Roadies

As the lead for Ecology Action’s Planning team, Amelia works in partnership with public agencies to produce Active Transportation Plans and Safe Routes to Schools Plans, which include recommendations for new infrastructure and programs to make it easier and safer to walk and ride bicycles for daily trips. As of 2022 Amelia had completed five plans for jurisdictions in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. Amelia is a graduate of the University of Washington and holds a BA in Community, Environment, and Planning.

Chloe Ortiz is joining Ecology Action as a Youth Program Coordinator. She grew up in La Honda and Santa Cruz, where biking to school every day introduced her to the joys of bike recreation and advocacy. At Pitzer College she studied environment, politics, and religion– and went on to combine those interests as a 2022 Thomas J. Watson Fellow during a year-long project exploring Catholic eco-theology around the world. She is excited to be back in her hometown and continue working towards making it a bikeable city for everyone. In her free time enjoys playing bike polo, roller skating, reading, and swimming in the ocean.

Margaret is an emotionally driven creative and roll-the-sleeves-up make-it-happen senior designer who contributes to the visuals and communications of Ecology Action. Margaret is a Minnesota native with a diverse background in marketing, design, and media. She spends as much time on two wheels as she can and has loved exploring the mountain roads and trails around the area.

As Senior Technical Support Specialist, Nicholas identifies, analyzes and develops solutions to meet information system requirements, and develops tools for support of desktop systems and users. He is our primary web developer and go-to person for anything technical. Nicholas troubleshoots and problem-solves to ensure that Ecology Actions IT infrastructure is running smoothly.

Piet Canin oversees Ecology Action’s sustainable transportation programs, which emphasize healthy, money saving, and environmentally friendly means of travel. Piet has helped implement several innovative programs at Ecology Action, including Bike to Work Day, the Electric Bike, and Folding Bike Incentive programs. Piet has been active in advancing sustainable transportation programs over the past 30 years. He has extensive experience working with a diversity of partners including schools, businesses, public health, safety, and transportation agencies, community groups and individuals.

Piet has actively advocated for the Coastal Rail Trail since 1998 and leveraged diverse partners to move forward such projects as the Beach Street Bikeway, Arana Gulch and increased funding for the Rail Trail. Piet is a long-time member of the Regional Transportation Commission’s Bike Advisory Committee, FORT Board Member and a Bike Santa Cruz County Lifetime Achievement award recipient.