Staff
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Mellissa Meng Active transportation means adventure and freedom to Mellissa. She seized on it early and continues to let it inspire her. As an only child growing up in Saskatoon, Canada, she’d ride around town exploring and feeling the sense of empowerment that getting around successfully on your own will bring. Later, as an off-campus student at UCSC, she’d navigate to and from campus on her bike, riding up to campus alongside the buses in the morning and mountain biking through Gray Whale Ranch to get home. She developed love of sustainable transportation when, as an intern, she oversaw Ecology Action’s Bike to Work Day, in which she coordinated the gathering and delivery food and drinks to breakfast stations at nearly 30 locations scattered around Santa Cruz County – all by bike. Later on, a summer tree planting adventure culminated in biking from Port Angeles, Washington to Eureka, California, a trek of almost 900 miles. Mellissa’s led just about every program area in the decade plus that she has worked at Jibe, including Bike, Bus, and Schools. A League of American Bicyclists Certified Bicycle Instructor, Mellissa started our Walking School Buses, grew our Walk to School program from two to eight schools, and churned out thousands of cycle-ready kids thanks to her management of Project Ride Smart. A world traveler and dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, she’s traveled in Asia, Latin America, and Europe. While she doesn’t sit still long, she must have done so at some point, as you can find her cast in bronze in at least one public art installation as well as a private collection. Mellissa has been at Jibe since 2009.
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Amber Hustead To say that Amber Hustead never has a dull moment would be an understatement. A founding member of “Team AH,” Amber, her husband, and all 5 of their children share the same initials, "AH". Before moving to California in 2002, Amber served in the Navy for 8 years as an Intelligence Specialist, with multiple deployments to points throughout the Middle East on an aircraft carrier. She and her family moved to Natomas in 2011, and, after settling in, she joined the team at Jibe as a volunteer. Amber eventually took on the position of Program Coordinator for Westlake Charter School and has served in this role -- leading her school’s Walking School Bus, scanning students, and managing Jibe’s school programs at Westlake -- for more than two years. Because of her active engagement with school officials and parents, our Jibe Program Coordinators at other schools often look to Amber for advice or troubleshooting assistance when navigating relationships with school partners. Civically minded, Amber has connected with her children’s school, her neighborhood, and the larger Natomas community on local issues. These skills make her a shoo-in at Jibe because she knows everyone! When Jibe is recruiting volunteers, needs local knowhow, or is looking for the best way to do something in North Natomas, we look no further than Amber! Amber has been at Jibe since 2022.
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Michelle Basso Reynolds Having lived for ten years around the coalfields of Kentucky and West Virginia, Michelle knows first-hand the economic and social difficulties rural communities face. She worked in county behavioral health and coordinated media and communications campaigns that sought to empower communities and improve public health. In 2004, she went west, moving from Appalachia to Sacramento, and has kept up the good fight ever since. Her passion for sustainable transportation, food, and farming practices inspired her run for the board of the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op. She served the member-owned cooperative organization in various leadership positions including board president. She currently serves on the board of Community Alliance With Family Farmers. Additionally, as an avid bike commuter, she likes to push the envelope in terms of what constitutes traditional bike apparel, scrapping the spandex for fashionable everyday wear, heels, and business suits. Michelle’s many years of experience as a communicator, with a focus on public policy, make her a perfect fit here at Jibe. She also has a lifelong love of home cooking, entertaining, and rescue dogs. Michelle has been at Jibe since 2020. |
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Ms. McCann Ms. McCann grew up in car-centered Los Angeles in a bike-loving family. Her family took regular bike rides together along the beach bike paths for Sunday brunch. She was using her bicycle and public buses to get to school, fun, and work. She learned to appreciate transit and trains while living and traveling in other countries and loved the ease of travel using the New York subways and Long Island Rail Road extensively for six years. After spending way too many hours in her car driving kids to play dates in LA, she moved to Davis, where her kids could bicycle to all of their activities. She is thrilled to be able to walk or bike to all of her social activities and to do most of her errands. This is part of her mission to reduce her environmental impact and increase her health! Ms. McCann served as an appointed Natural Resources Commissioner for four years, working on a wide range of sustainability issues including review of plans for residential and commercial property development, designing policy to enhance safety in parks and recreation areas through the removal of pesticides, and review of a new downtown plan to recommend greenhouse gas reduction measures. She has volunteered for many organizations, educating community members about reducing their personal climate impact in their homes and other easy lifestyle changes. Growing food and native plants and hosting potlucks focused on planet-friendly foods are her favorite ways to unwind! Ms. McCann has been at Jibe since 2023. |
