Safe Routes Partnership E-News
Issue #203: February 2023
Safe Routes Partnership E-News is a monthly email newsletter published by the Safe Routes Partnership. We are also on Facebook and Twitter. Join us!
- Safe Routes Partnership Interim Executive Director Named
- Webinar: Teamwork Makes Safe Routes Work
- Walk, Ride, & Roll Series – Connecting with Partners on Safe Routes to School
- Meet the 2023 Safe Routes to Parks Pennsylvania Activating Communities Grantees
- Now Hiring: Graduate Research Advisor
- Safe Routes to School Fare Well in Safe Streets for All Awards
- 5 Reasons Why Your Public Librarian Is the Key to Your Next Safe Route Partnership
- Get to Know Our Staff – Diahn Nevares
- Safe Routes Partnership is a Healthy People 2030 Champion!
1. Safe Routes Partnership Interim Executive Director Named
The Safe Routes Partnership Board of Directors has named Marisa Jones as Interim Executive Director. She began serving in this position on February 1st, following the departure of Executive Director Cass Isidro, while the Board conducts its search for a permanent Executive Director. Senior staff member and Consulting & Program Support Director, Michelle Lieberman, will also be tapped to provide leadership during this period of transition.
Marisa has been with the Safe Routes Partnership for seven years, most recently serving as the Policy & Partnerships Director, collaborating with stakeholders on policy issues that advance Safe Routes to School, and leading several work areas within the organization, including Safe Routes to Parks, active transportation funding, and the organization’s legislative strategy on Capitol Hill and with federal agencies. The Safe Routes Partnership Board of Directors is moving forward with the search process to identify the next Executive Director. We will share a job posting and information about the position once it is available.
At this time of transition, Safe Routes Partnership re-affirms our commitment to building upon our legacy of impactful work in communities all across the country and to meeting the goals laid out in our Strategic Roadmap. With equity at the core, we aim to advance mobility justice and increase Safe Routes to School programs and active travel to everyday destinations.
2. Webinar: Teamwork Makes Safe Routes Work
Safe Routes to School programs are a team effort. Learn how Safe Routes practitioners and partners in Durango, CO are working together to improve safety and encourage more walking and rolling. We will share best practices for communicating with school districts, connecting with community-based organizations, and engaging older students in Safe Routes projects. Register here.
3. Walk, Ride, & Roll Series – Connecting with Partners on Safe Routes to School
Successful Safe Routes to School programs, projects, policy, and funding opportunities are dependent on the strength of the relationships Safe Routes to School practitioners develop in connecting with important partners and decision-makers at all levels. Our newly updated primer series resources aim to educate practitioners on the role of school districts, principals, mayors, governors, state leaders, metropolitan planning organizations, student transportation departments, and municipal transportation departments in advancing Safe Routes to School. The primers give perspective to both the Safe Routes to School practitioner on working with the identified partner and to the identified partner on the benefits of Safe Routes to School and the multitude of approaches that are available. Explore the resources here, and register for our next Walk, Ride, & Roll Series webinar, “Curbing the Car Loop: Making Arrival and Dismissal Work for Everyone” on March 15 at 2 pm ET.
4. Meet the 2023 Safe Routes to Parks Pennsylvania Activating Communities Grantees
Safe Routes Partnership is excited to introduce the 2023 Safe Routes to Parks Pennsylvania Activating Communities Grantees. These four organizations are based in communities that are representative of the geographic diversity of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This will be the fifth cohort of communities in the Safe Routes to Parks Activating Communities program and the first focused on one specific state.
The four grantee communities will work closely with our staff to develop Safe Routes to Parks action plans that aim to improve safe, equitable access to local parks in each of their communities. Each grantee will receive training, individualized consultation, technical assistance, an in-person workshop in their community, and a $10,000 grant to begin implementing their Safe Routes to Parks action plan.
Congratulations to our 2023 Grantees:
- Bayfront East Side Task Force (Erie, PA)
- Downtown Bellefonte, Inc. (Bellefonte, PA)
- NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania (Scranton, PA)
- Schuylkill County’s VISION (Shenandoah, PA)
5. Now Hiring: Graduate Research Advisor
The Safe Routes Partnership is seeking a Graduate Research Advisor to work under contract for approximately 10 hours a month to ensure that the Partnership has current information on scholarly research related to Safe Routes to School. Learn more about the position and apply by March 3!
6. Safe Routes to School Fare Well in Safe Streets for All Awards
With the recent announcement of over 500 Safe Streets for All projects, our federal policy blog runs down how Safe Routes to School projects and plans fared in this funding cycle, how much money is still available for upcoming Safe Streets for All funding rounds, and showcases some of the successful Safe Routes to School focused projects. Read the federal policy blog, and reach out to us at marisa@saferoutespartnership.org with your questions about Safe Streets for All.
7. 5 Reasons Why Your Public Librarian Is the Key to Your Next Safe Route Partnership
Public libraries provide communities with countless resources. Noah Lenstra, Associate Professor of Library and Information Science at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, shares the numerous resources available to you through your local library system and how your local librarian’s knowledge, skills, and interest just might be the key to unlocking your next great Safe Routes partnership. Read his guest blog here.
8. Get to Know Our Staff – Diahn Nevares
As the Operations Coordinator, Diahn provides several human resources and operations support tasks, serves as the point of contact for the organization’s technical platforms, and provides administrative and programmatic support to the organization’s staff. Diahn also serves as a Safe Routes to School Champion with the Las Cruces Public Schools Safe Routes to School Program in New Mexico. Get to know more about Diahn here.
9. Safe Routes Partnership is a Healthy People 2030 Champion!
We’re excited to work with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) and join the Healthy People 2030 Champion Program.
Healthy People 2030 Champions are public and private organizations that support the Healthy People 2030 vision. They’re committed to working toward Healthy People’s overarching goals and objectives, and they help improve health and well-being at the local, state, or tribal level. ODPHP recognizes and supports Champions — with information, tools, and resources — as we work to promote Healthy People 2030. Learn more about the Healthy People 2030 Champion Program here.