The heart of the Bicycle Coalition of Maine is a hard-working, fun-loving, and dynamic staff that works collaboratively on education and advocacy efforts to improve walking and biking conditions across the state!
Shannon Belt
Education & Outreach Director
shannon@bikemaine.org
Shannon is an educator at heart. From teaching skiing in the winter, bike mechanics in the classroom, or traffic safety on our roads, education is at the center of what he likes to do. Shannon came from 10 years as an Alternative Learning classroom teacher at Westbrook High School. He has his BS in Environmental Science, an MS in Education, and is a League of American Bicyclists League Cycling Instructor. If Maine weather cooperates, you will find Shannon outside with his family hiking in the woods, playing games, taking their dog for a walk, and of course riding bikes!
Eliza Cress
Communications and Development Manager
eliza@bikemaine.org
Eliza’s love for cycling began as a child in Massachusetts, where she biked to and from grade school each day. During the summer of 2013, she had the opportunity to bike across the country with the non-profit Bike and Build. That trip solidified her passion for cycling as a viable means of transportation and realized the importance of safe-riding practices and conditions. Eliza comes to the Bicycle Coalition of Maine from Crested Butte, Colorado, where she quickly took to mountain biking. She is excited about helping to improve biking and walking across the state!
Erik daSilva
Safety Education Manager
erik@bikemaine.org
Erik found his love for two wheels at a young age and has never looked back—to bike is to live! He has been coordinating the Maine Bicycle & Pedestrian Safety Education Program since 2012 and looks forward to a Maine where every driver, walker, and bicyclist has mutual awareness and respect for one another. In addition to being an avid cyclist, Erik has a BS in Engineering, an MS in Education, is a League of American Bicyclists League Cycling Instructor, and an IMBA Level I-certified mountain bike instructor. He and his family live on the confluence of the Penobscot and Stillwater Rivers in Orono.
Will Elting
BikeMaine Ride Director
will@bikemaine.org
Will has always loved adventures outdoors, whether it’s hiking New Hampshire’s 4,000 footers, sailing the coast of the Baja peninsula, or cycling the length of the Erie Canal in his home state of New York. He has a BS in Parks, Recreation, and Ecotourism from Unity College, a graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management from USM, and more than a decade of experience working with recreation-focused nonprofits. He and his wife, Emily, live on Portland’s Back Cove, where they can frequently be seen riding their tandem bike.
Mariah Healy
Mission Advancement Director
mariah@bikemaine.org
A native Mainer, Mariah has always loved being outside, whether hiking, biking, or sitting on the Eastern Prom with a book. Mariah has spent her career working for non-profits, primarily focused on education in Latin America. Mariah lived in Chile for six years before moving back to Maine in 2014. She joined the Bicycle Coalition Staff in 2019, and is excited to help make Maine a friendlier place for cyclists and pedestrians.
Angela King
Advocacy Manager
angela@bikemaine.org
The Bicycle Coalition of Maine was the first organization Angela joined when she moved to Maine. She believes cycling for recreation and transportation leads to healthier people and communities. As a teacher, attorney, and community activist, Angela has been motivated by the confidence that supporting people empowers them to make positive changes in their lives and communities. She is thrilled to now work with people throughout the state on issues that make Maine’s roads safer for all.
Dan Knowles
Accounting Manager
dan@bikemaine.org
Dan grew up in Ellsworth, Maine, and spent much of his time in and around Acadia National Park, kayaking, hiking, and biking all that the region has to offer. He is a Maine CPA who brings extensive experience with non-profits and accounting software to the Coalition. He volunteers time as Treasurer of Stanwood Wildlife Sanctuary (Birdsacre) in Ellsworth, and enjoys helping his lovely wife raise three boys during the time he’s not sneaking off to play bass in a local band.
Emily Lozeau
BikeMaine Event Coordinator
emily@bikemaine.org
Originally from Massachusetts, Emily is excited to be back on the East Coast after living in Washington and Wyoming for the last six years. After graduating from the University of Vermont, she worked with people in a variety of capacities, which has helped her tremendously with her event coordination role at the Coalition. Emily’s fondest biking memory is being gifted a boatload of freshly smoked salmon from perfect strangers while cycling the Pacific Coast Highway for a month. She loves exploring the culture of new areas, and can typically be found teaching her bird tricks, rummaging around flea markets, curling, or bowling when the weather becomes cold.
Matt Sulem
Office and Membership Manager
Editor-in-Chief, The Maine Cyclist
matt@bikemaine.org
Matt was born and raised in Upstate New York, but moved to Maine after stops in South Carolina, Italy, China, and Brooklyn. He is an alumnus of the University of South Carolina—where he graduated with a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications in 2009—and has been professionally writing, editing, and passionately supporting the Oxford comma ever since. In his free time, Matt can be found biking the trails near his home in Westbrook, watching horror movies with his wife, jamming to rock and metal music, cheering for his beloved New York Yankees, or visiting any of the outstanding local breweries in the Portland area.
Jim Tassé
Assistant Director
jim@bikemaine.org
Jim joined the Coalition in 2010 as the education director, and became assistant director in August 2014. In that time, he has expanded the education program run in partnership with the MaineDOT and brought mountain biking back into the Coalition’s programming. He developed and launched the Community Spokes advocacy program as well as the Coalition’s innovative demonstration project campaign, “Imagine People Here.” He is a League of American Bicyclists League Cycling Instructor (LCI, #1308), an IMBA Level I-certified mountain bike instructor and trail designer, and a graduate of the Lift360 Community Leadership Intensive.
Darcy Whittemore
Safety Education Coordinator
darcy@bikemaine.org
Darcy’s work at the BCM includes encouraging more of Maine’s school children to walk and/or bike to school and around town, and to make it safe to do so. She also helps schools start daily walking school buses through the Maine Walking School Bus Program. Before joining the BCM staff in 2009, Darcy worked as a science teacher and environmental educator. In her free time, Darcy enjoys being in the outdoors—biking, hiking, gardening, or doing any activity on the water.
