The BTCEB 2021 Nominating Committee is proud to announce the following positions have been filled at our February Board meeting. Included where available is an introductory note from the winning candidate.
President: Jerott King
The president presides at all meetings of the Board of Directors. He or she shall generally supervise, direct, and control the business and officers of the corporation. He or she leads the Executive Committee, provides support for all other BTCEB committees, and participates in those committees as needed. Jerott King was re-elected president in a landslide.
Vice-President: Mirek Boruta
The Vice-President performs the duties of the President in the absence or disability of the President and also acts in a leadership role for the organization. Having grown up in Castro Valley next to Lake Chabot, I’ve been a mountain biking enthusiast for over 20 years. I currently reside in Oakland and work at CLIF Bar, both in finance and marketing.
I’ve been a biking and triathlon coach for over a decade, having introduced many people to mountain biking and the beautiful trails we have in the East Bay. Currently, my best riding buddies are my 9 year old son and 7 year old daughter. Being able to take them outside, especially in these current times, and riding JMP or the new pump track has been one of the greatest joys.
Secretary: Tom Holub
The Secretary creates and maintains all official records of the BTCEB, including the Book of Minutes, the Annual Report, and any Notices required for BTCEB business. Tom was unanimously re-elected.
Membership Director: Yvette Skinner
When the BTCEB’s acting Membership Director moved out of state, the Board members knew that his term of service would be over by the end of 2020. He was gracious enough to continue the role till the end of the year but the clock was ticking.
The BTCEB’s membership list is managed through a third-party website that is neither user friendly nor up to date. To get even basic information from it requires someone familiar with spreadsheets such as Microsoft Excel, which I am used to working with. I volunteered to take over the role temporarily until the elections to get a feel for the work.
When it comes to numbers, I think that most mountain bikers have the air pressure in their rear shock dialed in to just the right PSI but numbers in a spreadsheet are just not that interesting. I suspected this role would not have many takers. A couple other folks had expressed interest in the VP role so I felt confident that changing roles would not leave an unfilled position so I threw my name in the hat for Membership Director.
Our membership management database clearly shows a need for cleanup and improvement. We rely on the website to send renewal notices to people whose membership has expired and this does not seem to be happening reliably. In my time in this role I hope to get a better understanding of our database and improve its function. There’s many other tasks that are important to this role but managing our membership is a critical first step.
Community Outreach Director: Ben Brunetti
The Community Outreach Director seeks to promote mountain biking among new and interested parties, and manages BTCEB’s ride and education programs. He or she also leads outreach efforts to underrepresented communities, youth, women, and LGBTQ+ populations. We welcome Ben as he transitions from the Trails Director role into Community Outreach Director.
Trails Director: Chris Wikler
My name is Chris Wikler, and I am excited to be serving as the new BTCEB Trails Director. I grew up riding in the East Bay hills, training in them during my time in the NorCal league, and falling back in love with them as I sought to get out of the house and ride to new places as COVID-19 hit. With so many more people enjoying and playing out in our incredible parks, the need for more trail work and expansion of access to mountain bikes became ever more clear to me— and I wanted to dive right in to that work. I learned to love building trail at a Boy Scout camp in Mendocino County, the Wente Scout Reservation, and look forward to bringing my experience working on singletrack there to our amazing parks and open spaces in the East Bay as the BTCEB trails director. I hope to get out and move some dirt with you soon!
Advocacy Director: Scott Bartlebaugh
I’ve been the BTCEB Lead Trail Steward for Crockett HIlls since 2018 and have grown the volunteer effort there year over year reaching 530 volunteer hours in 2020. I have also been active in advocacy for the BTCEB and currently serve as one of our two members on the CAMTB Advisory Council and also on the EBRPD Trail User Working Group as one of two cycling stakeholders. I’ve been active in BTCEB communications with the EBRPD Trails Development group the last 3 years.
Last year I participated with other recreational park users related to the Elizabeth Echols campaign for EBRPD director. Additionally I’ve worked to increased posts to the BTCEB social media feeds, contribute routinely to the BUZZ, and partnered with Jamuel Starkey on the Virtual Gala Rides to help increase BTCEB presence, membership, and community. I’m in contact with several groups and individuals working to increase mountain bike access.
Each time we roll out on a trail it’s an advocating opportunity whether we realize it or not. Mountain bikers need to be more active in communicating to land managers and participating in the public process. The rate of progress and apparent lack of progress are maddening. The explosive growth rate of mountain biking and park user overloads during Covid have resulted in increased user group conflict and made the demand for trails more evident.
It’s critical that the mountain bike community work together to make the most of the opportunity during this time of unprecedented demand to increase bike access and ally with other trail users to improve trail experiences for all users.
The BTCEB was founded to advocate for bike access and I would like to see us further improve our advocacy efforts, effectiveness, priorities and results as an organization. We’re all advocates and you’ll be called on to do your part. Answer the call.
Board Member At-Large: Mattie Terzolo
When I was 4 years old, I did something bad (no one involved remembers the original offense) and my parents took away my beloved bike as a punishment. Sobbing uncontrollably in a heap on the floor, I could only mutter “my bike…my bike” for hours. Out of fear they went too far, my parents walked the punishment back and never resorted to that again; they truly understood how sacred that bike was to me.
While it is unknown whether I would have the same emotional reaction to not being able to ride my bike as an adult, I can say with certainty that I am still very passionate about getting out on my bike. Now more than ever I am grateful for the access to nature and incredible trails we have in the East Bay.
I joined BCTEB to help maintain and expand access to nature for mountain bikers in the East Bay – with the hope others will enjoy the trails as much as I do.
Board Member At-Large: John Roberts
I finally joined the BTCEB Board in a formal sense after already being fully engaged amongst its ranks for seven years. I have been advocating for mountain biking during this time, and my trail work history is twice as long. I am also a member of the Oakland Bike Patrol, and Friends of Joaquin Miller Park.
I am here to ensure mountain biking is a great family sport and hope you can join me on this journey. Mountain bikers can be independent and go in different directions, so, I will finish with this quote from U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant: “Numbers together can accomplish what twice their number acting individually could not perform.”
Board Member At-Large: Josh Church
In this position contributors who do not hold one of the officer or named director positions may also participate in the BTCEB board with full voting rights and will contribute to the committees they are assigned. Josh moves over from the reconstituted Publicity and Education Director position (now Community Outreach Director) to become Board Member At-Large.
