This has been a time of transition at the Alliance. One change we’re very excited about is the addition of Naomi Doerner as the Alliance’s new Advocacy and Membership Manager!

In her role, Naomi will be helping build the capacity of bicycle and pedestrian advocates by facilitating the Alliance’s advocacy trainings and workshops, including the Winning Campaigns Training, the National Training, and the Leadership Retreat. She’s also a great person to call for one-on-one coaching and consultation on leadership development and team building.

We asked Naomi to tell us a little more about herself so our community could get to know her better.

What experiences turned you into a bike/ped advocate?

I didn’t really have a choice. It was just sort of bound to be. I was born in Chicago and my mother -- who was a young, single, undocumented woman from Honduras -- worked many jobs. My earliest memories are of the two of us traversing the city by foot, bus, and the L train – to the local library where she took English classes, to buy groceries, for health and medical services, to commute to all her various jobs, for me to get to school, etc. For us, especially in those early years, getting around was freedom and economic mobility. I wouldn’t be who and where I am today had it not been for her ability to access opportunity. And so, that’s why I do this active transportation advocacy work. Simply, I want others to have access to opportunity.

What did you do before this?

Prior to the Alliance, I worked as an active transportation planner and advocate in New York City and New Orleans. Over the last 10 years, I've worked in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to advance safe, accessible, and affordable transportation options in communities. During that time, I developed engagement and leadership opportunities for people of all backgrounds, but especially youth, women, and people of color within planning and advocacy. My career has focused on creating representative processes and cultivating and empowering community leaders to advocate for equitable active transportation.

So you're living in New Orleans. How's that going to work?

Fortunately, the Alliance has a great system for checking in with one another. We are in constant communication and utilize tools that make it easy for us to do so regardless of where we are. And given that our members are all over North America, we’re set-up really well to support field offices.

Tell us a little bit about the bike/ped advocacy scene in New Orleans and how you fit into it.

New Orleans is a vibrant and historic city of neighborhoods. People here have a unique relationship with their streets — they’ve been walking, second-lining, parading, riding horse-drawn carriages, streetcars, bicycles, and driving vehicles on them for the better part of nearly three centuries!

Since Hurricane Katrina, though, we’ve seen a major expansion in pedestrian, bicycling, and public transportation infrastructure. This is due to the dedication of active transportation and public health advocates who’ve been working collaboratively with government agencies to ensure these investments are prioritized.

I’ve been fortunate enough to work alongside these folks and many local community leaders as the former Executive Director of Bike Easy, Greater New Orleans’ bicycle advocacy organization. I was also the Program Manager for KidsWalk Coalition, a childhood obesity prevention partnership between Tulane University’s Prevention Research Center and the City of New Orleans’ Department of Public Works.

What most excites you about working with the Alliance?

The staff and Board are among some of the most creative and strategic-minded people I've encountered. So that’s amazing. 

I am also really excited about working with our inspiring members -- the on-the-ground advocates creating safe and accessible communities to walk and bike in. I look forward to amplifying their successes, providing them with resources to overcome challenges, and anything else that we at the Alliance can do to enhance their capacities.

What unique experiences are you going to bring to the Alliance staff?

I have always been a high energy, outside-the-box thinker. I live to brainstorm ideas and then implement these in the form of programs. That’s where I thrive. It’s my jam.

How are you going to work with member organizations?

I plan on proactively reaching out to members and collaborating with them to develop winning advocacy campaign strategies, successful programs, and broad partnerships. I also plan to highlight their successes for others to learn from. And I’ll be sharing the lessons they’ve learned from the challenges. I also look forward to creating new leadership opportunities to grow the capacities of emerging leaders within our growing and diverse movement.

Do you see any conflicts between bicycle advocacy and pedestrian advocacy?

I think of myself as an advocate for transportation equity and livable communities. I believe everyone should have the right to safe, accessible, and dignified transportation choices — no matter how they travel. And I believe the end user of these choices should have a say in what the solutions are. So I don’t see conflicts, just synergies.

You can reach Naomi at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .