Staff

Clarrissa Cabansagan, Executive Director

Clarrissa was born and raised in the borderlands between San Francisco and Daly City – where her family has been for four generations. She comes to the Bike Coalition with two decades of policy experience in transportation justice and immigrant rights.

Most recently, Clarrissa was the policy director at TransForm, a Bay Area-wide mobility justice organization, where she advanced transportation policies and pilot projects that center the needs of Black and Brown residents, as well as the building of affordable housing near transit. She is passionate about working with government and private partners to implement community-driven ideas. Her equity efforts alongside bike coalitions and grassroots groups were instrumental in defining low-income access standards for the tech-enabled mobility sector.

Clarrissa has high hopes to elevate the power of the bike in undoing the impacts of climate pollution, emboldened by her mom’s decade-long fight against lung cancer, and her own chronic respiratory condition.

Clarrissa got her start in mobility justice work pushing back on bus service cuts with the Bus Riders Union in Los Angeles and Urban Habitat in Oakland and fighting for innovative solutions like Free Muni for Youth and AC Transit’s bus rapid transit service.

Outside of work Clarrissa enjoys bike packing, rock climbing, and coffee. Most days Clarrissa can be found at the beach with her one-eyed pup, Poppy. She holds a Masters in Urban Planning with concentration in Transportation Policy and Planning from UCLA, and a BA in Ethnic Studies with a minor in City and Regional Planning from UC Berkeley.

Matt Jones, Director of Advocacy

Matt grew up in San Bruno, in a more auto-dependent neighborhood where the ability to drive was often a necessity to meet ones needs. It wasn't until he spent time in undergrad at UCSB and at Lund University in Sweden when he realized how much the built environment can dictate transportation choices and health outcomes.

Matt has an undergrad degree in political science with concentration in comparative environmental politics along with grad classes in urban planning. Matt has worked with cities in four different Bay Area counties on housing and transportation planning, with several regionally-focused environmental nonprofits, and on campaigns for local and statewide offices. He has been a longtime member of SVBC and has both served on and staffed BPACs. As a planner for his hometown, he helped adopt its first Walk and Bike Plan and secured $1.4 million in bicycle and pedestrian grants for the City. In his free time, Matt enjoys spending time going to local music shows and museums, he loves karaoke, and he has visited 17 countries.

Kyle Klimas, Education Programs Coordinator

As a lifelong Bay Area native, Kyle has spent most of his life riding bikes in the Peninsula and living in San Mateo County. As he continues to live and ride in San Mateo County, he knows just how much of a positive impact cycling can bring to the local community. Starting his professional journey as an entry-level bike mechanic, to then working his way into shop management, and eventually into industry programs and operations, he’s had a wide range of roles and responsibilities all involving the humble bicycle. From those experiences, teaching others about the joys of bicycling and getting people stoked about riding has always been a constant.

Whether he’s out cruising local MTB trails or riding his single speed around town, cycling has always provided a sense of identity and passion for Kyle. His love for the bicycle has led him to joining SVBC to further spread his joy and knowledge of bicycling, while also being able to give back to the local communities that have made him the cyclist he is today.

Anthony Montes, Associate Director of Advocacy and Development

Born and raised in the South Bay, Anthony’s passion for community service led him to Portland State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and fell in love with Portland’s seamless transportation system. After working as a Field Representative for Congressman Earl Blumenauer, serving constituents of Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District during the Coronavirus pandemic and helping shape federal policy, Anthony returned to the Bay Area to join Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition. In his spare time, you can find him riding around San Jose on his cargo e-bike, enjoying live music downtown, catching a 49er game during football season, walking his massive golden lab (Leila), or spending time with his family and beautiful partner on the weekends.

Mayra Pelagio, Community Organizer

Prior to joining SVBC, Mayra was the Executive Director of Latinos United for a New America where she worked to accomplish the organization’s mission to help Latino immigrants take positive action to address the poverty-related challenges that have hit the Latino immigrant community. At SVBC Mayra advocates for safer streets and communities where everyone can feel safe walking and biking in their neighborhoods. Mayra taps into her own experience of facing poverty, language barriers, and housing instability as she works to promote advocacy with East San Jose neighbors. Mayra holds a B.S in Environmental Science and Management from UC Davis and has completed a master’s degree in environmental studies from San Jose State University.

Felicia Ward, Development Director

With over a decade of experience partnering with corporate and non-profit organizations in New York and California, Felicia has worked on cross-functional teams to design and drive high-profile events, community-based programs, and advanced capital fundraising campaigns. As the new Development Director, Felicia will spearhead SVBC’s Development team, driving innovative fundraising strategies and fostering key partnerships to advance our mission.

Katie Causey, Community Organizer

Katie Causey was born and raised in the Bay Area and has volunteered with local nonprofits and community organizations since she was a teenager. After several years of working in various local nonprofits and on political campaigns she began focusing on housing, working with tenants facing eviction and shaping policy and community engagement around Palo Alto's Housing Element.

Outside of her work at SVBC she enjoys taking public transit and raising her 35 house plants.

Deanna Chevas, Deputy Director

Deanna Chevas spent her early career in small business and nonprofit bookkeeping, HR, and administration before pivoting to helping build a nonprofit organization doing outreach and advocacy. Deanna has a fine art degree with an emphasis on fiberart. She moved from Arizona in 2014 with her cat and teenage daughter. She loves the transit options and bikeability of the Bay Area. Outside of work, you’ll find her knitting at the beach, going to comedy shows, glamping, and enjoying her dogs and cat.

Eleni Jacobson, Program Manager

Eleni grew up in San Mateo County riding bikes for fun and transportation. After completing 3 years at College of San Mateo, bike culture drew Eleni to Davis, CA, where she studied Environmental Policy. She was still living in Davis when she first got involved with SVBC as a part-time bike parking supervisor. She has done professional and personal work in the field of Transportation Demand Management since 2015.

Bike culture and the lovely bike people of Santa Clara County made it a natural choice to move to San José in 2019. SVBC rides and programming, San José Bike Party, and bike mechanics classes are some of her favorite parts of what San José has to offer to those on two wheels. She is excited to join the Bike Coalition full-time and work hard to introduce others to the timeless joy and health that biking has always brought to her. 

Collin Lim, Volunteer & Events Coordinator

Collin Lim came to SVBC with over 20 years of experience serving on the planning committee of the American Diabetes Association's walk-a-thons and bicycle tours. His volunteer roles with the ADA include Route Chair, Safety Chair, Logistics Chair, Radio Communications Chair and City/County Liaison. He also ran the planning committee for a few years. Prior to joining SVBC, Collin worked in various high-tech fields: semiconductor, electronics, web design and web development. The companies he worked for range from large corporations to small startups. Collin discovered SVBC from volunteering in the Eastside Connect program delivering farm boxes on bikes to low-income East San Jose residents.

Outside of work, Collin enjoys hiking and cycling. His favorite hiking and mountain biking spots are along the ridge of Santa Cruz Mountains. He also enjoys cycling along Bay Trail and the many creek trails in Silicon Valley.

Violeta Palatto, Associate Director of Strategic Partnerships

Violeta's journey to SVBC stems from 14 years of active involvement in parent participation schools, where she served as a steadfast preschool board member, K-8 school volunteer lead, extending her commitment well beyond her own children's preschool years, and coordinating scores of volunteer parents. Applying her experience and skill at SVBC over the past 4.5 years, cultivating relationships with sponsors and donors while supporting SVBC’s three main events (Bike to Wherever Days, Bike Summit, and Bike to the Future).

Violeta's passion for cycling extends beyond personal enjoyment. Having personally witnessed the transformative power of cycling for both personal well-being and philanthropy, Violeta has participated in the Waves to Wine Bike MS ride from SF to Napa an impressive 9 times, using her passion for biking to raise awareness and funds! She embodies an adventurous spirit, loves to climb the many mountains around here on her road bike, and the exhilaration of getting to the top. She’s learned to commute by bike becoming a League Cycling Instructor in 2021 and is eager to teach others too!

Beyond her cycling endeavors, Violeta loves traveling with family and loved ones, discovering flavors of the world’s cuisines, and seeking new adventures. Her commitment extends to environmental advocacy, driven by a desire to create a brighter future for all. When not on her bike, zwifting, skiing, or hiking, she eagerly looks forward to advancing SVBC's mission and expanding her own reliance on pedal power for her daily commute.

Jianhan Wang, Education Programs Manager

Learning to ride a bicycle was the earliest experience Jianhan had that went from being painful, difficult, and frustrating over repeated falls and leg scrapes to joyful, magical, and something he felt proud of. After many years of riding, he took his first 2 bike classes organized by Bike East Bay and learned a lot more than he expected in how to ride safely and more confidently for transportation, something he thought was essential and should be taught as part of standard school curriculum. He took his instructor’s recommendation to become a certified League Cycling Instructor (LCI) and has enjoyed teaching hundreds of folks of various ages to level up their bicycle skills and confidence from learning to ride to riding on streets and roads for everyday use as well as complementary topics like bicycle security and theft prevention for over 8 years and counting. Jianhan started his journey with SVBC as a part-time instructor and joined full-time to increase his and SVBC’s impact to help more people enjoy riding bikes for everyday use. He invites you to join a class, a group ride, or another event! And if you are an active LCI who enjoys helping others become more comfortable and capable with bikes and learns from every teaching experience, consider teaching with SVBC alongside SVBC’s amazing instructors!

Outside of bike-related work and fun rides, Jianhan enjoys learning for personal development, playing board games, going on occasional hikes, and occasionally cooking new recipes.