Corinne Winter, SVBC Executive Director of nine years, announces her departure

After nine years with Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, Executive Director Corinne Winter has announced that she will be stepping down. In a letter sent to members today, Corinne wrote that she will be leaving the organization in 2015 to build a consultancy and consider other opportunities."While leading SVBC has been a joy, the time has come for change, both for me and for the organization. Now, as I head into my tenth year, I am preparing to step down as Executive Director and hand the torch to another capable leader who will continue our legacy and take SVBC to the next level."The SVBC Board of Directors is actively searching for highly qualified candidates to build upon the success she has brought to the organization. Since Winter joined the Coalition as its first full-time Executive Director in 2005, she has grown its budget, membership, and impact substantially. SVBC is in a strong position, with a diverse mix of funding sources, an experienced staff of ten employees, and a reputation for being a professional, effective, innovative organization with a significant list of infrastructure and policy successes to its credit."Corinne has been invaluable in raising the profile and the impact of SVBC,” says Carl Guardino, President & CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. “She is leaving an organization that is effective, respected, and dependable thanks to her time at the helm.""People interested in taking over for Corinne have big shoes to fill," said James Lucas, Chairperson of the SVBC Board. "The Board will be working hard in the coming weeks to make sure our new leader has the same kind of vision, drive, and skill that has made SVBC so successful under Corinne's leadership."In her letter to SVBC members, Corinne wrote that leaving the organization and the people she works alongside will be difficult. "I feel deeply honored to have worked with such a great group of individuals and I am proud that my successor will join all of you in the company of a skilled, professional, and dedicated team of bike advocates," she wrote.When Corinne began her SVBC tenure, the group had just 400 members, no other paid staff members, and no office. Today, 2,000 members support an organization that has recently updated its mission and vision, expanded its staff size, and moved into a downtown San José office just a few steps away from City Hall. Over the past two years, Corinne led the organization through a restructuring of its advocacy initiatives and campaigns, a move that has boosted efficiency at the Coalition and yielded some notable wins. Some of the many noteworthy accomplishments under Corinne's direction include:

• Proliferation of innovative bicycle infrastructure throughout our two counties. Downtown San José has seen a particularly notable transition, with green or buffered bike lanes traversing 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th, Almaden, Hedding, and San Fernando Streets. Meanwhile, the city's trail network has grown substantially and won multiple awards as a model urban trail system.
• Implementation of a precedent-setting green bike lane on a freeway crossing—the first such known treatment in California.
• Spearheading SVBC's Vision Zero initiative and partnering with Stanford Trauma Center to form the innovative Roadway Safety Solutions Team, comprising public agency staff, law enforcement and other stakeholders on the Peninsula focused on increasing safety on our roads.
• Expanding Bike to Work Day participation in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties from 3,600 riders counted at 57 Energizer Stations in 2004 to 33,000 riders counted at 123 Energizer Stations in 2014.
• Development and implementation of the annual Silicon Valley Bike Summit.
• Funding and hiring of an Active Transportation Coordinator for San Mateo County.
• Implementation of Bay Area Bike Share in four Santa Clara County cities and one San Mateo County city. SVBC first began advocating for a public bike share system in 2008.
• Creation of a youth education program that now teaches safe walking and bicycling skills to over 6,000 children every year.
• Fiscal sponsorship of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange, which gave thousands of bicycles to children and families in need as an SVBC program. In 2013 the Bicycle Exchange incorporated and is now a successful independent nonprofit.

The SVBC Board of Directors has begun the search for Corinne's replacement. Read the full job description here. Contact EDsearch@bikesiliconvalley.org with any inquiries.