CAT Leadership 2023

Jennifer is committed to increasing individual mobility.  She has worked on the  CAT board for close to a decade to improve pedestrian safety, cycling education, and access to public transportation.   For the last two years, Jennifer has served as board president, promoting and shepherding the director’s suggested changes in its organization.    As a result, CAT has grown in our ability to procure funds, we’ve expanded our membership, and we’ve initiated new programs, all during the pandemic!  In short, Jennifer is proud to be a member of and contribute her time to this great organization.(Watch Jennifer on CAT’s May 2016 appearance of RCN Community Spotlight.) (term 2019-2021)

Bill is a Schwinn factory trained mechanic and a graduate of Barnett Bicycle Institute of Colorado. He has been volunteering at the CAT Bicycle Cooperative for two years and was instrumental in developing the CAT’s holiday bike give-away program. Bill has 30 years of experience as CEO/President of technology companies and is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Fraser Optics LLC. Bill recently completed an e-bike mechanical/electrical training. (term 2019-2021)

Ed is emeritus professor of Computer Science and Engineering at Lehigh University. He has commuted by bike to work for the last 45 years. He and his wife, Jannie, have bike toured on three continents. He strongly supports CAT because its advocacy has substantially improved his and Jannie's biking in the Lehigh Valley. (term 2020-2022)

Shari began biking as a pre-teen and never looked back. While her friends were rushing to the DMV to get their driver’s licenses, Shari was perfectly happy without one. As a student at Western Michigan University, she continued to prefer biking. Even as a carpooling mother, Shari’s passion for cycling flourished. She enjoys all the senses of being outside zooming around on her bike. (Term 2022-2024)

Gary is a founding member of CAT, co-author of the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code section for bicycles, and a daily car-free bike commuter in the Lehigh Valley for over 20 years. Gary also served as CAT Board president for many years.(term 2021-2023)

As a refugee from Sarajevo, Bosnia, Predo Nisic moved to Pittsburgh in 1996 where he worked as a social worker and later on as a foreman with Pittsburgh’s steel mills. In 1997 he was given his first bicycle (ever!) and he developed a friendship with a well-known bike collector in the Pittsburgh area. As his friend’s business grew, Predo lent a hand by helping him find new bikes and setting up the bike museum. As someone who is passionate about bicycles and likes working with people, CAT was a perfect match for Predo. Predo has been volunteering regularly at the CAT Bicycle Cooperative since May 2019. (term 2020-2022)

Julie has been a fan of biking since the early 1970s when her father first took her riding on the old, concrete bike paths that hugged the edges of Manhattan. Somewhat peripatetic for nearly two decades, she found biking the best way to get to know the ins and outs of small towns and big cities alike, including Ann Arbor, Boston, Yellow Springs, Washington, D.C., Columbus, Northampton, MA, and Bethlehem.  These days she's happily settled in the Lehigh Valley and loves nothing more than hitting one of the local bike trails with family and friends. (term 2019-2021)

I remember fondly learning to ride my first bike at 5 years of age, shortly after moving to Shaker Heights, Ohio from Bordeaux, France. Biking is in my genes as I am half Dutch and have always loved the independence that a bicycle has given me. I have and continue to use a bicycle as my main means of transportation whenever possible and in the many countries I have visited and lived in. I believe that we need to make our communities more people centric and that a bicycle plays a key role in that goal. (term 2021-2023)

Jennifer is the AVP for Alumni Relations at Lehigh University. She bikes to work when she can, competes in triathlons, and has recently been bitten by the bug of overnight bike touring. She's also taken some classes in bike mechanics and hopes to put her newfound skills to use at CAT and on the D&L Trail, where she's a Trail Patroller. When she hits the lottery, all the winnings will go to making cities more pedestrian and bike friendly. Until then, she's trying to make a difference by serving on the Finance Committee for CAT. (term 2022-2024)

Lisa is a former broadcast journalist who recently moved to Bethlehem from Chicago where her bike and public transit were her main modes of transport. She has biked all over the world in places like Vietnam, London, Melbourne, Berlin, and Buenos Aires. When not biking, Lisa freelances as a travel writer and video consultant, and is the executive director for a farm animal welfare non-profit. Her goal is to help make the Lehigh Valley an area centered around people and not cars!

Tim was an educator throughout his professional career. He started as an elementary school teacher and finished as a professor and chairperson of the Department of Instructional Technology at Bloomsburg University. He's been riding bikes since he was a young boy and never stopped. Tim uses his bike for transportation, shopping, exercise, and just the sheer joy of riding. He completed century rides as well as multi-day rides like the Erie Canal Trail and the Greater Allegheny Passage (GAP) Trail. He enjoys teaching people how to ride safely as well as repair their bicycles.

Ayana found her passion of biking through an Afros in Nature collaboration event in 2021. It’s been love at first sight since. Ayana learned the ropes very quickly and became a CAT Ride Leader for the Womens Group on Tuesdays, as well as the weekend bakery rides. She’s an advocate for education, safety awareness, and mechanics. Ayana earned her certification as a League Cycling Instructor and enjoys connecting others to the delights of biking with CAT.