OUR STAFF

Our staff are a group of passionate and exemplary professionals dedicated to advancing our mission in our communities. From our education programs to our community bike shops, MOVE staff are hard at work building the grassroots foundations of active and sustainable transportation in Santa Barbara County. Meet our amazing staff below.

Andres Mendoza
Mechanic, Bici Centro Santa Maria

Andres grew up in Santa Maria, where he recently graduated from Pioneer Valley High School. He plans on attending the United Bicycle Institute, where he will study bicycle mechanics and he hopes to build his own bike frame in the future. Andres joined MOVE because of his interest in learning about bikes, how they work and because they are his main mode of transportation. His favorite things about working at MOVE are how friendly his fellow staff members, volunteers, and community members are and the flexibility of his schedule.

Andres@MoveSBCounty.org805.623.5763
Barry Remis
Programs Administrator

After 15+ years in direct marketing and IT business analysis, Barry shifted gears for a career and lifestyle change and “switched coasts” to Santa Barbara in 2006 from Connecticut, where he studied Elementary Education at Southern CT State University. Joining COAST in 2013 as a bike safety instructor, he then expanded his role to also include advocacy and administrative management, and loved being a part of bringing the first three Open Streets celebrations to Santa Barbara.

Barry@MoveSBCounty.org805.845.8955 x 002
Carlo LaPorga
Mechanic, Bici Centro Santa Maria

Carlo was born in Santa Maria, California and spent most of his childhood outside playing basketball, riding his bicycle, pushing around on his skateboard, and developing a love for being outside. Currently, he rides his road bike at least three times a week and when he isn't on his bike he helping others with their bikes as a mechanic at Bici Centro.

Carlo@MoveSBCounty.org805.623.5763
Eliza Howard
Coordinator, Education & Encouragement, South County

Eliza grew up in Boulder, Colorado where she spent her free time hiking, camping and riding through the rockies. In 2019, she moved to California to pursue a bachelor's in psychology from UC Santa Barbara. Along the way, she spent six months living in Denmark where she became interested in sustainable transportation and environmentalism. She joined MOVE as an intern through UCSB's Blum Center on Poverty, Inequality, and Democracy and stayed as the organization aligned with her passions for the outdoors, being active, and getting people to think and act more sustainably.

Eliza@MoveSBCounty.org805.845.8955 x 10
Heather Deutsch
Executive Director

Heather is a Santa Maria native who began walking to school in kindergarten, joined a bike club in middle school and participated in bicycle tours of the Canadian Rockies, New England and a four-month ride across the U.S before the age of fourteen. While these experiences shaped her youth, it wasn't until returning to the U.S. after living in Europe that she became aware of environmental, health and economic inequities of our current transportation system. She received a master’s degree in City and Regional Planning and has worked for 20 years in the public, private and non-profits sectors focused on planning, designing, building and maintaining walking, bicycling, transit and trail projects across the country while acting as a tireless advocate.

Heather@MoveSBCounty.org805.845.8955 x 001
Ken Dahmen
Manager, Bici Centro Santa Maria

Ken's been involved in the Santa Maria bicycling community for seven years and has traveled primarily by bike (and bus) for a decade. He has a BA in Psychology from the University of Northridge which he obtained to acquire a broader perception of the people he helps and to better understand their needs. He believes bicycling can reduce the amount of stress people incur everyday whether it's financial, physical, or mental. He wants to spread the benefits of cycling to anyone and everyone he can and is honored to be a part of the MOVE team and see cycling, walking and transit use expand in Santa Maria.

Ken@MoveSBCounty.org805.845.8955 x 008Bici Centro
Kim Stanley-Zimmerman
Senior Manager, Education & Encouragement

The Greenpeace Save the Whales campaign and a major drought in California in the 1970s made Kim realize that 'regular' people had to do something to save and protect our planet. That awakening brought her to the Environmental Studies department at UCSB where she earned her bachelor’s degree. Her subsequent work at the Community Environmental Council focused on recycling efforts and it was there that she began to feel her work could have an impact and reflect her values. Now in the transportation field of environmental protection, a tenet for Kim is that walking and the bicycle is a simple solution to some of the world’s most complicated problems. At MOVE, Kim leads a team of committed people working on revolutionary change: building communities where people can choose to walk, bike and use transit to get places because it matters and because it is safe, convenient and preferred.

Kim@MoveSBCounty.org805.845.8955 x 004
Lynneal Williams
Assistant Manager, Bici Centro Santa Barbara

Lynneal was in invited to move to Santa Barbara from Colorado in 2013, after completing a degree in Exercise Science at the University of Northern Colorado. She was told to "bring a bike" because it would be her primary mode of transportation. She learned about Bici Centro when her bike needed some adjustments and was so excited to learn how to fix her own bike that her journey with the organization began. She was a initially a volunteer and fondly remembers painting bright tool boards when we moved to our current location. Little by little she learned the intricacies of bike mechanics while utilizing parts that were donated to the shop. Lynneal loves Bici Centro's tenent to empower the community to fix their own bike at an affordable cost and create a unique safe space for a variety of people to work on bikes, share meals, and life experiences.

Lynneal@MoveSBCounty.org805.617-3255
Melissa Cunningham
Manager, Cycling Without Age

Melissa moved to Santa Barbara from Crested Butte, Colorado in 2014, eager to trade her snow shovel for beach chairs. While in Colorado, she was Executive Director of Living Journeys Cancer Support Network. Melissa has been involved in numerous non-profits both as staff and board for most of her life. She is passionate about active transportation, accessibility and safety for all, and the impact that choosing to walk, bike or take transit has on the environment. Melissa joined COAST in 2019 as Executive Director, became Director of Strategic Initiatives at SBBIKE+COAST upon merging in July 2021, and is currently Manager of Cycling Without Age Santa Barbara.

Melissa@MoveSBCounty.org805.845.8955 x 003
Michael Velasquez
Manager, Bici Centro Santa Barbara

Central Coast native, Michael, has a unique passion to equip bicycle enthusiasts through education and coaching to improve their confidence and safety both on the road as a American League of Bicyclist Instructor and with a wrench in their hands as a bike mechanic. Over the past decade, Michael himself has been a volunteer, mechanic, bike safety educator, and shop manager, and is excited to bring his expertise to the Santa Barbara County community. If you have had an interest in riding your bike or being the mechanic for your own bike, reach out to Michael or come on into the shop and say hi.

Michael@MoveSBCounty.org805.617-3255
Sean Giomi
Mechanic, Bici Centro Santa Barbara

Sean grew up in a small town in the foothills of Northern California spending his time surrounded by outdoors and playing soccer. He found a love for bikes during high school, when he joined his local Naional Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) team and learn how to work on his own bike. Sean moved to Santa Barbara to study Mechanical Engineering at Santa Babbara City College. In his free time, Sean enjoys mountain biking, running, woodworking, or juggling on Leadbetter Beach.

Teresa (Tee) Roberts
Senior Mechanic, Bici Centro Santa Barbara

In 2006 Tee relocated to Santa Barbara from Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. She worked as a barista and screen printer to make ends meet. During that time she visited Casa de la Raza (the former location of Bici Centro) to buy a bike and was intrigued by the shop. Years later, she was invited to join Bici Centro as a volunteer and then as staff as she had prior experience working on bikes with her uncle at his screen printing shop. Tee appreciates the way Bici Centro brings volunteers together to mutually solve problems problems and work together.

805.617-3255
Terrence Bircher
Coordinator, Education & Encouragement, North County

Terrence is from Santa Maria, California. He grew up with a love of the outdoors, riding BMX bikes and attending frequent camping, fishing and backpacking trips. He attended Santa Maria Bonita School district elementary schools and graduated from Santa Maria High School. After attending Allan Hancock College, he transferred to California State University, East Bay. There he learned the power of bicycles and public transportation as a solution to many of the issues facing communities. After graduation with BA in Communication, Terrence returned to the Central Coast where he worked in the field of applied behavioral analysis and as an instructional assistant in special education classes at Santa Maria High School for 7 years. After volunteering at Santa Maria Bici Centro, Terrence was excited to learn of an opportunity with MOVE to combine his love of the outdoors, bicycling and empowering students and joined the team as North County Education and Encouragement Coordinator in late 2021. Since then, Terrence has worked with several schools in the Santa Maria and Santa Ynez Valleys and is excited to bring bicycle education and empowerment to our community. In his free time, Terrence plays bass guitar in several local bands and enjoys camping, disc golf, skateboarding and of course, bicycling!

Terrence@MoveSBCounty.org805.845.8955 x 007
Vanessa Rencher
Coordinator, Education & Encouragement, South County

Biking and the outdoors have always been a big part of Vanessa’s life and now she enjoys them with her family. Vanessa was born in Germany and grew up both there and in the U.S. She married in Denmark where the bike culture there impressed her so much; not only the variety and creativity of the various bicycles, but all the bike paths connecting the biggest cities to the smallest farm towns. “I am so excited to be joining the sustainable transportation community and look forward to educating kids about being safe while having fun outdoors and sharing the joy of biking with others.”

Vanessa@MoveSBCounty.org805.845.8955 x 005