Building on our work in the community since 2011, our volunteer directors have guided BFK since incorporation as a Michigan non-profit organization in 2018, preparing us to achieve our goals on into the future.

Interested in becoming a BFK board member?  If you want to help make our greater community even more bicycle friendly we would love to hear from you!  Please let us know via our Contact Us page if you don’t know one of us personally.  Our main expectation is to honor commitments when made (applies to volunteers at any level).  Hands-on help — with one of our two main seasonal events*, advancing our goals and programs, and/or participating in one of our board and/or citizen committees — as time and interest permit — is fun and greatly appreciated. Many hands make light work! The time involved varies, but probably averages out to less than an hour a week plus regular board attendance.  Depending on your skills and passion for building community through bicycling, you can immerse yourself as much as your inspiration takes you.  Terms are three years with a two term sequential limit.  More details can be found in our bylaws HERE.

*(Kalamazoo Area Bike Week in the spring and our Fall Bike Celebration Weekend in the fall)

CURRENT OFFICERS & BOARD MEMBERS

Bill Adams – Director

• Fall Bike Celebration: Honorary Co-Chair
• Past Village Council President, Village of Vicksburg, MI
• Past VP Engineer Research & Marketing, FlowServe Michigan
• Board of Visitors, WMU School of Engineering
• Advisory Board, Texas A&M University
• MTEC Board, 10 years
• DOE & EPA Clean Air Act Amendments, Energy Efficiency Programs Aimed at Reducing CO2
• Rode bike to and from work for many years

 

 

Rachel Bennett – Secretary

• Clinical faculty specialist, Nursing, WMU
• Registered Nurse, pediatrics and perinatal health
• Oakland Drive-Winchell Neighborhood Association board member: Treasurer; Kalamazoo Bicycle Show neighborhood participation chair, Maple St Traffic Calming committee chair
• El Sol Elementary: PTO member
• Kalamazoo Area Runners, member
• MSN, RN (Rush University); BA, Geography (University of Texas at Austin)
• Bicycle commuter (work, errands, friends’ homes, meetings, restaurants and breweries)
• Active runner (5 marathons, countless half marathons, 1 sub-4 hour marathon post 3 children)
• Fluent in Spanish; International travel enthusiast
• Mother to three small children, who we tote around town on bikes
• Spouse to another avid bike commuter and cargo bike enthusiast (hauls all kids with groceries, etc.)

 

Deb Carpenter – Director

• Child Injury Prevention Consultant
• Safe Kids Kalamazoo County: Former Executive Director
• Safe Kids Worldwide President’s Advisory Council: former member
• MI Safe Kids Steering Committee: former member
• Nationally Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician Instructor
• MI Occupant Protection Team: current member
• BFK Advisory Council: former member
• Has planned, coordinated and implemented numerous bicycle, pedestrian and road safety events for youth
• M.A. in Elementary & Early Childhood Education

 

 

Isaac Green – Director

• Kalamazoo Bike Week: Chair
• Executive Director at Open Roads Bike Program
• B.A., Western Michigan University
• Passionate cyclist and rock climber
• Wood-turner, Record collector, Dog walker

 

 

 

 

Tom Hohm – Chair & President

• Civil Engineer (PE), Michigan Department of Transportation and Kalamazoo County Road Commission, Previous
• Project Engineer, Kalamazoo River Valley Trail, 2008-2015
• Kalamazoo Area Transportation Study, Technical Committee, Member, Vice Chair, Chair 2004 – 2015
• Rental Property Owner, Kalamazoo City Core Area
• Volunteer, Boy Scouts, Assistant Scoutmaster, Former
• Volunteer, AYSO, Soccer Coach Former

 

 

 

Jun-Seok (“Jun”) Oh – Vice Chair & Acting Treasurer

• Professor, Western Michigan University
• Director, Transportation Research Center for Livable Communities at WMU
• Board Member, International Professional Association of Transport and Health (IPATH)
• Member, Bicycle Transportation Committee in Transportation Research Board (TRB)
• Former President, Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association (KSEA)
• Former Chairperson, National Association for Korean Schools (NAKS)

 

 

 

Paul Rehkopf – Vice President

• Emergency Medicine Physician, Retired
• Adventure Cycling Association: Life Member
• Open Roads Bicycle Program: volunteer
• Bicycle Coalition of Maine, Bike Maine: volunteer
• League of American Bicyclists: current member
• League of Michigan Bicyclist: current member
• Kalamazoo Bicycle Club: current member

 

 

 

Matthew Wells – Director

• Senior Software Engineer, LaCrosse Footwear, Inc.
• Kalamazoo Bicycle Club: current member
• BFK Advisory Council: former member
• B.S., Western Michigan University

 

 

 

 

Donna Whitcomb – Director

• Kazoo Valley AMBUCS: President – 2016 to present
• Vocational Counselor-State of Michigan: retired
• Volunteers for KBC Kal-Tour: Coordinator
• BFK Advisory Council: former member
• Committed to inclusion of persons of all abilities riding bikes in a safe environment
• Member- Women Who Care, Kalamazoo
• 20+ years nonprofit board and officer experience in budget, fundraising and event planning
• M.A. in Rehabilitation Counseling, Western Michigan University

 

 

Founding and Former Board Members

Jeremiah Boerman
Erin (Denay) Decker
Ed Hessler
Jen Johnson
Michelle Karpinski – Founding
Beth Keith
Stephanie Kennedy
Tim Krone – Founding
Robert T. Loftus – Founding
Daniel P. McGlinn – Founding
Brendan Molony – Founding
Brian Persky – Founding
Paul Runnels
Randy Schau
Paul Selden – Founder; Current BFK Representative At Large
Kimberly L. Swinehart
Jennipher Wiebold
Hayden Guild