BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND STAFF
As a 501-(c)-3 nonprofit, the duties of the Board and Staff are defined in the Bylaws. Board members serve one-year terms and meet monthly. The current policy goal is to double the size of the Board to include women, minorities and others with diverse backgrounds and interests. The Board is responsible for setting short and long-term policy, guiding staff on advocacy, administrative and other strategies, and monitoring the financial status of the organization.
Board candidates need to have a commitment and enthusiasm for the broader social, environmental, and transportation agendas that bicycling offers to the wider community.
Candidates do not have to be bicyclists, but some understanding of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg bicycling context is important.
Join CABA in participating in the plan as it develops !
Martin Zimmerman / Executive Director
As Executive Director, Martin wears many hats from fundraising and member development to website coordination. Martin has been an officer of CABA since late 2004.He represents CABA to the League of American Bicyclists, the largest national bicycle organization in the U.S. and the Thunderhead Alliance, the only national confederation representing bicycle advocacy groups, with offices in Washington D.C., and Prescott, Arizona. Martin learned the hard way , biking through snow to class at the University of Michigan. He has kept the everyday bike habit while living in St. Louis , Cambridge , Massachusetts , metro Washington D.C., western Massachusetts and Charlotte.
As the first campus architect/planner for UNC Charlotte, Martin successfully obtained a grant from NCDOT for bike facilities and attempted to incorporate bicycling into the Campus Master Plan process. Earlier, as an architectural and planning consultant, he helped on the early stages of the Metropolitan Branch Trail, a commuter link from downtown Washington D.C. to the Maryland suburbs. He has also served on the Executive Board for a rail-trail under construction from Vermont to Connecticut through the Berkshire mountains.
In 2005, after his 4 x 4 Takoma was towed to its final resting place, Martin vowed to never own a motor vehicle again, Now he relies on his trusty rusty Trek, walks, or takes CATS buses (and on very rare occasions he borrows his wife’s blue Beetle).
Dan Faris / Chairman
Dan is a native Charlottean having attended CMS schools and taught English in the CMS system for thirty years. Dan did not get serious about cycling until he retired in 1996 (he had been a runner until then).
He quickly perceived that something had to be done about the not-so-friendly roads of Charlotte . This led him to attend a public meeting at the Government Center about the relationship of city government to cycling needs and interests.There was an unexpected groundswell of enthusiasm and interest shown that night.In early 1997, after subsequent meetings took place, Rob Cannon and Dan took on the co-leadership of Charlotte ’s first bicycle advocacy group appropriately named “CABA”, and a new era of bicycle advocacy for Charlotte was launched.
Dan enjoys a combination of recreational riding inhis neighborhood,some organized rides, and riding once in awhile as a true means of transportation. His wife, Helen, has put her foot down, so he doesn't ride at night (her concern is not bad roads or aggressive motorists, but muggers!).
Dan will continue to help CABA in the hopes that he (and others like him) will see Charlotte become a truly safe, bicycle- friendly community .
Jim Gilliard / Member BOD
Jim is a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer and currently assigned to Bike Patrol in the Providence Division. He is also a cyclist/triathlete, racing on the Giordana-Clif Bar Triathlon Team. He has been training in and around Charlotte since 2000, competing in all distancers of traithlon from sprint to Ironman.
He is one of the few people that have experienced Charlotte roadways on a bike for pleasure and for work.Jim enjoys the opportunity to "educate" drivers on how to operate their vehicle while sharing the road with cyclists.He also sees a large number of cyclists breaking the law by not obeying the rules of the road, sometimes resulting in injury accidents .
Rory Rhodes/ Member BOD
Rory and family repatriated to Charlotte after living car free in London for five years. It was there that he started using his bike for errands and realized cycling is fun even when you’re not using it for “recreation.” Feeling the wind on one's face and gently slaloming down hills is one of life's simple pleasures. As he graduated to larger tasks, he experimented with how much he could carry on a small folding bike. His wife named his folder the “burro” because at times it looked more like the overloaded third world pack animal than an a trendy city bike. He was hooked on utility cycling.
When looking for a place to live in Charlotte , proximity to shops and services became one of the more important selection criteria.
As a stay-at-home Dad, Rory CABA for groceries, to the farmers market and to the day care center. Although he tries to avoid the “Lycra lout” stereotype, you may see him occasionally on his road bike trying to work a pint or two off his waist. He sees many of his neighbors in their SUV's, cell phone in hand on their way to the corner for a cup of coffee. He misses fellow riders massing at corners waiting for the light and CABA chained everywhere (in fact there is seldom a bike rack to be seen).
This is why Rory joined CABA: to find like minded people and to promote an active neighborhood lifestyle.
Martin Zimmerman, CABA Exec. Director being interviewed
by Morgan Fogarty of FOX-TV News.