Each year, the Ann Niles Active Transportation Lecture Endowment brings a guest speaker to Portland. We seek people from all over the world who have made great strides in advocating for health, safety, and bicycle and pedestrian access, and bring them together with the Portland transportation community to share methods and inspiration. The annual forum furthers IBPI's mission to facilitate the exchange of knowledge among scholars, practitioners and community advocates focused on walking and biking.
Vanessa Garrison is a passionate advocate of social justice issues and has focused her work on improving health outcomes and quality of life for black women and girls. Prior to co-founding GirlTrek, a national health movement, Vanessa worked as a Program Coordinator for Our Place DC, a nonprofit organization that provides services to currently and formerly incarcerated women. Vanessa began her career working in digital media at Turner Broadcasting System,Inc. in Atlanta, GA. Vanessa was awarded Teach For America's Social Innovation Award, recognized by the Awesome Foundation as a leader to watch, and was featured on NPR and The Root. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in World Arts and Culture from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation
Organizer of Ann Niles Active Transportation Lecture with Vanessa Garrison
IBPI is a unique partnership among academic, practice and policy interests that focuses on integrating walking and bicycling into communities through research, education and information-sharing. IBPI works across disciplines and campuses within Oregon to engage faculty, staff and students in our work to promote walking and bicycling as integral and equal transportation choices. Our efforts fill a critical gap in knowledge on this topic through research and evaluation, curriculum development and education. The City of Portland's outstanding bicycle and pedestrian network provides a living laboratory for research and teaching.