Congratulations to our new board members! We’re excited to work with you all in 2022!
Community Placemaker, Bread Baker + Urban Planner
I have worked on significant projects in San Diego including the development of a culturally designated Little Saigon District, placemaking initiatives including Take Back the Alley and Fair@44, implementing tactical transit solutions including a pilot dedicated bus/bike lane, and am currently focused on implementing painted crosswalks and other street safety enhancements, as well as a community lead tree planting initiative.
I strongly believe that city planning is a tool to create positive change, which is why I focused my graduate thesis on the Cross Border Region, titled ‘Bi-National Placemaking and Implementation’. As an outcome of my thesis, I developed a course curriculum around placemaking and taught at an architecture school in Tijuana. Through dedication and hard work, I was recently named one of Daily Transcript’s Influential Women for 2019, and 2019 40 Under 40 by SD Metro.
Alzheimer’s Association & Policy Advocate
My name is Daniel Gaytan and it would be my honor to serve on the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition (SDCBC) Board of Directors. I was born and raised in the South Bay of San Diego County. I am interested in serving on the board of directors because of my passion for safe cycling in San Diego and desire to expand opportunities to all communities. I love riding my bike and I love it even more being able to do it with my wife and daughter. However, when I cycle I recognize that I do so from a position of privilege. I recognize many do not have the same access that I have not only to the equipment I use but also the accessible roads available to me. I would like to do my part to make riding a bike accessible and safe for as many people as possible in San Diego County.
As an adult, I have spent much of my career in the public policy and advocacy arena. I have had the privilege to work for a local Congressman in both his San Diego and Capitol office. I have also had the opportunity to work for the Obama administration as a Policy Analyst at the U.S. Department of Education. Currently, I work for the Alzheimer’s Association and help lead grassroots advocacy efforts in Southern California. These experiences have provided me an understanding of various policy areas and how they apply to people’s lives. Furthermore, each experience has taught me that even good policy/bill ideas need strong advocates behind them in order to be successful. I hope to bring these mechanics to the SDCBC in order to better advocate for a safer cycling experience for all San Diegans. Additionally, I would love to expand my love for cycling to everyone so that people of all ages and backgrounds have greater access to bicycles and safe riding opportunities.
Thank you for your consideration of my board nomination. I look forward to engaging with you all in the future.
Government and Community Relations Lead
My name is Jacob Mandel, and I am an advocate with experience making San Diego’s streets safer for active transportation. I am a native of San Diego who believes that our roads should be for all modes of transportation – not just cars. As an e-bike rider, I have explored many of San Diego’s bikeways and advocate for a complete bicycle network across the county.
I want to join the Bicycle Coalition’s Board to continue the work I began as the recent Advocacy Manager. Throughout my time at SDCBC, I grew the Advocacy Department’s outreach to the far reaches of San Diego County, advocating for bicycle safety in the City of San Diego, Oceanside, Ramona, Imperial Beach, SANDAG projects, and more! I created systems to track bicycle crashes and report road hazards to local governments, provided comments on projects throughout the region, and developed long-lasting partnerships with many organizations and elected officials.
With 14 cyclist fatalities in 2021 alone, it’s clear that the work of the Bicycle Coalition must continue. As an advocate, I want to volunteer my time, knowledge, and skills to improve the Bicycle Coalition’s outreach and advocacy efforts. I hope you’ll support my candidacy for the Board.
Krishna Curry
Krishna and her fiancé recently bought their first home in San Diego. Before April, Krishna was a LA based strength coach, sports marketing professional, fitness model and former professional track athlete. She has worked with brands such as Buzzfeed, Nike, Adidas, Apple, and Beachbody. In her 25- year running career she achieved NCAA All-American honors while at UCLA, qualified for the USA Olympic trials, and competed on international professional stages.
Biking has long been a staple of Krishna’s cross training regimen as an elite athlete. Before she was introduced to youth track at the age of 7, she spent most of her play time riding through her rural hometown of Hendersonville Tennessee. She was raised by a single mother, who frequently faced car related hardships. From an early age Krishna learned that access to reliable transportation was critical for survival. Her family never had the same car for more than 2 years as her mother could only afford
aged used vehicles and could barely afford the maintenance. Simply turning on the car in the morning was a stressful event as the engines would dramatically choke and sputter to start. On many occasions her family was suddenly stranded on a roadside when their cars died from low fuel or disrepair.
Those struggles inspired Krishna to move to major cities with public transportation for college. As a freshman at UCLA, her favorite pastime was riding random bus lines around Los Angeles. She felt tremendous freedom in not needing to rely on a car to conduct basic errands or get to work and school.
During college and for 5 years after, she commuted solely by foot, bike or bus. After college she began to realize that the LA transit system sucked.
Having graduated, (with a then unusable Political Science degree) during the recession with no car or money, she moved from her Bel-Air adjacent campus to the predominantly black neighborhood of Inglewood. The only bus route that could transport her from Inglewood to start work in Westwood by
7am required 3 transfers to complete the 8-mile journey. Many times, she ran to work because her legs could get her there in 57 minutes, a half hour faster than the bus route on a good day.
In 2020 she was appointed to the Mar Vista Board of Directors as part of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council System. As a director, she jumped on the opportunity to help rectify the mobility inequities faced by low-income people of color by co-Chairing the Transit and Infrastructure committee. She was a passionate advocate for all CD 11 Mobility measures and she represented the concerns of Mar Vista stakeholders at government assemblies. She served on the board for a year
before resigning due to her relocation to La Jolla.
Now proud to call San Diego home, Krishna is eager to serve her new community. If selected, she will be a passionate voice and effective agent of change as a member of the San Diego Bike Coalition board.
Organization: Anyone Can Bike
Cycling is more than pedaling a 2 wheeler.
For a long while I was ill and lost my hearing. I stopped biking, skiing and doing so many other things. But as I was recovering, I found an unusual dorky e-recumbent trike. I call her Shelby. Shelby and I have commuted thousands of miles in the street, from El Cajon to San Diego’s Embarcadero. As time went on I regained my physical strength and my confidence grew, but without hearing, I still struggled to negotiate traffic. I dream of safe protected bike lanes.Thankfully, I can now hear via a cochlear implant, (Technology is amazing!). Now, I ride my 2 wheeler and my other recumbent on trails and paths, but Shelby is my favorite bike. We cruise everywhere, Home Depot, Costco and to the beach. We’ve even pedaled to go camping. But like most, I still I find traffic a struggle, it’s rough out there.
Ebikes are here to stay, so let’s embrace them. Bike riders young and old need activities that incorporate safe riding. While the young need events that promote road safety, the older group needs a course that leans more towards the do and don’ts of the bike itself. I’ve seen many people dismount their new over powered ebike and accidentally twist the throttle. Down they go. But honestly biking is a way for people to stay mobile, active and involved in the community. Anyone can bike, if we can find them the right kind of bike and a safe place for them to bike.
My car takes me places I can’t go on my bike. But my bike takes me into a world, that I can’t go to in my car. Biking is fun, social, economical, a healthy way to commute and my therapy, I want to share those fun feelings with more people. Watch my video and checkout, www.anyonecanbike.com or Instagram @anyonecanbike for more about me.
People deserve safe streets, places to connect with their neighbors, and the ease of traversing from one place to another without a car.
