SVBC Member Spotlight: Emy Mendoza

[facebook][retweet]Emy Mendoza has been with the City of San José, Environmental Services Department (ESD) for 8 years after completing her masters degree in urban planning at San Jose State University. Her projects at the City have ranged from the Zero Waste Strategic Plan, to the ban on plastic bags in San José. She is currently part of the Sustainability and Compliance Division of ESD, focusing on energy efficiency and outreach to schools. How did she get into bicycling?While I loved riding my bike as kid, I got much more involved in it when I had the dream job of working for a bicycle touring company. For many years, I traveled around the U.S, and to international destinations to help clients as they rode their bikes on their vacation.Emy has been a regular member and contributor to SVBC for many years, and we are happy to spotlight her and share her thoughts on how to increase bicycling in the region. Will you join Emy and the other 2,200 members of SVBC? Join today, and help us improve bike infrastructure and safety where you live and ride.How did you get introduced to Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition?I think I brought SVBC into an urban planning project when I was a masters student at SJSU, 2006 or so. We were looking at urban form and health issues. We included SVBC in a presentation we gave about biking for health, and needing more bike infrastructure on our suburban streets.What kind of activities and trips do you use your bicycle for?I bike to work, from Japantown to City Hall, and then I use my bike if I'm socializing in downtown, or running errands.You have volunteered before for SVBC's Bike Valet program. Share your experience volunteering with us for Bike Parking during this past year's San Jose Jazz Summer Fest.Bike valet at San Jose Jazz Summer Fest was fun, easy, and generally mellow. It's a great social time with fellow-volunteers and bike patrons. With [Summer Fest], there's always some music happening which another added bonusIf you had a magic wand, what do you think needs to be done to achieve 10% of trips by bike by 2025 in Silicon Valley?We'd have Viva CalleSJ [Open Streets] events once per month, so that it becomes more "normal" for folks to get around on bikes.Share with us what a dream day on your bike looks like.A warm sunny day with light breeze, good friends, and a ride to the Refuge in Alviso.What would you say to someone considering becoming a member of SVBC?Being a member can happen at whatever level you want - $10 or $20 per month, or just bike valet volunteer for summer events. It's fun to hang out with other biking fans, and the biking community. If you want to speak to a City Council about more bicycling infrastructure, that's a great contribution too