Kyle Heiskala

President

Kyle Heiskala is a political and media strategist who has executed advocacy and political campaigns at both the local level in Southern California and across the globe. He has worked on bicycle advocacy in San Diego for the past 7 years and got his start through improving bicycle infrastructure at the UC San Diego campus and also serving on the City's Bicycle Advisory Committee in 2014. He uses a systems based approach to find solutions to our greatest political and environmental challenges. When Kyle isn’t working, he can be found tending a garden or planning his next bike ride. Twitter: @KyleHeiskala

Matt Schalles

Vice President

Matt Schalles holds a Ph.D. from UCSD, and studies auditory perception in humans and dolphins. Raised in the midwest, Matt discovered a bicycle lifestyle in California was a huge relief from suburban car culture. Whether advocating for safe multi-use roads, throwing carbon neutral bicycle music festivals, or hauling insane cargo loads, Matt uses bikes to address environmental and economic disparity in our community - all while showing that sustainability can be fun. Matt joined the board of BikeSD in 2020 and is currently the board vice president.

Ariana Criste

Secretary

Ariana  Criste is a University Heights resident. Originally from Sacramento, she moved to San Diego to attend UCSD where she graduated with a BA in Political Science and Minor in International Migration Studies.

She is passionate about mobilizing people to take action against the climate crisis and works as the Communications Manager at Climate Action Campaign. Ariana is an alumnus of the San Diego Leadership Alliance Institute, 2019 cohort. She joined the board in 2020. Twitter: @aricriste

Nevo Magnezi

Webmaster

Nevo Magnezi is a hardware engineer who has been living in San Diego and in the Hillcrest neighborhood since 2019. He received his bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Maryland, where outside of academics, he re-learned how to bike along the Anacostia River Trail System. He received a master's degree in Electrical Engineering from UC San Diego in 2021. He rides on the 4th and 5th Ave protected bike lanes everyday on his Surly Cross-Check or the Tern GSD e-cargo bike which he shares with his partner. Nevo wants to work towards a region where everyone has safe, affordable, sustainable, healthy, and pleasant methods of getting around, which means more dedicated micromobility infrastructure! Nevo joined the board of BikeSD in 2020. Twitter: @NevoMagnezi

Keala Rusher

Advocacy Lead

Keala Rusher is an educator who is committed to community, justice, and sustainability. She received her undergraduate degree in International Relations at the University of Southern California and her Master of Education at National University. Apart from biking, her interests include surfing, rock climbing, and checking out more books than she can read at once from the public library. She is passionate about biking and bike advocacy as a space where transportation justice, climate justice, community, and fun meet. Keala joined the board of BikeSD in 2022. Twitter: @keala_r

Caiti Borruso

Outreach & Communications Lead

Caiti Borruso is a writer and photographer from central New Jersey. She holds a BFA in Photography from Pratt Institute and an MFA in Photography and Writing from Ithaca College. She landed in San Diego in 2020 after eight years in New York and cares deeply about advocating for public transit, greater density, and safe streets for everyone (big fan of crosswalks and pedestrian infrastructure as well as safe cycling infrastructure!). Caiti joined the board of BikeSD in 2022.

Leah Schaperow

Leah Schaperow is a ceramic artist of Milk Oolong Studio in Liberty Station. She replaced her car with an electric bike when she relocated to San Diego from the Washington DC area. Leah in involved in BikeSD to promote comfort and safety for ebikes/ bikes/ skates/scooters/micromobility devices. Leah joined the board of BikeSD in 2020. Instagram: @milkoolongpottery

Alex Hernandez

Alex Hernandez is a staff attorney practicing disability law with a local non-profit. She has lived in San Diego since 2017. Alex received a B.A. in Political Science and Legal Studies from UC Santa Cruz before relocating to San Diego for law school. She holds a J.D. from California Western School of Law.

Alex went car-lite in November of 2021 after purchasing an e-bike. She discovered BikeSD during the summer of 2022 and began advocating for safe bike and micromobility infrastructure in San Diego. Alex joined the board of BikeSD in 2022.

Anar Salayev

Executive Director

Anar Salayev is a car-enthusiast turned active transportation advocate. He seeks a holistic understanding of the built environment. He believes that human-centric urban design will go a long way in combating climate change, encouraging sustainable practices, and improving health outcomes – both mental and physical.

Most of Anar’s time is spent thinking about mobility - striving to balance theory and practice. As a product manager at MTM, he focuses on getting patients to and from their appointments in a timely manner. As the Executive Director/Advocacy Co-Lead at BikeSD, he works with a team of volunteers to push forward all ages and abilities bike infrastructure across the city of San Diego. Finally, as correspondent and Advocacy working group lead at Pedestrian Space, he writes articles on pedestrian-centric infrastructure and leads discussions on worldwide advocacy efforts.

In his spare time, Anar enjoys spending time with his partner, friends, and pets, playing board games, reading, working out, and learning Krav Maga.

Elizabeth Mayer

Program Manager

WNY native and Golden Hill resident, Elizabeth Mayer's interest in cycling advocacy started after losing a battle with a pothole. The experience inspired Mayer into learning how to make San Diego a safer city to cycle around.

Mayer has spent her professional career in public and marketing communications and will apply those skills to supporting BikeSD achieve its mission.

Mayer graduated from Ithaca College (Ithaca, NY) with a degree in Sport Media and joined BikeSD in 2020.