I ask for your vote of confidence for one more year as your President. We will continue to foster an environment of collaboration and support. We operate by consensus on important decisions. I also make myriad decisions as the club’s elected representative.
The club is, most of all, the product of all the hard work by its members, and your passion shows.
Here’s what we’ve done this year:
Kept the rides flowing. The SIG and STS are healthy at every level. Laps culture is alive and well. We have maintained a number of official club cycling weekends.
Launched a new website. As always there are growing pains. This is the end of a long road, and a good number of people worked very hard to make it happen. The club will continue to work to improve and refine the user experience.
Took the extraordinary step of leading a lawsuit (w-CRCA, Kissena clubs) against the City of NY to challenge the 15 mph speed limit in Central Park. We successfully won a suspension of its implementation through the 2026 riding season. The final outcome is pending.
Continued to support the riding community in and around NYC, chiefly through the Roll It Forward giving program and support for Kids Ride Club and Young Majors NYCC, programs to foster cycling with the city’s youth.
My role in these accomplishments reflects my direct and indirect leadership, and I hope to continue it for one more year as we all move forward together.
I’m running to be a VP of Rides who takes an active role inbuilding connection and collaboration across ride classes. I plan to work with other board functions and ride coordinators to introduce more all-class programming beyond our twice-yearly Newcomers/All-Class rides, and to pilot more collaborations with other organizations so that NYCC keeps an up-to-date, lively presence in the local cycling scene.
While I have primarily ridden with the B level, I have had the opportunity to collaborate with a wide range of leaders and experience NYCC rides across ride classes. I’ve led and participated in C rides, organized “ABC” ride series (including the popular west point ride), hung on by a thread in A ride pacelines, and even gotten valuable lessons on how to ride “D” rides in a B level gravel series (shoutout to the leaders). Each level has unique styles as well as shared concerns, and as VP of rides, I will make it my mission to learn and hear from leaders and riders to see how to best support what they do.
As B-rides coordinator for the past two years, I was delighted to support an increase in not only B ride listings but also new B leaders organizing and listing rides. I helped organize the B-STS in 2025 and 2026, and many other ride series, weekend rides. I come from the tradition of the SIG, and am proud to have been a 2017 B-SIG graduate and a B-SIG leader 2021-2024.
On the board, I contributed to this year’s launch of the club’s new website, working on data migration, static pages, and launch support. I’m also a member of the Social Media Governance Committee and the Privacy Policy Committee. In 2024, as VP of Programs, I organized well-attended, lively monthly meetings at Connolly’s.
NYCC is a vibrant, diverse club that serves a wide range of members. I’m running to be a VP of Rides who represents and serves riders of all levels.
Member since 2014, Board member since 2018- Webmaster through 2025, A-rides Coordinator in 2026. Rider Leader since 2017. 400+ rides led to date. As an A-ride coordinate I will continue be effective in recruiting and encouraging new and existing leaders to host A-level rides for the club and continue to lead regular rides myself as well.
As a member since 2001 I have led over 500 rides for the club, was a SIG leader for 20 years and eventually the B-18 SIG Captain for approximately 10 years of those years. I was the NYCC Board Volunteer Coordinator under the late Christy Guzetta. I have mentored and ridden with a large number of NYCC members, led rides for Escape New York, the Newcomers ride, the All-Class ride, and US Military Veterans B-SIG teams. Understanding what B-riders want in rides is what I know. We are simply an all volunteer cycling club where folks want to just ride their bikes with competent leaders, and those leaders want the ride approval process to be streamlined without the bureaucracy hampering their efforts in leading and participating in rides. I get it, and vow to stay in my lane when acting as the B-Rides Coordinator and assist B-ride leaders based on my experience with a plethora of different personalities over the past 25 years with the club.
I’ve led well over ten rides a season for years now (dozens of rides in all) creating the routes and getting people out on their bikes with friends on Saturday and sometimes Sunday mornings. I know the B community well, and I ride regularly with members at different speeds and on different kinds of rides. The B group is probably NYCC’s most varied group and it needs more and more varied rides, which is why it needs more leaders.
I started leading for a simple reason: I love to ride, I wanted to go somewhere, and I wanted company. Over time I have made great friends in the club and many current B leaders got their start on rides of mine. That is the model I want to build on as coordinator. More leaders means more rides going out each weekend, so that riders of every pace and preference can find a ride that suits them and get the camaraderie and exercise that cycling offers. Concretely, I would like to launch a new B ride leader program to recruit and mentor new leaders, and expand the Spring Training Series so more of us can get in good form together for the summer months.
As 2026 Escape New York Director I had wonderful support from the NYCC Board of
Directors and the NYCC members, as many of you know, it was heartbreaking to cancel the ride after all those hours of work by the ENY team. I would like to funnel that experience into the B Ride Coordinator.
I’d be honored to have your vote.
I am running for re-election as NYCC C-rides Coordinator, a position I have held for the past 4 years.
In my current capacity as C-rides Coordinator I encourage C-ride leaders to lead more rides, recruit and mentor new leaders, and work together with leaders when I identify room for improvement. My ongoing goals are to increase the number, size, and quality of C rides and thereby provide a welcoming space for club members who prefer to ride at a moderate pace and distance.
I believe I have been successful in achieving these goals. In the past 4 months we have had 103 C rides. Not only are there more rides than in previous years, there is also increased participation. Seven rides had more than 20 participants and we set a new record of 42 participants on a single ride. Feedback has been good about the high quality of C rides.
With your support I hope to continue for the upcoming year my leadership of the C-rides program.
I graduated from the D-SIG in 2023, and, because I enjoyed gravel riding so much, I co-founded the D-STS with some of my fellow graduates; we began as the “Spring Dirt Series” in 2024 and officially launched as the D-STS in 2025. Ridership has grown since 2024, and this year, we had two or more pace groups on almost every ride.
I’ll keep this brief. I have been a club member since around 2005 and participated in the SIGs, but I became more involved in 2018 when I began leading rides and helping with the STS. I actually first started leading rides after Julie Blackburn invited me to assist with one of her excellent rides, and my involvement grew from there.
I later joined the board as Events Coordinator and then Treasurer. I currently manage the BSIG, serve on the Member Relations Committee, and work as a Social Media Moderator. (You can contribute to the club without being a board member!) I am also part of the team managing the new website, although Michael Diener, Sheila O’Connor, and YJ Chen handle most of the actual work.
As Secretary, I hope to continue being a valuable member of the Board. If you join one of my rides, please share any concerns you have about the club. I will do my best to address them or explain why we operate in a particular way. Thanks for “listening.” work.
I have served as Content Editor for NYCC since April 2021and have been a member of NYCC since 2014. It will be an honor to serve in that role again in 2027. I came to the position with professional experience managing websites, social media and email communications and I enjoy using my knowledge and skills to support my passion. As content editor, I have developed a content calendar for the NYCC monthly newsletter, provided timely additions and updates to the website, including promoting special events and monthly membership mixers. I serve on the marketing committee and the website committee.
I do this because of my passion for cycling and my commitment to NYCC. I enjoy riding my bike with other club members.
A longtime marketing and branding professional, I’m now focusing on youth cycling education, real estate, and life. Hope to keep NYCC’s mission for community building, membership, and our youth programs in motion. Looking forward to building and maintaining a healthy and productive NYCC board.
If re-elected, I will:
• Safeguard and seek to expand access to the facilities the Club needs to provide activities for the membership.
• Partner with cycling organizations across the region to advocate for legislation that improves cyclist access and safety.
• Continue building the Club’s visibility within the cycling community and with the public at large.
• Continue the Club’s support of, and alliances with, organizations whose work furthers our mission to expand and diversify the cycling community.
Track record
Central Park. In 2014, after the cycling-related deaths of two pedestrians, I campaigned to defeat legislation that would have imposed a 15 mph limit on the Park drives, and I built support for the Central Park Protocol, which preserves members’ early-morning access while prioritizing pedestrian safety.
In 2025, I drafted the Club’s letter to the Central Park Conservancy protesting the installation of 3" speed bumps at pedestrian crossings, citing federal guidelines indicating they are likely to cause cyclists to crash.
In 2026, I advocated for the Club’s support of the Article 78 proceeding, made the case for cyclists in two Streetsblog op-eds and on The Brian Lehrer Show, and am building support for legislation to rescind the 15mph limit and guarantee off-peak training periods.
Prospect Park. I serve on the Prospect Park Drive Task Force and, together with Kissena Cycling, extended the Central Park Protocol to Prospect Park.
Bikes on Trains. I negotiated arrangements with Metro-North, the Long Island Rail Road, and NJ Transit, which make possible SIG/STS, Club Weekends, and hundreds of member-led rides each year.
Shortly after joining the NYCC board, I learned that an earlier attempt to launch a new website had fallen through, even though the project was long overdue. I took the initiative to build a website team, and led the project through many difficult junctures to a successful launch in May 2026.
I am grateful to the 100+ members who took the time to give thoughtful feedback post launch, as well as the entire club for using and learning about the new site. We’ve collected user feedback continuously and have prioritized changes with input from members, and we have dramatically improved the site over the past few months.
I’m proud to have contributed many of these improvements myself through AI-assisted development, which lets us limit active spending, with our paid developer on standby in case larger issues arise. This summer, the paid developer has made 45 code contributions and I have made over 550. Improvements have included gravel rides, events, paid events, a better ride editor, bulk duplicate rides, filter improvements, and cosmetic and mobile updates. Responses to the most recent survey have been overwhelmingly positive, and they include new ideas the team is excited to prioritize and deploy. Additionally, most user requests from the older August survey were already in progress or were deployed shortly after.
I am delighted that Ismail, a current team member, will become the new NYCC webmaster. The previous webmaster, who is running for my seat, refused to collaborate on the project when the board voted his preferred approach down. He insisted on working independently on a separate site that was never authorized, accessing NYCC data and passwords without permission or oversight. Having a webmaster who actually contributes to the NYCC website and collaborates with the team on technical solutions will be a real step forward for NYCC.
Today a core team of eight NYCC volunteers works to improve every aspect of the website. You can see more details at the Website Improvement Status page. I look forward to continuing this work and helping NYCC thrive.
The club has invested heavily in its new website over the past few years. In the member survey the board agreed to run, four in ten respondents said the new site is worse than the one it replaced. I don't think that reflects a lack of effort from anyone involved. It's the result of a process that didn't put members in front of the work early or often enough and didn't set measures for whether the investment was paying off. Meanwhile, ridership has kept sliding: fewer members rode with the club this year than in either of the last two.
With other volunteers, I built a rides app for the club. You can try the full showcase at https://demo.nyc-rides.bike - it's ready to return to members after the election, with board approval. It includes:
- Full ride history from the past ten years, more than 30,000 rides
- Ride creation made easy; it suggests routes from your history and the club's Ride with GPS library
- Train times from LIRR, Metro-North and NJ Transit matched to your route and start time
- Ride rosters, Strava pace, inclusive gender options inuser's profile, and a beta Android app
I'd lead by re-establishing an open web committee with published notes, putting in place open-source style development & testing so that members can contribute with ease. And we'd agree on measures up front: are more members finding rides, leading rides, and renewing, and are members satisfied with our work?
We would start with the rides app; that's what members use every week. The public pages that attract new members come after.
Try the showcase app or read more at https://scottfornycc.site/
It is an honor to serve as the 2026 NYCC Volunteer Coordinator. I strive to create the best possible experience for our volunteers and appreciate your consideration for reelection!
Priorities for 2027:
1. Strengthen the volunteer rewards program
2. Build a volunteer management system
3. Create more opportunities to recognize volunteers
4. Provide a unique perspective as the only Gen Z board candidate
5. Ensure NYCC is welcoming for every member and volunteer
NYCC exists thanks to the dedication of passionate volunteers. Beyond recruiting and connecting volunteers to various projects and events, orchestrating “volunteer incentives” was the Volunteer Coordinator’s primary project over the last few years. It became increasingly complex to manage. More importantly, it became less useful to our volunteers, as evidenced by a declining redemption rate. Many new and returning volunteers I spoke to did not even know it existed. While it was called “incentives,” our volunteers generally do not contribute because they are “incentivized” to do so. They contribute because they want to give back to the sport and club they love. The incentives also were disproportionately redeemed by those that earned the most and had the same limited options annually.
Over the past year, I created and implemented NYCC’s new volunteer rewards program to address these issues. Immediately following the election, I began to design new merchandise, negotiated rates with vendors, conducted ride leadership analyses to ensure we could offer volunteers the ability to choose from a variety of options without going over budget, and secured board approval and funding. I then led a team of volunteer developers who helped turn the dream for a rewards website* (rewards.nycc.org) into a user-friendly reality! The program tripled the number of volunteers eligible for rewards. Compared to rewards-eligible volunteers from 2025, the rewards redemption rate jumped from 40% to over 90%. Significantly more of our volunteers were rewarded for their contributions to NYCC and benefitted from the program through a number of new offerings in addition to the beloved prior kit designs.
There were logistical difficulties, particularly for fulfillment and delivery, when working with several new vendors. This unfortunately led to some people waiting longer than expected for their orders. I am truly sorry. I already worked through the issues with the vendors to prevent them from happening again. My goal for next year is to distribute rewards in time for the spring cycling season with more frequent communication and transparent timelines.
I am confident in my ability to refine and improve upon this program. I also am currently working with Kym Blanchard and Alex Ostroy to create a “merch store.” This would allow all members to purchase items that were offered through rewards (including NYCC water bottles, mugs, and socks) in addition to cycling kit.
Because NYCC functions entirely thanks to the hard work of dedicated volunteers, I want to make it easier to match skills and interests to available tasks. I will create a volunteer intake form and centralized database to simplify recruiting volunteers for specific projects and events like Escape New York. With a ready pipeline, we can recruit new volunteers quickly and match people to the roles that fit their talents and availability, so ride leaders and event organizers always have the help they need.
In addition to the annual Volunteer Appreciation Party, I plan to organize more frequent and informal off-the-bike gatherings, like a ride leader happy hour or park picnic, so volunteers across the club can celebrate their contributions more often. I will also push to formalize a volunteer spotlight program by securing board approval to ensure its longevity.
As the only Gen Z candidate and one of several women running for the board, I offer a unique perspective. I visited Central Park almost daily over the past 5 years as a 3-time New York City Marathon runner and deeply understand how conflicts between various groups of park users harm the experience for all. While I am a relatively newer cyclist and picked up the hobby to cross-train in response to running injuries, I graduated from the BSIG, helped lead a B SIG group, and participated in the A SIG. I understand how the club looks to younger members and new riders of all ages just discovering the joy of cycling. Our future depends on attracting new riders and retaining current members. I want to make sure they choose to join, stay, and eventually lead within NYCC. This requires a club where every member, regardless of tenure, knows what to expect and feels welcome. To address this, I have been working with other board members to update our Code of Conduct and Privacy Policy.
I would love to connect and figure out ways to continue to improve NYCC! Please reach out at volunteer@nycc.org if you have any feedback, questions, comments, concerns, or ideas. I am excited about the opportunity to continue to build a better club.
I appreciate your consideration and would be honored toreceive your vote for NYCC Volunteer Coordinator! Thank you!
Access the rewards website at: rewards.nycc.org
----NYCC is built by volunteers from the bottom up. I love giving back, and I deeply appreciate the unique energy that powers everything we do—from our daily rides to our biggest signature events. Because our most valuable resources are the finite time and effort our members choose to give, I want to make it seamless for you to find the exact place you want to help, matching your passions with the spots where NYCC needs you most.
As Volunteer Coordinator, my focus will be to bring pride, purpose, respect, acknowledgement, and joy to the volunteer experience. I want to build on our current reward programs and try to expand them so all efforts are celebrated and promptly realized. We need to measure success by ensuring roles are filled and our volunteers feel fulfilled.
--- Deep Experience in Community Organizing
I bring ready energy and enthusiasm to this role, backed by over 35 years of experience in New York City educating, coordinating, recruiting, and retaining volunteers. My background includes organizing both small and large-scale sports teams, driving member retention, and developing educational programming for newcomers to the sport. Additionally, as a teaching artist working with organizations like ArtsConnection, New York Cares, and NYPIRG, I have spearheaded massive, short-term community projects as well as long-term residencies involving hundreds of volunteers, parents, and students of all ages. For nearly three decades, I have also led my local Block Association, navigating the natural ebbs and flows of civic fundraising, recruitment, and community event coordination.
--- Vision for the Expanded Volunteer Coordinator Scope
In my time with NYCC as a rider, ride leader, and SIG leader, I have listened closely to the board and general membership to understand the organizational challenges we face.
The scope of the Volunteer Coordinator role expands next year to assist the Escape from New York (ENY) board member and the rest of the board. Our board members are volunteers themselves, and several could use a dedicated framework to support them. I propose optimizing our current infrastructure or building a new, streamlined system that matches volunteer interests and talents directly with the NYCC events and activities requiring support. I am fully prepared to invest the hours required to make this successful through year-long engagement that better prepares us for seasonal and short-term events.
In this role, I will also hope to assist the volunteers with succession planning to ensure the long-term stability of NYCC by having good documentation of their role for the next volunteer. We have supremely talented volunteers, but I have noted structural gaps during leadership transitions at various levels. I aim to address this to shore up NYCC from top to bottom, making things easier for leadership right now while protecting our future leaders as well.
I am ready to leverage my SIG recruitment background to raise awareness about our open opportunities, making it easier than ever to volunteer and have fun.
--- Connect With Me
I invite you to share your thoughts and ideas about volunteering in NYCC, and ask me any questions about my role if elected in the meetings I will hold, Tuesday- Oct 20 and 27 and Thursday- Oct 22 and 29th at8:00 PM. You can also email me through the NYCC website. I would love to hear from you!
Tuesday Zoom Meeting 8pm:
<a href="https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89676270474?pwd=3ZkjoiUbmbebXnlYhFwbWG0IpWBhuk.1">Join Our Zoom Meeting</a>
Thursday Zoom Meeting 8pm:
<a href="https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88014330154?pwd=azzGUbxmiHQ91WFUemUSBld28hxJSO.1">Join Our Zoom Meeting</a>
I'm a die-hard Turkish-American-Belgian cyclist who's been fortunate enough to ride around the world, from Japan to Seattle and plenty of places in between. Along the way, I've learned how much a great cycling community can mean, especially through my experience with the Cascade Bicycle Club in Seattle.
When I'm not on two wheels, I'm a data scientist with a passion for technology, AI, and making sense of data. I've already been helping NYCC with its new website, membership and ride analytics, and I'd love to build on that work.
My goal as Webmaster is simple: use technology, AI, and a bit of scientific curiosity to make our digital platforms more useful, our rides easier to discover and join, and the overall NYCC experience better for everyone.
Less clicking, more cycling!