| Abstract |
My mobility hot take is simple: transportation is never just about moving people—it’s about dignity, access, and the kind of city we choose to build together. After nearly twenty years working in active transportation and mobility, my passion for this work continues to fuel me, not despite the challenges, but because of them.
I am deeply motivated by working alongside community advocates, elected leaders with bold visions for sustainability, safety, urban design, and ecological integrity, and project teams committed to delivering infrastructure that actually gets built. There is nothing theoretical about watching a project move from concept to construction—and nothing more powerful than hearing someone say, with tears in their eyes, “That project you worked on changed our family’s life. My child now bikes with us.” Those moments are why I do this work.
At its core, active transportation is about conserving resources and expanding opportunity. In cities, this translates into cleaner air and water, safer streets, and real independence for young people, older adults, newcomers to Canada, those with lower incomes, and people who have been historically marginalized due to prejudice and racism. Safe walking, cycling, and transit options are not “nice-to-haves”—they are essential infrastructure for equitable, resilient communities.
Equally important to me is sharing this passion with others. I take great joy in mentoring young professionals who reach out through LinkedIn, participating in career conversations, guest lecturing, and teaching university students—including creating an active transportation course for civil engineering students by invitation of the University of Calgary. Watching emerging professionals discover their own sense of purpose in this field feels like both a responsibility and a gift.
This PechaKucha is a love letter to passion itself—to mentoring, to community, to systems that enable freedom, and to believing that better mobility can, quite literally, change lives.
And yes—I’m passionate about passion.
|
