Tell us about yourself. Where are you from, what brought you to Denver, and what do you love about the Queen City?
I was born and raised in Nashville, TN until I ventured off to Arkansas for college. It took living in a small town for me to realize how much I love the energy of a city and everything it has to offer. After college, I biked across the country and fell even more in love with bikes and life on two wheels. I came out to Denver in 2017 to get my Masters of Urban and Regional Planning at CU Denver and pursue a career in active transportation. One of the reasons I chose to come to Denver was because of the strides local advocates have been making in the transportation realm. And it’s why I love Denver. The people here care about their city and each other and take action to make it a better city for all. It also helps that Denver is home to more breweries than I can count and I have an affinity for craft beer!
How did you get connected to DSP? What speaks to you about our mission and work?
I first was introduced to DSP back in 2017 when Jill Locantore came to my Planning Methods class at CU Denver to give us an assignment to audit the sidewalks on Federal Boulevard. I knew from that very first day in class that I wanted to work for Jill and her team. I was also fortunate to collaborate with Bicycle Colorado this past summer to host the Denver Solidarity Rides and build relationships with that staff. I knew from that partnership that I was working with a group of people who share the same values as me. We are working towards the same mission: people-friendly streets. But why I love DSP so much is that they not only recognize but also act on the fact that “safe streets for all” means confronting the systemic racism that makes our streets inherently unsafe for Black and brown people.
How did you get started in advocacy? Have you always been interested in walking and biking or is this a recent development?
Safe streets advocacy is in my blood. It’s been a dinner time conversation for as long as I can remember and I’ve grown more and more passionate about it as I get older. But growing up, even though it was a common conversation, it wasn’t a common practice. Our neighborhood streets were without sidewalks and cars would go twice the speed limit, making streets unsafe for any sort of biking or walking. My family would take recreational bike rides or walk to church sometimes, but it was not the norm for me yet. It wasn’t until I was in college that my dad re-introduced biking both for recreation and as a way to commute to my summer jobs and I became obsessed. I knew I wanted to dedicate myself to making communities accessible for everyone to walk and bike safely at any age or ability, no matter where they live.
What makes you excited about the walking, biking, and rolling scene in Denver?
When I look at the team of folks I get to work with at DSP and Bicycle Colorado, I get so excited for the future of people-friendly streets in Denver! I am working with a team of rockstars who have made incredible strides already for our city. The work we are doing is incredibly important and everything we do is towards our ultimate goal for an equitable and vibrant Denver that guarantees our public spaces are designed for people. Campaigns and issues like “20 is Plenty” and keeping shared streets permanent are crucial to creating a safer, more people-friendly space on our neighborhood streets. I really want to see Denver make these happen!