Christian Johnson is the Vice President of Shelter Mortgage Corporation and a long time cycling advocate. Growing up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Christian has watched many changes in the bicycle racing world from BMX, the invention and development of Mountain Biking, to a deep rooted passion for road bikes. It was only late in life when Christian felt the draw and benefits of casual cycling. Through teaching his own child to ride a bike and witnessing the freedoms that come with it, Christian realized an era of biking to school, restaurants, soda shop had all but decayed. Christian has since co-founded the iBike Rosemont initiative where kids are encouraged to ride their bikes to school every day for a full week with the crescendo being a large (well supported) group ride to Bishop Arts for Root Beer Floats provided by Enos Restaurant. This event has helped children discover the thrill of riding a bicycle in a safe, well protected environment.  This has brought together many members of the community who find great joy in watching many of the children shed their training wheels with great enthusiasm. Christian has also played a roll with many of the bike lanes we are now seeing through out Dallas, namely the project which surrounds Rosemont Elementary right here in Oak Cliff.  All this in an effort to make cycling more comfortable and safe for everyone.

 

Amanda Popken has worked in Economic Development since 2008, both at the Dallas Regional Chamber and the City of Dallas, after receiving her Masters in City & Regional Planning from the University of Texas at Arlington. Her educational background in sustainability and urban planning bring a quality-of-life bent to her work. In 2010 she co-founded Dallas Cycle Style under Bike Friendly Oak Cliff, to promote cycling as a part of one's everyday routine, and hosts an annual Cyclist Census and Face of Biking in Dallas competition. In 2012 she co-founded the non-profit Revolutionary Pants, an urban laboratory for creating communities and re-imagining the human habit. Since 2010 Amanda has lived in Oak Cliff, getting to know the neighborhood and appreciating the eclectic mix and can-do-spirit. She continues to focus on enhancing the quality of lifestyle for her neighbors while keeping the small-town charm and historic character of Oak Cliff.

 

Andrew Howard, AICP worked for 12 years in traditional urban and transportation planning at regional government offices and a top national engineering firm before leaving to help pioneer a new approach to public outreach. Realizing that over the past several decades, designers and city officials have struggled to create and maintain interest from local communities for long-term urban revitalization, Andrew and Co-founder Jason Roberts created The Better Blocks Project. Now being used in over forty cities and three nations, the better block illustrates how simple modifications can powerfully alter the economic, social, and ecological value of a city by gathering designers and community volunteers together to create a one-day urban intervention to spark the imagination and interest of citizens and leaders alike. The American Society of Landscape Architects called it, “a 21st-century version of what the Chicago World’s Fair did in 1893.” The project has now become a staple for communities seeking rapid urban revitalization and has been featured in the New York Times, Dwell magazine, NPR’s Marketplace and showcased in the US Pavilion at the 2012 Venice Biennale and highlighted at the National Association for City Transportation Officials.

Jonathan moved to Oak Cliff in 2006 from East Dallas and lives with his wife Lillian in Kings Highway.  He joined the community advocacy movement in Oak Cliff while volunteering for the Community Gardens of Oak Cliff and he was an original Better Block volunteer.  He's in his second year as the Kings Highway Conservation District President, presides on the Gardent TIF Board and he joined the BFOC/OCTA board in early 2011.  Bicycling advocacy has been very important to him since starting to commute to work in 2005.  He works for the Texas Association for Home Care and Hospice and is a co-owner with Oak Cliff Cargo Bicycles.