AUGUSTA, ME (BRAIN)—Nancy Grant of Portland has been named as the Bicycle Coalition of Maine’s new executive director.
As the coalition’s board president for the past two years, Grant helped lead the organization through an expansion of staff and educational programs, according to a press release. The coalition’s work is widely credited with helping Maine achieve the ranking as the country’s third most bike-friendly state, according to the League of American Bicyclists.
“We conducted a nationwide search and Nancy Grant stood out from among dozens of highly qualified candidates,” said John Wright, the coalition’s incoming board president. “She cares passionately about making our state a safer place to bicycle and encouraging more Mainers to try bicycling. She understands the important role that bicycling can play in encouraging tourism and economic development, addressing our state’s obesity problem and saving energy.”
Grant’s long history of bicycle advocacy includes founding the North Yarmouth Safe Bike and Walk Ways Committee, serving as a founding member of Bowdoin College’s Commute Another Way Committee, joining the coalition’s delegation to the National Bike Summit and serving on the Portland Bicycle Network Advisory Group. She has been an active member of the coalition’s board since 2005.
Grant is a recreational cyclist and bicycle commuter who rides with the Women's Portland Velo Club, enjoys bicycle touring and recently resumed mountain biking. She became involved in bicycle advocacy in 1998, when she led the push for a $2.6 million project to pave bicycle shoulders and build a sidewalk through North Yarmouth. An educational technology consultant at Bowdoin College since 2001, she has served as staff advisor to the college’s bicycle sharing program, as a member of the Bowdoin President’s Climate Commitment Advisory Committee and as lead organizer of Bowdoin’s Commute Another Way activities.
Grant’s previous work experience includes coordinating technology at Freeport High School, teaching social studies at Westbrook Junior High School and serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Sierra Leone, West Africa.
Grant will begin work early in 2011. She will replace the coalition’s current executive director, Allison Vogt, who is moving out of state.
