Gina Overshiner
Gina Overshiner is a life-long bike commuter and licensed instructor with the League of American Bicyclists. When her kids, now 14 and 16, were born, Gina was determined to raise them low-car. In the intervening years, she has taught bike classes and organized many events including: bike parades, bike moves and bike rides.
As her kids got older, she has organized and lead daily bike brigades, as well as a middle school bike club. She currently works part-time for Columbia’s Parks and Recreation Department helping people bike safely through classes and guided rides. In addition, she writes a bi-weekly column about biking and walking for the Columbia Daily Tribune.
Sherri McIntyre, P.E.
Lunch Key Note Speaker: “Bike Evolution of a Female Engineer”
Assistant City Manager for Infrastructure and Director of Public Works
City of Kansas City, Missouri
Hear firsthand how a teenager growing up in Iowa rode RAGBRAI, influenced her children, and became the director of public works for the Missouri's largest city. Sherri's Public Works Department is implementing a Complete Streets philosophy that creates a transportation system for everyone; thereby changing the future of transportation in KC.
Sherri has worked in the fields of civil engineering, public works and transportation since 1986 and has been a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Missouri since 1991. She previously worked for Delich Roth and Goodwillie, P.A. Engineers, where she served as senior engineer. Her career includes engineering, project management, planning and administrative positions with HDR Engineering, Inc. (2005 – 2008), the City of Kansas City, Mo. (1997 – 2005), and the Missouri Department of Transportation (1986 – 1997).
McIntyre has a master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Missouri – Columbia and a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Iowa.
Denesha Snell
Denesha Snell is one of the originators and president of the cycling club STARS – Sisters That Are Riding Strong. STARS was established to promote women’s cycling for all ages, levels and abilities. the group focuses on fun, recreational riding, with the opportunity to attend cycling skills and general fitness clinics to improve riding and overall fitness. The STARS wish to be an all-inclusive cycling club for women, while reaching women who are underrepresented in the cycling community.
Denesha was born and raised in Kansas City, MO where she has her fondest memories of riding a bike as a child! After graduating from Paseo Academy of the Fine and Performing Arts, Denesha continued her education in Nashville Tennessee, where she graduated with her bachelor’s degree from Tennessee State University. Subsequently Denesha earned her Master’s Degree in Education from Rockhurst University.
Denesha has over 11 years of experience in public health and social work and believes through solid education, compassion for people, listening to, and addressing the needs of the community we can create a better outcome for future generations. Denesha has extensive experience in building community relationships and implementing programs and she is passionate about her community! She lives in Kansas City with her two daughters and her dog Biscuit.
Margo Carroll
Jamis Bicycles
“The Bike Gypsy” grew up in the suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri riding bikes with her brothers and friends. She has competed in BMX, road, and mountain bike racing events, but her favorite rides are those fun adventures that take her to see interesting things and places.
She has worked in the bicycle industry since 1980, starting as a mechanic and sales person at Wheels West bicycle shop while in high school, and going on to companies such as GT Bicycles, Schwinn, and for the past 7 Years with Jamis Bicycles traveling the Midwest and Southeast doing sales and event work. She is also author of “The Ozark Trail Guidebook and “Cycling St. Louis”.
Gina Poertner, CHES
Owner of Life Balance Sports & Wellness
What is “Bike Fit” Anyway?
Gina Poertner, CHES earned her degree in Health Promotion from Emporia State University and is a Certified Health Education Specialist focusing on exercise physiology and sports nutrition.
An endurance road cyclist, Gina is also a triathlete, runner and life-long competitor who understands the unique needs of athletes. She specializes in bicycle fitting and positioning, active myofascial release technique, trigger point therapy, and adaptive sports. She coaches athletes ranging from beginner to world champion.
Gina has served on the sports medicine staffs of AAU Junior Olympics, National Gymnastics Championships, National Indoor Track & Field Championships, and individual world class, Olympic, and professional athletes. She is also a Certified Official for USA Track & Field and USA Cycling and continues to officiate local, national and international events.
As an Intern at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas, Gina studied under orthopedic surgeon Dr. Charles Henning while serving as Athletic Trainer for Wichita Southeast High School and studying physiology at Wichita State University. She has over 20 years experience coaching the various disciplines of running, cycling and triathlon. Gina has authored and co-authored training and nutrition articles for Ironman.com, PrologueCycling.com, PezCyclingNews.com, and LAVAmagazine.com.
Theresa M. Van Ackeren
Managing Director, Family Bicycles
I grew-up riding my bicycle to and from school and on my afternoon paper route in Omaha, Nebraska. I learned early to “embrace the hills,” we lived in a hilly section of town and there were two or three hills no matter which way I rode. But riding was so much faster than walking.
I gave away my bicycle when I moved to the Kansas City area in 1989 and didn’t buy another until the late 1990′s. I slowly got back in the habit cycling for short distances in and around Lee’s Summit, where I was living at the time. In 2001, I moved to the Brookside area and kept up the short trips. I suddenly realized in 2005 that I really was going to turn 40 and really should do something about it, but wasn’t sure what. For lack of a better idea, I bought myself an expensive road bike for a birthday present and started riding seriously (well, as seriously as I could).
My dad and his partner, Carol, convinced me to ride the entire length of the Katy Trail in 2006. After completing the approximately 225 miles in five days, I realized I had just had the most fun I’d had in years. To celebrate, I went on several other weeklong bicycle trips. Dad, Carol and I repeated our Katy Trail trip in 2007; this time from St. Charles to Clinton. In the mean time, I hooked up with a great group of people, affectionately known as “The Flying Fish”.
In 2007, I decided to quit my day job (another birthday present!) and work to make bicycling accessible to anyone who wants to try (and even to those who don’t yet know it). I spent the summer and most of the fall sleeping in, riding my bicycle and drafting a business plan. I started implementing the business plan October 2007 and that, as they say, is how it all started. Family Bikes is my Bike Shop – its located in Waldo, just off the trolley track trail on 73rd street and we cater to family riders.
Teresa Jarzemkoski
Localcycling.com
My first ride was on a friend's sister's bike in her shoes, helmet, skinsuit and gloves. I tipped over at the first stop sign, got a bruise the shape of Australia on my right hip, and was hooked. I bought my own bike the next week, using the money I'd been saving for a new dining room table. That first summer I paid a babysitter so I could go on long rides on the weekend and rode several charity rides working my distance up to a century within a few months. I learned that I could ride long, and discovered that I could ride fast, too. That fall I did my first official race and met Mark Thomas, the man who'd become my training partner, best friend and husband. We ride and race together, and have led group rides of all sorts for nearly as long as we've been together.
In 1999, Mark wanted to go to Cyclocross Nationals. I bought plane tickets since he wanted to go (and it was San Francisco in December)…he bought me a bike and then taught me to cyclocross. He promoted the next year's championship race in Overland Park and the drills he used to teach me to race ‘cross have become the basis of an annual women's cyclocross clinic held in partnership with Boulevard/KCOI Racing. The website we created for registration and race information has morphed into a small business, www.localcycling.com covering cycling news and information for amateur racers in six cities and a race team by the same name.
Our team hosts several annual races, races regionally, and leads five weekly group rides in the KC area. Most days you'll see me in my LocalCycling.com team kit whether I'm riding with a group, commuting to work, or playing on the trails, but at the Friday wine ride casual street clothes are the norm.
I've ridden alone, and in groups of all sizes. I've raced in eight world championship events, six national championships, dozens of state championships and hundreds of local races, and I still learn new things, meet new people and have interesting experiences nearly every time I ride my bike.
Martha Blackman
Avila University
Martha is a professor of nursing at Avila University and a committed cyclist. Over the years her interest in cycling has evolved from simply recreation to transportation and touring. She has completed several multi-week, self-contained bicycle tours both in the United States and the Netherlands. She has also become a bicycle commuter, riding about 15 miles round trip to work several times a week. She became a League Cycling Instructor in 2012 and leads a weekly Saturday bicycle adventure with another like-minded touring and transportation cyclist.
Kate Waldron and Nicole Harper
Earth Day Pub and Pedal
Kate and Nicole are the creators the Pub and Pedal for Earth Day, a grass roots community ride that raises awareness of bicycling as an earth-friendly form transportation. They started the ride in 2010, grew it to an amazing 300 people, and uses the proceeds to support BikeWalkKC's education and advocacy programs.
Ellen Schwartze
Mid-America Regional Council
Ellen loves Kansas City, where she works at the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) as a Public Affairs Coordinator for the Air Quality program. You can find her riding her bike, Fifi, from the River Market all over KC, from Alamo Drafthouse to watch something she’s already seen to Southwest Boulevard for tacos and good conversation. She has volunteered for BikeWalkKC since knowing of its existence, and has ridden all of the Tour de Bier rides.
When they aren’t riding bikes in Thailand, Paris or London, Ellen and her husband run RoadGroups.com, a site where cyclists can search for group rides all over the country. She tweets random thoughts at @EllenSaysHola, bike fun from @RoadGroups, and downtown love for the Downtown Neighborhood Association from @dnakcmo.
Michelle Windmoeller
Blue Cypress Solutions
Has authored a book, written and edited countless newspaper and magazine articles, managed websites, and even persuaded my mother-in-law to use Facebook.
While serving as Communications Director of the PedNet Coalition, she rewrote all of the content to bring the website up to date and stay relevant. I also wrote monthly newsletters, managed the organizations social media sites, and handled all media relations.
She is also a mom, a racer, and started started a women's ride in Columbia to try to get more women active and racing!
Rachel Krause
BikeWalkKC Marketing and Communications Coordinator
Rachel is a graduate from the University of Missouri School of Journalism. She has also interned with the PedNet Coalition in Columbia, and once pedicabbed for a pizza restaurant. Rachel loves using her passion for communication and design to improve cycling in the Kansas City area and share her love of bikes with others.
Maggie Priesmeyer
Education and Outreach Coordinator
Maggie received her Bachelor of Science from UMKC in spring 2012. She is a bicycle 
mechanic and board member of the 816 Bicycle Collective. Maggie enjoys her daily, 5-mile bicycle commute to work especially while wearing a dress. Maggie currently manages, teaches and develops curriculum for youth and adult education classes at BikeWalkKC.
Sarah Shipley
BikeWalkKC Co-founder and Director of Development and Communications
Sarah manages BikeWalkKC's outreach programs and events, as well as our fundraising and membership development efforts. She leads regional celebrations of Bike Week and International Walk to School Day. Sarah brings a national bike/ped perspectivet to Kansas City with previous experience at the Rails to Trails Conservancy and the League of American Bicyclists, including work on the annual National Bike Summit.
Vincent Rodriguez
Velo+
I have been cycling most of my life. My father was a professional racer for Team Pepsi in Mexico. He loved bikes and cycling. He taught me the love of bikes.
I spent 18yrs with Starbucks and love coffee too. When I left in Dec '12 I set out to bring to KC a unique place to experience the best in both coffee and bikes. I am using my coffee skills in business( multi unit mgr) and overall knowledge to bring a small batch handcrafted coffees to KC, as a framebuilder I build custom hand made( all hand files) bicycles. I love steel for the ride and ease of construction. I build silver braze and fillet ( brass) brazed bicycles.
Overall my goals for this shop to share in the love of bikes and coffee. Here we can customize your bike and coffee ( yoga and beer too) experience on a deeper level than you can't get anywhere else.
Vance Preman
I am single and the father of 3 adult Sons. I live in southern Johnson County, Kansas. I am a 40 year resident of this area. I am an attorney and president of Vance C. Preman, P.C., a professional corporation, 4330 Belleview, Suite 200, Kansas City, Missouri 64111, vpremanlaw@aol.com. I have been in private practice for 35 years specializing in litigation and mediation. I have developed a subspecialty in Bike Law. I have recently reached 2 successful outcomes for clients injured while riding due to defective road conditions. I am proud to say that in litigation with MoDot, the defective road conditions were changed, thus making it safer for cyclists. I am also the owner of Kansas City Mediation/Arbitration Service and have handled approx 2500 mediations. More information can be found at my websites CallVance.com and bikecarcrash.com.
Cycling. I am relatively new to cycling and got motivated to ride after seeing a poster for ms 150, four years ago. I wondered if I could do it. I started with the Brookside Ride, which was a stretch, and have now completed four ms 150.s as a member of the Feisty Devils team. In 2012 I was named Feisty Devil of the year. You can find me riding with the Good Time Gang cycling club on a very regular basis to include Martin City, Mission Farms, Coach’s and Brookside rides.
In past years I have done the Hotter than Hell 100, Gorilla Century, Cider Mill, Summer Breeze, Jack and Coke, Independence Freedom Ride. Freedom Northland Nightmare, President.s New Years Day ride, Aids Challenge, partial Ragbrai, every Tour De BBQ, Lizard on a Skillet. I also do mountain biking in Arkansas and Shawnee Mission Park. I’m excited to help people learn what to do after a crash.