When I was about eight years old I decided to start a lemonade stand. My stand, which was rudimentary in design, included the front steps of my house, a pitcher of watered down lemonade and no cups.

We started growing seeds for our garden over the weekend and as I sat down to write my blog this week I was struck by how working to grow awareness and engagement for Safe Routes to School is similar to the growth of our seedlings. 

True or False: Physically active children perform better academically than their less active counterparts. TRUE! But you don’t have to take my word for it.

As someone who has been involved with Safe Routes to School for over nine years, it has been very satisfying – let alone exciting – to see the Safe Routes Partnership’s state network project not only thrive, but continue to get generously funded. And being personally involved has only made it that much sweeter. Prior to joining the staff in May 2011, I served on the Safe Routes Partnersh

Two very diverse states and a federal district. The Greater Washington region of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia is certainly an interesting place to live for many reasons. But it is an even more interesting place to work, especially when working in the policy realm.

Since the release of the Senate transportation bill back in November, we have faced the specter of a transportation bill in which state departments of transportation would make the sole decisions about whether to dedicate any funding to Safe Routes to School, bicycling and walking.