Who We Are
Board Members
Madin Akpo-Esampe
Term: 9/1/2023-8/31/2025
Madin is an investment partner at Tacoma Venture Fund. He bought his first road bike when he moved to Seattle in 2021 and since then, biking has been his guide to discovering the city and enjoying the city's nature and neighborhoods with his friends. With Rainier Beach being his homebase, he's been pleased with how much biking has been able to open up his exploration of the city, but has also experienced the discrepancies that exist in protected lanes and pathways throughout the city. In joining the board, he looks forward to learning from his exceptional fellow board members and helping drive progress towards ensuring the highest level of safety for bikers throughout Seattle.
Max Baker
Term: 9/1/2024-8/31/2026
Max is an urban planner and long-time bike rider in the Puget Sound region. His passion for safe infrastructure was initially inspired by his time abroad in the Netherlands, and continued to evolve as a student of the UW’s College of Built Environments. Now as a planner in south King County, he looks for opportunities to enhance safety for those outside of cars wherever he can.
Having lived, worked, and studied in many of Seattle’s neighborhoods, Max has observed the strengths and weaknesses of the city’s bike network first hand. As a current resident of West Seattle, he has enjoyed exploring the neighboring communities in all directions from his home, both within Seattle and beyond. Be it his daily commute to work, a bike packing trip into the mountains, or a ride around West Seattle with his kids on the family cargo bike, he takes every opportunity to get outside on two wheels that he can. He looks forward to continuing his advocacy for ever-safer streets as a member of the SBAB.
Joan Chen
Term: 9/1/2024-8/31/2026
Joan is a landscape designer and year-round cyclist with experience riding in diverse environments—from large Asian cities with wide bike lanes to small Midwestern towns building out multi-use trails. Since moving to Seattle, she enjoys navigating the city on neighborhood greenways and integrating public transit for multimodal trips. With training in architecture and landscape design, Joan is excited to contribute to Seattle's bicycle infrastructure improvements by thinking at a range of scales, from increasing access and equity in the whole system to selecting materials at a specific intersection. She is especially interested in strengthening Seattle’s neighborhood greenway network, particularly in central and south Seattle.
Naomi Cutler
Term: 9/1/2025-8/31/2026
Naomi has commuted and recreated by bike in Michigan, Vermont, Montana, and Italy before moving to Seattle in 2024. Enjoying the (relatively) mild weather in Seattle, Naomi commutes to the University of Washington where she is a research coordinator focused on climate disaster preparedness and response. She is thrilled to join the Bicycle Advisory Board in making cycling safer and more accessible to support our community's well-being and adaptation to climate change.
Ksenia Ershova
Term: 9/1/2023-8/31/2025
Ksenia is an anesthesiologist and a casual bike commuter. Every day, she rides her bike to work along the Burke Gilman Trail, one of Seattle's busiest bike routes. Observing how this dedicated and safe path attracts thousands of cyclists daily, Ksenia believes that many more Seattleites would choose to commute by bike if better infrastructure were available.
Having lived in Europe, Ksenia experienced urban biking cultures in the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. One thing quickly became apparent to her: cities with more biking and walking, and less driving, are not only safer but also much more pleasant for everyone. This shift fosters healthier, more connected communities where people feel less fear of one another. As a doctor, Ksenia believes that encouraging more biking in Seattle will lead to improved public health through increased physical activity and a reduction in air and noise pollution.
Taylor (TJ) Hom
Term: 9/1/2023-8/31/2025
T.J. is a video producer and co-founder of Particle Studios, established in Seattle's SODO neighborhood in 2018. Growing up in Tacoma, WA, he commuted to school on his mom's 21-speed Shogun mountain bike through the Proctor neighborhood. Since moving to Seattle in his 20s, T.J. has lived in half a dozen neighborhoods and cycled through most others.
T.J. envisions cycling in Seattle as a safe, accessible, and convenient alternative to single-occupancy vehicle travel for all. As a board member, T.J. aims to advocate for new and experienced Seattle cyclists by championing more extensive, safer, and prioritized biking and pedestrian infrastructure to help the city achieve true Vision Zero and meet its climate objectives.
Molly McNeely
Term: 9/1/2024-8/31/2026
Molly has been navigating Seattle by bike since moving to Seattle in 2018. Molly is interested in increasing the safety of bike infrastructure so that more vulnerable populations feel biking is a safe choice for transportation. Before serving on SBAB, Molly began volunteering with the Major Taylor Project. Molly enjoys helping youth build confidence with urban navigation, riding skills, and community. Molly is passionate about equitable access to and from Seattle neighborhoods and resources, as well as fostering inclusivity in the bike community for people of all ages, abilities, and identities. Molly works for SEIU 775 Benefits Group at the intersection of equity, healthcare, and the caregiving workforce.
Nia Ransom
Term: 9/1/2023-8/31/2025
Nia, a dedicated cyclist, commutes daily from the Atlantic neighborhood to the University District. She frequently rides along 12th Ave and occasionally takes Lake Washington Blvd. to reach her workplace. During her rides, she often ponders questions like, "Why does this bike lane abruptly end?" or "How did Broadway get a protected bike lane when other streets didn't?" On some days, she finds joy in observing small yet significant improvements in cycling safety, even if it's as simple as a single white line separating the driver's lane from the cyclist's lane.
Nia is determined to transform Seattle into a place where cyclists can ride without the fear of collisions with cars. She eagerly anticipates delving into the decision-making process behind the city's bike infrastructure. Drawing on her past experiences as an Americorps member, leader in a bike shop, mountain bike instructor, and educator, Nia aims to contribute to the expansion of Seattle's cycling infrastructure, thereby enhancing safety and the overall well-being of neighboring communities.
Kathryn (Katy) Ricchiuto
Term: 9/1/2024-8/31/2026
As a local all-season cyclist, Katy has experienced the joys of traversing Seattle through protected bike lanes, as well as the challenges (and occasional falls) associated with navigating areas like Rainier and MLK Avenues, West Seattle’s curving hills, the missing link in Ballard, and Eastlake Avenue.
Katy is an experienced professional with 10 years of practice in urban planning, community engagement, and policy. She is a program manager at the U District Partnership, where she leads public realm, urban planning, and built environment-related advocacy and projects for the U District. On SBAB, Katy brings her experience engaging with City officials and diverse stakeholders on public infrastructure conversations, as well as analyzing project and policy proposals and their effects on neighborhoods. Katy's favorite bike route connects her home in the Central District, downtown Seattle, the Elliott Bay Trail, Discovery Park, and the Burke Gilman Trail!
Joseph Roberts
Term: 9/1/2024-8/31/2026
Bio to be updated.
Rafael (Rafi) Ronquillo
Term: 9/1/2024-8/31/2026
Rafi is a bike commuter, volunteer mechanic, and recreational cyclist. During the week, he works for the US Environmental Protection Agency as a Community Involvement Coordinator. He engages with communities living near and in Superfund sites across the Pacific Northwest. Rafi is originally from Oakland, California, but has lived and biked in various places such as Guatemala, Colorado, and Ann Arbor, Michigan. Rafi lives in Beacon Hill and enjoys using the newly minted bike infrastructure to get around town. He is currently trying to convince his loving but nervous dog that cycling in a trailer can be fun.