Hello Safe Routes to School friends and advocates far and wide,

My name is Sara Zimmerman, and I’m a lawyer, an advocate for social justice, a parent, and someone who loves to get around by walking and bicycling. I’m very pleased to announce my new role as the Technical Assistance Director for the Safe Routes Partnership! For the past five years, I’ve worked on legal and policy issues related to childhood obesity as a staff attorney and program director with ChangeLab Solutions, a national nonprofit that works to make the healthy choice the easy choice. I’ve loved my work at ChangeLab, and I am excited to move into a new position directing technical assistance at the Safe Routes Partnership.

I’m also a parent of three, and I ride to school with my fourth grader every day (while my sixth grader walks herself to middle school). Earlier this month, when my younger daughter and I were bicycling to school on Walk and Roll to School Day, she said to me, “Biking to school is faster on Bike to School Day.” We had run into our neighbors, who were also biking along, and I thought she was going to say that the ride was flying by because we were all talking so much. But no – what she had noticed was that at intersections, cars were more likely to stop and let us cross because we were in a group.

This applies to the bike ride to school here in our town -- and it also applies to our movement generally. If we work together, people will stop blocking our journey, and start helping us get our kids to school safely and healthily. (Meanwhile, it doesn’t hurt if we’re also chatting away and having fun on our way.)

I do the work that I do because I care about people. Children deserve to grow and thrive without diabetes, chronic disease, injuries, or inequality restricting their opportunities. I’m looking forward to working with all of you to make real change in our communities, starting with the walk to school.