Our Team
Chair, Board of Directors
Jessie is a McGill University graduate who studied Environment and Political Science. She recently moved to Toronto's Koreatown neighborhood and has been loving it ever since. She is passionate about urban design and joined TCBC to help make Toronto streets a safer place to walk and ride, as well as encourage more sustainable ways to travel.
Jessie is a regular cycle commuter and occasional 'spandex bandit' who loves to explore new places on her bike.
Jessie Ye
Executive Director and Coordinator
Albert's road safety advocacy has always been motivated by a commitment to social justice: how we get around shouldn't be based on power or wealth, but on fairness and respect for each other, and the climate.
Since founding Bells on Bloor in 2007, Albert has been involved in virtually every aspect of cycling advocacy, including his annual stint as a bike-riding Santa. During a legal career that spans 30 years, he has worked as a prosecutor for the Ministry of Environment, an investigator for the United Nations, and an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School.
Albert Koehl
Board member, Volunteer Coordinator
Jennifer is a dedicated advocate for pedestrian and bike safety with a specific focus on the inner suburbs of Toronto. She has worked for almost a decade to promote safer streets and more walkable communities.
A business development consultant and strategist, Jennifer collaborates with various non-profits to support their operations, growth, and advocacy goals. As a passionate walker, she encourages families to embrace active transportation, particularly walking and cycling, as part of their daily routine. She is committed to fostering safe routes for children walking to school and building healthier, more connected neighborhoods. To expand on this work, she writes a community newsletter, The Etobicoke Voice.
Jennifer Alexander
Board member
Michael has been riding a bicycle for 60 years and living in Toronto’s midtown for most of that time. He has been involved in many of the city’s major bike lane campaigns, including those promoting safe cycling infrastructure on Yonge, Eglinton, Bloor, and Jarvis. Michael co-founded Walk Toronto a decade ago.
He spends an equal amount of time working on pedestrian causes as on cycling advocacy. These two pursuits frequently intersect when dealing with planning and heritage issues, street design, green space, parking space, multimodality, and accessibility.
Michael Black
Board member
Matti cares deeply about connection. Recently admitted to the Master of Planning in Urban Development program at Toronto Metropolitan University, he is excited to apply his skills to expanding Toronto’s cycling network.
Matti believes that when people have safe opportunities to try cycling, the physical, psychological, and social benefits speak for themselves and can shift attitudes and behaviours. He is particularly interested in exploring creative ways to grow Toronto’s winter cycling culture, and in retrofitting suburbs to make them less car-dependent, more walkable, and more pleasant.
A former professional brewer, he will happily indulge you with a ride to any of Toronto’s many craft breweries.
Matti J. Cowan
Board member
Leaving the car-culture of Southern California, Kelly has been car-free since emigrating to other places in the world in 2003. Though it took years to work up to it, she now commutes year-round through Toronto winter weather to her job as an elementary school teacher. As a fierce supporter of TDSB's Charter for Active, Safe, and Sustainable Transportation, she has been an organizer of Bike to School Week since its inception as Bike Day in 2014.
Kelly has a specialist certification in Environmental Education from OISE and understands deeply how "everything is connected." She is passionate about creating communities for all which are accessible, welcoming, and pollution-free. Full of gratitude to be living on the banks of the Humber River, Kelly advocates for, and works to support, a more thoughtful world for our human, animal and plant kin. "Nothing changes, unless somebody does something."
Kelly Crosthwaite
Board member, co-chair We Belong on Bloor
Mark is an engineer working in software development in the financial services sector. A long time Toronto resident, Mark lives in Central Etobicoke with his wife and three young boys. He describes his main motivation for getting involved with Community Bikeways is to ensure that Toronto streets are safe enough for everyone to comfortably walk and cycle to their destination.
In addition to serving on the Board, Mark is Chair of the “We Belong on Bloor” campaign. He looks forward to helping create safer and cleaner transportation alternatives for our city.
Mark Fernando
Toronto East Lead
Michael is a jack of all trades — farm labourer, creative writer, woodworker, fine-dining bartender/waiter, bicycle courier and computer coder— who has lived and worked across Canada.
A resident of Toronto since 1998 and Leslieville since 2010, he describes his primary reason for volunteering with Community Bikeways as being to help Toronto become a city that places community ahead of private interest towards equity and sustainability. Michael also acts as TCBC's social networks architect and back-end manager.
Michael Holloway
Board member
David spent that Sunday afternoon getting grass stains on his First Communion suit learning to ride a bike. That coming Christmas he received a Muscle Bike (Banana seat and high rise handlebars) and vividly recalls singing “Born to be Wild” riding the early morning streets of the Beach in Toronto; the hook was set.
Fast forward a few years to his indoctrination in a conservation group known as The West Hill Sportsman 5 who taught that this planet has limited resources and caring for it should be a top priority. Combine these two factors with an internal knowledge that the little guy never gets a fair deal, and you end up with an Activist hell-bent on equality for all.
David Keogh
Board member, co-chair We Belong on Bloor
Bilal is a data scientist who fell in love with bicycling after moving to Toronto. He can often be seen riding his bicycle early in the morning in High Park and along the Martin Goodman Trail.
In his community work, Bilal has volunteered in election campaigns for candidates who champion safe streets and better transit infrastructure. He hopes to see Toronto become a city where moving around is equitable and joyful and where our actions leave a liveable planet for future generations.
Bilal Khan
Board member
Lance is a Network Architect and futurist who transitioned from a car-centric lifestyle to championing cycling, transit, and pedestrian living. As an advocate for complete streets and community safety, he shares his experiences to promote a sustainable and connected community.
When not tinkering with technology, Lance volunteers with Bike Brigade and Bike Pirates, supporting local initiatives. His vision for people-first streets drives his dedicated involvement with Community Bikeways, aiming to create safer, more inclusive spaces for all.
Lance Le Roux
Communications coordinator
Roger is a retired communications specialist who has lived and worked in several cities in Canada and overseas.
A resident of the Bloor West community since 2012, he describes his primary reason for volunteering with Community Bikeways as a desire to help Toronto in its efforts to become truly a world class city, demonstrating leadership in climate smart initiatives that promote equity, inclusion, safety, and sustainability. He also works on the “We Belong on Bloor” campaign.
Roger Morier
Board member
Bob chairs ACORN Canada’s York South - Weston chapter, an advocacy group dedicated to issues faced by low and moderate income individuals. He is also a community outreach worker in his Weston neighbourhood, and regularly appears as an advocacy speaker before a range of government bodies. He receives a disability pension due to a brain injury suffered in 2011, and relies on his bicycle (and the TTC) to get around.
Bob Murphy
Board Member
As Director of the Regenesis Cycle York Community Bike Center, Ersan leads transformative initiatives to promote cycling as a sustainable mode of transportation. Through strategic partnerships with private and public organizations, he has been instrumental in advancing community-driven cycling projects in North York.
Ersan has been particularly involved in projects to enhance transit connectivity in underserved neighborhoods like Black Creek. Using a data-driven approach, he has worked to analyze transit data that informs urban planning decisions.
He was recognized as a Youth Accessibility Leader by Employment and Social Development Canada in 2022, highlighting his contributions to enhancing accessibility in the Black Creek area and beyond.
Ersan Ozon
Chair, Special Events
Janet Joy has volunteered for Cycle Toronto, The Bike Brigade, Bike Minds, 880 Cities, and is a founding member of Community Bikeways. She has received many awards and honors as a volunteer and event producer.
During a 30-year career in publishing, she blended her love of books and bicycles to originate and co-found The Reading Line in 2014. The mission to make cities better, one street and one book at a time, resulted in hundreds of people participating in ‘Book Rides’ through Toronto, Brampton, and Brooklyn, New York.
Janet Joy Wilson
(In Memoriam)
Mary Ann was a founding member and co-coordinator for Community Bikeways. In her work with the group, she saw that Toronto’s City Council and Transportation staff were held accountable for delivering on promised cycling infrastructure.
She was retired health care professional and administrator living in the Upper Beaches neighbourhood of Toronto. She became interested in improving active transportation infrastructure in the city after commuting by bike for more than a decade. Comparing Toronto’s infrastructure to other cities in Canada and Europe, it was obvious the city was falling well behind in making streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
Mary Ann passed away peacefully on May 12, 2024.
In the fall of 2024, we awarded our first Mary Ann Neary Advocate of the Year Awards to Ken Brown and to David White, both of whom have been longtime champions for safe roads in Toronto. The awards were presented by Mary Ann's brother and sister-in-law, Bern and Ruth.