You are cordially invitedNLI Alumni Event Featuring Mia Birk, Author and Inspiring Bicycling AdvocateThursday, October 27th @ 7pmBook signing to followAlbemarle County Office Building - Lane Auditorium401 McIntire Road, Charlottesville, VA 22902 As part of the City's Neighborhood Leadership Institute (NLI), the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County, in collaboration with Bike Charlottesville, are hosting a seminar highlighting the benefits of creating a more bicycle-friendly community. The event is free and open to the public; no tickets are required. Mia Birk is an internationally renowned speaker in non-motorized transportation and the author of Joyride: Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet - The Keys to Transforming Communities and Empowering People, One Pedal Stroke at a Time. Her talk will focus on the dramatic and enlightening, behind-the-scenes story of how a group of determined visionaries transformed Portland, OR into a cycling mecca and inspired the nation. Come learn how Virginia communities can become more bikeable while increasing safety for all road users. This seminar will be practical, empowering, and inspiring for stakeholders throughout our community. You don't have to be a transportation professional or cycling advocate to attend. Ms. Birk's talk will be thought provoking for stakeholders throughout our communities: health professionals and policy makers, school administrators and teachers, economic development and tourism officers, social justice advocates, business owners competing for top talent, land use and urban planners, sustainability experts, parents, and our elected officials, amongst others. Each plays a role in fostering communities that are vibrant, safe, healthy, active and livable and will not want to miss this seminar. Ms. Birk is known internationally for her leadership in transforming Portland and hundreds of other communities through her work at the City and as a consultant. While today up to ten percent of Portlanders ride bikes for daily transportation, it wasn’t always this way. Learn the inspiring story behind Portland's success, including the programs, plans, and policies while sharing experiences and stories that have led toward balanced and sustainable transportation systems. Mia will demonstrate the dramatically positive impact of bicycle transportation on a neighborhood, a city and the way people in it live. Copies of Joyride: Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet will be on sale after the event and Ms. Birk will be available for signing. Ms. Birk was featured in a recent TedX talk, Pedaling Towards a Healthier Planet. Please forward this invitation to anyone you think will be interested. We hope to see you on October 27th.