Teachers Like Us
Meet three instructors who attended the most recent League Certified Instructor (LCI) training, hosted by Bike East Bay.
Dartanian Kaufman
Dartanian Kaufman is grounded in Bay Area biking. A Berkeley native, Dart was steeped in East Bay riding from the start. Passion for building community through bike rides brought them to Cycles of Change in Oakland, and more recently, Bike East Bay’s LCI training.
Dart has been teaching bicycle safety education with Cycles of Change for the past two years. In fact, other members at Cycles of Change pointed them towards the LCI training. “The training built on what I was doing in my own work, and was a good place to sharpen my skills.” Dart experienced different teaching styles at the training, and came away understanding alternative ways to relay information. Dart is already applying lessons learned to
the real world: leading a two-week bike ride with 20 high school youth along the Pacific Coast shortly after the training.
Dart is especially stoked when classes from Bike East Bay bring together resources like the public library and other local bike organizations. Off the bike, Dart leads yoga classes tailored for cyclists, as a way to continue creating community and giving back.
Nancy Hernandez
“I’ve lived in the Bay Area for 23 years, but I’d never really seen it until I was on my bike,” says Nancy Hernandez. Nancy started bicycling regularly during senior year of high school, commuting from home in Richmond to school in Berkeley, but her mom wasn’t too happy. “She would warn me: ‘I’m going to deflate your tires!’…I would insist I knew what I was doing,” Nancy explains, “but I really didn’t.”
It wasn’t until Nancy graduated from college and returned home to the Bay Area that she tried Bike East Bay’s education classes. Nancy says, “[before taking the classes] it just took me experience to understand
a safer way. The fact that Bike East Bay is providing education so people don’t have to go through the same challenges is amazing.” Nancy believes in positive encouragement to teach bike skills — as she says, “crucial knowledge!” Today, not only is she a graduate of the LCI training, she is also a coach with Richmond’s first mountain biking team, and has completed her first long-distance bike adventure: fundraising with Team Bike East Bay on Climate Ride.
Chris Corral
Chris Corral was running bike repair at a Bike to Work Day Energizer Station when he first heard about Bike East Bay. Seven years later, Chris is now Bike East Bay’s Outreach Coordinator, getting people involved as volunteers and coordinating Bike East Bay’s Education Program.
Chris was an advocacy intern in 2015, successfully getting protected bikeway pop-ups on the ground on Milvia Street in Berkeley and Redwood Road in Castro Valley. Chris also discovered some cities’ hesitance to put in even temporary bike infrastructure. “One staff member in an East Bay city told me that the city was just not ready for that,” he recalls. Chris believes “Bike East Bay’s education programs are central to getting more people biking and walking, making cities ready for improved infrastructure. Getting
involved in the process, whether it’s going to public meetings or to your favorite bike shop, is a step in the right direction.” From getting more folks
on bikes as a mechanic to building the human infrastructure of Bike East Bay, Chris is dedicated to improving the sustainability and health of our community.
League Certified Instructor (LCI) trainings for bike educators are only available in a few places across the country, and typically cost hundreds of dollars for participants to attend. Bike East Bay hosts the training, covering the cost and focusing the space around women and people of color. Many attendees already teach bicycle education in the community. The training provides recognition and legitimacy to continue that work, and the opportunity to participate as a paid instructor with Bike East Bay’s Bicycle Education Program. BikeEastBay.org/Education
