Can you share a little bit about yourself and your role at SafeTREC?
I grew up in the Hudson Valley, New York, not so patiently awaiting the day I could get my drivers license to gain autonomy. After high school I moved to Los Angeles, where I continued to drive in the largely car-dependent city. When I transferred from community college to UC Berkeley I found myself mostly walking, taking transit, or biking for the first time and began to understand the numerous benefits of experiencing life outside of a vehicle, and how dangerous this can be as well. Having experienced housing insecurity, I understand that living close to where I studied and now work is a privilege. These experiences sparked my interest in working in spaces where I can help address issues of transportation and housing. I am thrilled to be at SafeTREC where I can contribute to furthering transportation equity by connecting with different communities across the state, empowering residents to become involved in the decision making processes that make up their own urban landscapes.
What sparked your interest in transportation safety research?
Upon taking GIS courses at community college I began to consider the ways freeways divide Los Angeles and the variety of socioeconomic outcomes and health disparities this creates, and in 2020 I worked on mapping the way quarantine orders impacted air quality throughout the region. I continued to work on academic transportation projects throughout my time at UC Berkeley, including my senior thesis which focused on automated vehicles and techno-optimism. As a Transportation and Infrastructure Commissioner and Chair in the City of Berkeley, I was able to serve with a group of distinguished and talented advocates whom I learned so much from, cementing my interest in transportation safety research.
What current projects are you working on at SafeTREC?
I work on the Community Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Training Program (CPBST) where we empower residents in communities across California to create safer and more accessible streets for those walking and biking in their neighborhoods. We do this through providing a traffic crash data analysis, conducting walking and biking assessments, and helping participants develop a community-driven action plan. I work on another project at SafeTREC where we offer free Complete Streets Safety Assessments (CSSA) to further pedestrian and bicycle safety throughout California by working with communities, agencies, public schools/colleges, and Tribes.
What issues are you particularly interested or passionate about?
I believe that we consistently underestimate the amount of power we have to affect politics locally. The most local issues I am passionate about include transportation safety, public transportation funding, and zoning reform to increase the production of housing for all income levels while protecting existing tenants. I firmly believe that transportation and housing and policy go hand in hand; that decades of failing to build infill housing has resulted in people living further and further away from places of work and in more car-dependent areas. When considering these issues from a climate standpoint, it is clear that we cannot continue down this path.
What do you like to do outside of work?
Organizing and local political activism, urban cycling, walking around Lake Merritt, camping, and knitting. I am vegetarian and enjoy finding new places to eat and cooking at home. I love walking, biking, or taking transit around new cities and experiencing other cultures, landscapes, and foods.
This Spotlight interview was conducted in collaboration with UC Berkeley SafeTREC. The opinions and perspectives expressed are those of the interviewee and not necessarily those of SafeTREC or the Office of Traffic Safety.
Funding is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
