Our CORE STAFF
CLAIRE DEHM
BIKE MECHANIC
Claire (she/her) is a year-round bike commuter, bike mechanic, and bike enthusiast. When Claire's not engaged in conversations about the intersection of bikes and community, you can find her teaching, playing, and learning at Circus Culture, Ithaca's very own circus school.
Contact Claire
claire@bikewalktompkins.org
NIKI FRISKE
DIRECTOR
Niki (they/them) makes their return to Ithaca as Director of Bike Walk Tompkins. They earned a B.M. in Music Education from Ithaca College in 2015, a launching pad for their four-year teaching career in New York City's public school system. Niki's focus on community and engagement grew, and in 2020, Niki earned their Masters in Arts and Cultural Management from Pratt Institute. Building upon their thesis, ROUTES
--a framework that aims to better connect communities through trail networks and local culture--they worked with Rails-to-Trails Conservancy to develop a digital history project highlighting the Great American Rail-Trail. Niki is excited to pursue their goals of building vibrant and well-connected communities with BWT. When they aren't biking or hiking, they’re probably cheering on their favorite home state football club, Atlanta United.
Contact Niki
nicole@bikewalktompkins.org
MOLLY HAJJAR
EDUCATION COORDINATOR
Molly (she/her) is a nationally certified Recreation Therapist, specializing in making outdoor recreation opportunities accessible to people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. As the founding director of an accessible recreation program in southern New Hampshire, Molly has over 20 years of experience teaching children and adults to swim, ski, paddle, and bike. She’s very excited to partner with Bike Walk Tompkins to provide bike education to our community.
Contact Molly molly@bikewalktompkins.org
EMME WONG
VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
Emme (she/her) is an outdoor enthusiast with a love for riding bikes, outdoor education, and building community through adventure. Some of her local organizing focuses on making space for the women, trans, femme, non-binary community in the outdoor recreation scene. When she is not coordinating or instructing, she dabbles in woodworking and graphic design. You might also find her at the rock wall.
Contact Emme
emme@bikewalktompkins.org
OUR MENTOR STAFF
MURI JOHANSON
BIKE EDUCATION MENTOR
TOM TARNOWSKI
BIKE MECHANIC MENTOR
Tom Tarnowski (he/him) is a mechanical engineer, currently semi-retired in Ithaca. He enjoys the fun of working with others to solve bike repair challenges. Tom is a lifelong cycling enthusiastic and daily rider who enjoys maintaining a collection of road, gravel, mountain, cruiser and stationary bikes.
When Tom is not working on bikes, you can find him bouncing around local singletrack or seeking out new hiking and biking trails with his wife in their camper van.
MARK THORNTON
BIKE MECHANIC MENTOR
LAURA VINEYARD
BIKE EDUCATION MENTOR
Laura (she/they) is a body-positve personal trainer and the owner of ShockYard Fitness. She has over ten years of coaching experience and is passionate about helping people find joy and empowerment through movement. Laura is also the Executive Director of Body Positive Fitness Alliance, an education and networking organization for fitness professionals who are working to make the industry more accessible and inclusive for all people. When she's not working you can find Laura with her wife and kiddo roller skating around the Ithaca skate park.
JULIE YUREK
BIKE EDUCATION MENTOR
Julie (she/her) and Apple (any/all) are excited to contribute good vibes to Ithaca’s bicycle community. When they are not hanging with the kind folx of Bike Walk Tompkins, you can find them hiking around Ithaca and the surrounding area. They also enjoy volunteering with Cornell Companions, an animal-assisted therapy program. Besides that, their favorite hobbies include “treats and snoozing and snoozing and treats” as best said by Marcel the Shell.
APPLE YUREK
STAFF THERAPY DOG
OUR INTERN STAFF
JACOB YATSKO
BIKE PARKING EXPERT
Jacob (he/him) is working to improve Tompkins County's walkability and bikeability by conducting audits of the quality of bike parking spots and sidewalks. He aims to encourage more people to travel by bike and by walking through making the area a more attractive place for it! You can also find him DJing, drumming, and creating visual art when he's not buzzing around town hunting for bike parking spots.
Our STEERING COMMITTEE
FERNANDO DE ARAGÓN
Fernando is the Director of the Ithaca-Tompkins County Transportation Council, and has been since 1998. Through his work, he has helped expand services that provide options to single occupancy vehicles such as carsharing, multi-use trails, bike and pedestrian facilities, and expanded transit. Fernando also sits on the CCT Board.
JANE BOWMAN-BRADY
WAYNE BEZNER-KERR
Wayne is a retired bank robber and unemployed cordon bleu chef just waiting for a dot.com bazillionaire to buy him a classic hotel and a reality show to go with it. He likes dogs and wonders if he might have been an egret in a previous life.
ERIKA COLQUEHUANCA
WILL BURBANK
Will Burbank (he/him) is a retired teacher and former local elected official who has been cycling for seven decades. He studied international relations at American University and has a Masters degree in Teaching from Binghamton University. He previously served on the Town of Ithaca Town Board and the Tompkins County Legislature. He can often be found huffing up the Black Diamond Trail.
TIM LOGUE
Tim (he/him) is the Director of Engineering Services for the City of Ithaca's Department of Public Works, with responsibility in areas including multimodal transportation engineering and planning, trail development, traffic signal systems, traffic calming, and capital project management. Tim also sits on the CCT Board.
KELDA MCGURK
Kelda McGurk (she/her) is an occupational therapist, currently working in the school district. She is also a mentor for BWT, and particularly enjoys working with individuals to learn to ride their individual commute/errands routes. Kelda has been a bike commuter for 20+ years, and has loved adapting this lifestyle to remain as functional as possible through weather conditions, surgeries, and kid-toting.
Kelda spends most of her time with her daughter, enjoying outdoor adventures, traveling, or working on her house or yard. She is passionate about helping to create a community where people feel capable and safe enough to enjoy the freedom of getting around without needing a car.
DAVID WEST
STEERING COMMITTEE CHAIR
David is the Town Planner for the Town of Danby, with a broad mandate including development review, environmental protection, and coordination with other planning agencies. You can see him walking, biking, or riding his scooter around town with his family in Ithaca.
PERHAPS YOU?
Bike Walk Tompkins is looking for additional Steering Committee members who share our vision for a more inclusive walk and bike-friendly community. If you also have strong connections to underserved communities in and around Ithaca, we definitely want to hear from you.
Our Gratitudes
Many thanks go to the following people who have shaped and grown the BWT program.
Former Directors
Margaret Johnson (2021-2023)
Hector Chang (2020-2021)
Victoria Armstrong (2016-2020)
Rena Scroggins (2014-2016)
Former Staff Members
Hector Chang
Grace Johnston-Fennell
Linda Holzbaur
Kartik Sribarra
Mason Wilson
Additional Thanks
Edna Brown (photographer)
Mary Buehler (website design)
Jess Hana (brand design)
Former Steering Committee Members
Karim Beers
Phoebe Brown
Lois Chaplin
Jennifer Dotson
Tom Knipe
Kent Johnson
Margaret Johnson
Daniel Keough
Jeanne Leccese
Jonathan Maddison
Jen Micale
Yasamin Miller
Davi Mozie
Sue Powell
Steven Powell
We'd also like to give a big special thank you to our donors and supporters. Thank you!