly been the ride of my life.”
Some of the highlights during her tenure at the Community Cycling Center:
- We advanced the topic of equity in Portland and beyond by performing the Understanding Barriers to Bicycling Project in 2009, a groundbreaking community needs assessment and then sharing it with others locally, regionally and nationally.
- We developed community collaborations in 2010 by facilitating bike committees, Andando en Bicicletas in Cully at Hacienda and We All Can Ride at New Columbia, which led to the I Ride Campaign in 2011 and the implementation in 2012 of community-based initiatives such as training Community Bike Educators and building the Bike Repair Hub at New Columbia.
- We improved working conditions for staff, students and volunteers by moving part of the team to an administrative office in 2008 and then remodeling and expanding the bike shop in 2011.
- We increased organizational cultural competence starting in 2011 by participating in Center for Diversity and the Environment workshops, performing an organizational equity audit, launching an equity team, and including equity as a board strategic goal.
- We created a new strategic plan for 2013-2015 that will broaden access to bicycling, develop community capacity, advocate for equity and increase organizational capacity.
The Community Cycling Center will commence the search for a new Executive Director by March 1.
About the Community Cycling Center
The Community Cycling Center, founded in 1994, broadens access to bicycling and its benefits. Our vision is to build a vibrant community where people of all backgrounds use bicycles to stay healthy and connected. As one of the oldest community bike shops in the United States, we build healthy communities by helping thousands of people ride safely. For more information, visit CommunityCyclnigCenter.org.
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