Board of Directors

Kira Marchenese logs most of her bike miles riding tandem with her partner, Eric, from their home in Washington, DC. Bike touring is their favorite way to explore, both locally and when they travel. Kira appreciates the improvement in DC’s bike infrastructure over the past ten years, and looks forward to the day when she feels safe piloting her single bike on city streets during rush hour. Professionally, she is a veteran digital strategist. She has led Environmental Defense Fund’s digital team for 15 years, supporting the organization’s communications, marketing, advocacy and fundraising. Before that, she helped launch the original Washington Post web site and managed search and navigation products at AOL. She earned her undergraduate degree in public policy from Duke University, and her masters in public administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School. She served on the board of the youth development organizations Project Create and On-Ramps to Careers. She also enjoys drawing, including designing tandem-bike-themed holiday cards.

Shelley dove headlong into the world of riding bikes when she was in college and decided to join a team that rode 4,600 miles from Austin, Texas, to Anchorage, Alaska, to raise money for cancer research. After that  incredible two-and-a-half month trek, her love of cycling never ceased. Now, she lives in the Eckington neighborhood of Northeast DC with her husband and their two-year old daughter, and bikes to work year-round and recreationally as often as possible. By day, Shelley leads a campaign to protect Canada’s climate-critical boreal forest for the Natural Resources Defense Council. By night, she advocates for safer streets for all, affordable housing, and a city that protects its residents from climate change and advances policies that make it a leader in addressing the climate emergency. As one of WABA’s newest board members, she looks forward to using her experience raising money for organizations and campaigns to help WABA increase the resources it needs to be an excellent and effective advocate for bicyclists across the DC region. Shelley graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with degrees in psychology and sociology.

Jessica is a long-time resident of Bethesda, MD and commutes to work in downtown DC several times a week.  On weekday mornings and evenings she can often be found puttering along MacArthur Blvd and the Capital Crescent Trail on her way to and from the office. Jessica is committed to making bicycling more accessible and viable for all residents in the DC area and continuing the work WABA has done towards making bicycling in the area safer. Jessica and her partner enjoy biking together recreationally with their two kids. During the day, Jessica is a tax attorney and leads her law firm’s DC tax practice.

Nick is a lifelong cyclist, social justice advocate, public policy analyst, and lover of the outdoors. He grew up cycling the roads of Western Massachusetts. Now he explores the roads and trails of the DMV from his home in the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood, where he lives with his wife Tina and an elderly dog. Nick was a longtime senior vice president at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, an anti-poverty organization. He serves currently as Executive Director for the D.C. Tax Revision Commission.

Angelique has ridden a bike all her life, but has officially been a cyclist since March 2021. Inspired by frequently seeing groups of GII (Getting It In) cyclists riding in her PG County neighborhood, one day she decided to get a road bike and ride with them. She quickly realized one does not just get a bike to ride with GII cyclists — and expect to keep up! But she was immediately adopted by The DMV Caribbean Ridazz cycling club (DMVCR), which has become her second family. She was bitten by the cycling bug, and has been spinning her wheels ever since. During biking season, Angelique participates in group rides several days a week, marshals the “C Group” rides hosted by DMVCR, and often hosts their large activities. She has developed friendships with many DMV cycling club leaders, including GII, Artemis, Come Get Your Bike On, Streets Calling, Velo Velo, Phase, Divas, and many more, and is affectionately known as “Head Cheerleader” at cycling races.

Angelique travels nationally and internationally to participate in bike rides hosted by various organizations, with annual rides in Miami, Atlanta, California, Jamaica, and the US Virgin Islands frequently making her travel list. This year, she was invited to join the Jazz Pedalers cycling team to participate in the 2024 Dirty Kitten Winter Training Series. This is an indoor cycling competition intended to motivate cyclists to continue riding and staying fit thru the winter months; and she has proudly maintained a position at the top of the Leaderboard for her category. Angelique is very passionate about children and community involvement, and has held membership and/or leadership positions in many organizations including the Prince Georges County Chamber of Commerce, the South Bowie Boys and Girls Club, Archbishop Spalding Cavalier Club, Ft. Washington Boating Association, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Professionally, Angelique has been a self- employed Mortgage Broker for over 20 years, stemming from her business as a Financial Consultant. Prior to that, she was a Biomedical Researcher, having graduated from the University of Md, College Park with a BS in Zoology with emphasis in Genetics, and changed careers after becoming a PhD Fellow in Cell Biology at Georgetown University. She has lived in Bowie, Md for 20 years and also owns a home in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington DC, giving her a vested interest in both jurisdictions. Ms. Best considers raising her wonderful adult son to be her greatest accomplishment in life. She is very excited to join WABA’s Board and help to increase our presence in PG County and beyond!

Lane Blumenfeld is a lifelong cyclist, outdoor enthusiast and DC native. A corporate attorney for over 30 years, Lane has served as general counsel for both public, privately-held and venture backed companies. Currently, he is the Chief Legal Officer for Data Driven Holdings, a leading provider of data-driven technology and advertising solutions.

Active in the local community, Lane has served on the Johns Hopkins University alumni advisory council, as president of the alumni board at Georgetown Day School, as a coach and board member for Northwest Little League, and as a fundraiser for both Children’s National and the Lab School of Washington. An outdoor wilderness enthusiast, Lane has completed the National Outdoor Leadership School’s Outdoor Educator program, been certified as a Wilderness First Responder, and is an Assistant Scout Master for BSA Troop 61 in DC.

Lane grew up biking in the city, first in Southwest DC, and later in Rock Creek Park. Today, he enjoys road biking on the Capital Crescent and NOVA trail systems, and mountain biking throughout the region, including along the C&O Canal and in regional parks.

Joining the WABA Board in 2020, Llewelyn is newer to city bicycling and excited to help more people incorporate bicycling into their lifestyles. Llewelyn grew up in Northern Virginia, and moved to DC in 2011. She began commuting by bicycle when she moved to a new neighborhood in 2017 and has learned to love her commute and the time spent bicycling each day. Bicycling quickly became her go-to mode of transportation, no matter the weather, and she looked for ways to become more involved in DC’s bicycling community. After doing WABA’s 50 states ride, Llewelyn was inspired to become more involved and advocate for safe and accessible bicycling opportunities for all the DMV’s residents. In her day job, Llewelyn is a lawyer at the firm of McDermott, Will & Emery where she is a member of the firm’s Government Strategies group.

Allison Foster is a committed bicyclist who commutes each day from Pentagon City to Dupont Circle via the Mt. Vernon Trail. Ms. Foster is active in the non-profit community in Washington DC area. She is an item-writing for the CAE certification exam, has served as treasurer of a board of directors for an organization helping people with disabilities find employment opportunities and is current Vice-Chair of Synetic Theater. She is also active with her church, participates in a program which offers financial counseling to low-income residents, volunteers at the Arlington Food Assistance Center, and is assistant-chief of an Arlington community garden. She is the Chief Finance and Operating Officer of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health, a national membership for public health education. She oversees membership, operational and financial functions of the Association. She is also the President of the National Board of Public Health Examiners which administers the Certified in Public Health (CPH) credential. Allison earned her MBA from James Madison University and is a Certified in Association Executive.

Dr. Debra Lane has been an educator for more than 30 years, as a teacher and administrator in the U.S. and abroad. She has led several schools as principal, including most recently at one of the world’s leading international schools, Shanghai American School. She taught grades from pre-K through middle school, as well as ESOL, Literacy, and Gifted and Talented classes in Fairfax County Public Schools and in the Dominican Republic. Recently she was Director of Talent Development at Alexandria City Public Schools. Currently she is a leadership coach/Office of School Quality officer for the Virginia Department of Education. She holds a BS from Baylor University, master’s degrees from Virginia Tech and George Mason University, and an Ed.D. from the University of Virginia. Her dissertation work on bullying prevention has led to her advising government agencies, associations, and school boards on effective bullying prevention strategies both locally and internationally. She has taught undergraduate and graduate classes at George Mason University and the University of Virginia. As part of her work with the National Staff Development Council she applied current research in adult learning to her work on staff development, focusing on professional learning communities. She presented at numerous international conferences, including Near East South Asia Association, Tri-State Educators, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and through her work with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, at the National Science Foundation. Currently she is working on federal government grants focusing on transformative leadership and increasing teacher’s leadership and instructional roles across the U.S., Central and South America. Dr. Lane has also participated in accreditation teams in China and Hong Kong with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. She was nominated as Virginia Principal of the Year and won the Chesapeake Bay Foundation Educator of the Year Award in 2009. She is currently an educational consultant at Lane Leadership Group,LLC. She serves as a board member with NOVA Outside, GrandInvolve, Virginia Environmental Education Association, Fall for the Book Literacy Festival at George Mason University, George Mason University Curriculum Advisory Council, and IDEA (Inclusive Development Education for Adolescences’).

Dan Langenkamp is a life-long cyclist and a Foreign Service Officer with the State Department. In August, his wife, Sarah Debbink Langenkamp, was killed while cycling in a bike lane by the driver of a semi truck in Bethesda, just weeks after their family had returned to the United States from a tour in Ukraine, helping the country fight Russia’s invasion.

Since Sarah’s death, Dan has campaigned for increased street street safety nationally, raising and donating more than $300,000 for bicycle and street safety organizations, advocating in Congress, and speaking to media about the worsening street safety trends in the United States. In November, with WABA, he led the Ride for Your Life, bringing nearly 2,000 cyclists together for a ride that retraced his wife’s ride the day she died and headed to the Capitol, where the group presented a petition to the Administration and Congress asking for safer trucking regulations and new funding for street safety.

Dan is currently working with Rep. Blumenauer on legislation named after his wife which facilitate the spending of federal highways safety funds on safe streets infrastructure nationwide. He and his wife have cycled to work for decades in the Washington area and abroad.

Karen Miller is an enthusiastic cyclist who fell in love with cycling while training and completing the 2011 Columbia Triathlon at Centennial Lake in Ellicott City, Maryland while raising funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Since then, she has logged many miles riding solo in the DMV area. In 2022, she took her riding adventures to new levels by riding longer distances, joining the Getting It In Cyclist Group, and finishing her first Seagull Century Ride in Maryland. In the same year, she incorporated her love of biking with her passion for supporting worthy health related causes by working with the Alzheimer’s Association Nation’s Capital Committee to put on the first Ride to End ALZ in the Nation’s Capital Area.

Currently, Karen continues to work on personal cycling goals, and with the Ride to End ALZ Nation’s Capital Committee. Professionally, Karen is an attorney who has worked for the federal government for over 25 years. She holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Michigan State University and a JD from Northwestern University.

Jim Sebastian is a transportation planner who’s worked in the local bike world for many years. He jump-started the District’s bike program in 2001 and oversaw the development of bike lanes, trails, bike parking, and bike sharing as well as pedestrian improvements and multimodal plans. He helped create partnerships with WABA for bike education and outreach. Mr. Sebastian holds a Masters Degree in Public Policy from the University of Maryland and an undergraduate degree in political science from Colgate University. He bikes to work, rides in Rock Creek Park, mountain bikes on occasion, and tries to do one triathlon a year. He lives with his family and two dogs in Takoma Park, Maryland.

Mish began his biking adventures late in life when he learned how to bike (on a Capital Bikeshare) upon moving to Washington, DC in 2015. Mish has been bike commuting, brewery-exploring, and doing fundraiser rides ever since. For his day job, he leads the policy team at an artificial intelligence company helping to prevent incidents on critical infrastructure, and has previously worked with the DC Council to pass landmark clean energy legislation in the District. Mish believes that safe and resilient infrastructure, and the local policy that supports it, leads to a healthier, happier community. Mish also serves on the Advisory Board of DC’s Sustainable Energy Utility, a quasi-government entity that helps DC residents and businesses use less energy, and is an active volunteer with the Clean Energy Leadership Institute. He holds a BS in Civil & Environmental Engineering and a Minor in Energy and Water Sustainability from Rice University.