TrailLink 2007 Keynote Speakers and Panelists:

Keynote Speakers:

Opening Plenary Speaker: Washington's King County Executive Ron Sims
In more than a decade serving as executive of the largest county in Washington, Ron Sims has exerted bold and creative leadership in promoting multi-purpose trails in the Seattle-metropolitan region. He kicked off the conference with an informative and engaging look at how trail systems help build vital communities and why community-based leadership will drive the active transportation movement. 

Closing Plenary Speaker: Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.)
Congressman Earl Blumenauer has spent more than a decade in Congress, and another decade on the Portland City Council. All along he has championed trails, biking and walking with boundless energy and vision. Congressman Blumenauer spoke at our closing lunch plenary following strategy sessions on elevating active transportation in communities and in Congress. He reflected on how participants can be effective advocates, and he provided the perfect send-off for the mobile workshops that showcased Portland's exemplary active transportation infrastructure and policies.

Panelists:

TrailLink 2007 featured expert panelists from across the country who are working in their communities and beyond to make active transportation a reality. Speakers at TrailLink 2007 included:

Mobility

• Rex Burkholder, Councilor (elected board member), Metro (Portland, Ore.'s regional government) (Oregon)
• Jennifer Dill, Associate Professor of Urban Studies and Planning, Portland State University (Oregon)
• Art Guzzetti, Vice President of Policy, American Public Transit Association (Washington, D.C.)
• John Horsley, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (Washington, D.C.)
• Kevin Mills, Policy Vice President, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (Washington, D.C.)
• Gabe Rousseau, Bicycle/Pedestrian Program Manager, FHWA (Washington, D.C.)

Health

• Dr. John Balbus, Health Program Director, Environmental Defense (Washington, D.C.)
• Dr. Andy Dannenberg, Associate Director for Science, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Georgia)
• Dr. Larry Frank, Sustainable Transportation Chairholder, University of British Columbia (British Columbia, Canada)
• Michael Huber, Principal Cardiovascular Health Consultant, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota (Minnesota)
• Dr. Rob Lambert, Cardiologist, Little Rock Medical Mile (Arkansas)
• Dr. Phil Troped, Associate Professor of Public Health, Purdue University (Indiana)
• Dr. Philip Wu, Department of Pediatrics, Kaiser Permanente (Oregon)

Economy

• Tina Arbes, Chief Operating Officer, Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. (Georgia)
• Miquela Craytor, Deputy Director, Sustainable South Bronx (New York) 
• Terry Eastin, Executive Director of Mississippi River Trail, Inc. (Arkansas) 
• Donna Erickson, author of Metro Green (Montana) 
• Billy Fields, Research Director, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (Washington, D.C.)
• David Goldberg, Communications Director, SmartGrowth America (Georgia)

Climate

• James Corless, Senior Transportation Planner, Metropolitan Transportation Commission (California)
• Peter Lagerwey, Senior Transportation Planner, Seattle Department of Transportation (Washington)
• David Raney, Senior Manager of Environmental and Energy Affairs, American Honda Motor Company (California)
• Michael Replogle, Transportation Director, Environmental Defense (Washington, D.C.)
• Rob Sadowsky, Executive Director, Chicagoland Bicycle Federation (Illinois)
• Deborah Williams, President, Alaska Conservation Solutions (Alaska)

Family and Community

• Donna Erickson, author of Metro Green (Montana)
• Mark Fenton, pedestrian advocate, author, champion race walker, former editor of Walking magazine and T.V. host of America's Walking (Massachusetts)

Lessons from the Non-motorized Pilot Project communities
*(a special Friday strategy session)

• Deb Hubsmith, Executive Director, Marin County Bicycle Coalition (California)
• Representatives of the Non-motorized Pilot Project communities (Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin, California)