Alison Graves named new leader of Community Cycling Center

Alison Graves.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Alison Graves is the new executive director of the Community Cycling Center. She takes the reins from Susan Remmers, who took over leadership of the non-profit four years ago. Remmers has been on medical leave since December (the medical issue is not related to this decision).

Graves was formerly the organization’s director of community and programs and she’s married to Bike Gallery owner and uber-advocate Jay Graves.

“I always imagined this would be my next step. I’ve been interim for the past few months and it’s been really fun. We’re in a really strong place. I love this organization and I’m ready!”

A statement posted today on the CCC’s website recaps the Remmers era:

“When she started in the spring of 2006, the Community Cycling Center was in a challenging stage of its organizational growth. While programs were successful, organizational infrastructure and key elements were missing. Remmers remembers, “I was looking for the mission statement and I found six versions of it.” She set to work immediately, igniting board and staff alike to gain clarity and focus.”

Susan Remmers.

Here are some highlights of Remmers’ accomplishments:

• Grew organization from $900,000 organization to $1.5M;
• Implemented living wage compensations and health benefits for full-time staff;
• Oversaw creation of vision statement, updated mission statement and designed strategic plan shifting organization from individual service delivery focus to a community change model;
• Led strategic program approach, focusing on north and northeast Portland;
• Created successful bike shop plan, resulting in a thriving, profitable enterprise.

Remmers also sat on the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030 Steering Committee. Suffice it to say, Remmers’ contributions to the community will be sorely missed.

Graves plans to write a new business plan to map the organization’s next steps. She presented on a panel at the National Bike Summit today that focused on promoting bikes in underserved communities, an issue she’s championed at the CCC, and one that she says will become an even larger focus in the future.