The Northern California Mountain Biking Association (NorCAMBA) is pleased to announce that it has hired Sue Fry as Executive Director, making the club one of only a handful of regional mountain bike advocacy groups around the world with professional leadership.
Sue comes to NorCAMBA with a passion for improving bicycling opportunities for all individuals. Sue was the past vice-president of the Sacramento Singletrack Scorchers, promoting mountain biking to women; is the current president of FATRAC, a 300-member advocacy and trail building club in the Sacramento area; and promotes the annual Bike-To-Work Day events in the Sacramento area.
While working as an environmental specialist and project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Sue gained knowledge of both Federal and State of California environmental laws and large-scale project management techniques. While with the Corps, Sue worked on Capitol Hill as U.S. Senate Appropriations staff and secondly, at the Pentagon as a Special Assistant to the head civilian for the Corps. Since 2002, Sue has been working as a private consultant dealing with Federal agency project implementation issues at Lake Tahoe, California.
“The increasing threats to mountain bike access in Northern California emphasize the need for NorCAMBA,” said Fry. “We must join forces and build a coalition to eliminate the threat while building relationships to promote improved access. I am excited about the challenges that lie ahead and look forward to working with mountain bikers throughout Northern California.”
Three Bay Area advocacy groups founded NorCAMBA as a way to combine their resources and become more effective at opening trails. By doing so, they were able to take the next step and hire a professional advocate.
“The birthplace of mountain biking continues to face some of the toughest challenges in the country with regard to access. The addition of Sue’s skills and legislative knowledge to our cause will help us to improve mountain biking opportunities in Northern California,” said Shaun Reid, President of NorCAMBA.
Sue’s initial focus will be on building the identity of the organization through the implementation of several initiatives, including a newsletter and media campaign. She will also serve as a valuable resource in fundraising and advocacy. NorCAMBA plans to tackle both regional issues like Wilderness, and local issues, such as the notorious lack of singletrack in the Bay Area. The organization is also looking for a trail to “adopt.” Another important element of NorCAMBA is the development of new organizations; in areas where an advocacy organization does not yet exist, motivated individuals should turn to NorCAMBA for strategic development support.
NorCAMBA needs the help of all mountain bikers to be successful. You can join NorCAMBA by joining one of its affiliate organizations. The organization also needs you to get involved after you join by helping with trail work, volunteering professional expertise, attending a land management meeting, or simply leading a ride.
NorCAMBA is dedicated to maintaining and increasing trail access for Northern California mountain bicyclists by unifying and leveraging the resources of existing grassroots organizations and promoting the development of new organizations. NorCAMBA encourages and supports sustainable trail construction and maintenance, environmentally and socially responsible riding, and land stewardship. NorCAMBA is an affiliate of the International Mountain Bicycling Association.
For more information and to join, please visit www.ncmba.org.
Shaun Reid
President
Northern California Mountain Biking Association
www.ncmba.org
San Francisco Bay Area Rep
IMBA
www.imba.com
