Staff & Board
Publisher
Mark Gorton
Mark is the founder of Tower Research Capital LLC, a money management firm specializing in quantitative trading and investment strategies, as well as the founder of Lime Brokerage LLC, Lime Medical LLC and Lime Labs LLC. Mark founded OpenPlans (Streetsblog’s parent non-profit) in 1999 after realizing the incredible potential of the open source movement to create tools that catalyze civic engagement. In his role as Chairman he draws on a strong background in urban transportation advocacy and open media.
Editor-In-Chief
Ben Fried
Ben Fried is the Editor-in-Chief of Streetsblog. He joined Streetsblog as a New York City reporter in 2008, just as the push to enact congestion pricing was peaking. Since then he has covered slightly more successful transit funding campaigns, the transportation angle on local elections, and the day-by-day transformation of New York City streets. Today he oversees Streetsblog’s family of sites covering New York, San Francisco, federal transportation policy, and stories from around the country of significance to the national movement for safer streets and sustainable transportation. Ben graduated from Oberlin College with a concentration in architecture, and he holds a Master’s in Journalism from Columbia University. He lives with his wife in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, and he loves the Mets. Follow Ben on Twitter @streetsblogNYC.
Editor, Chicago
John Greenfield
Before joining the Streetsblog team, John Greenfield and Steven Vance wrote GridChicago.com, a daily blog about walking, biking and transit issues in the region. John also writes the weekly sustainable transportation column “Checkerboard City” in Newcity magazine, and blogs about Chicago’s bikeways initiatives for the Green Lane Project. Follow John on Twitter @streetsblogCHI.
Deputy Editor, Chicago
Steven Vance
Prior to joining the Streetsblog family, Steven co-wrote GridChicago.com with John Greenfield. Steven graduated with a masters in transportation planning from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2010. He worked for the Chicago Department of Transportation and Active Transportation Alliance as a bicycle parking planner. Steven organizes the Cargo Bike Roll Call organization to promote family and utility cycling in Chicago. Follow Steven on Twitter @streetsblogCHI.
Deputy Editor, New York City
Brad Aaron
Brad began writing for Streetsblog in 2007, after years as a reporter, editor, and publisher in the alternative weekly business. He has written extensively on politics, urban planning, transportation, law, education, business, and other topics, and has covered everything from mass bike rides to visits by heads of state. Brad has adopted New York’s dysfunctional traffic justice system as his primary beat for Streetsblog. He also edits stories and nitpicks copy for Streetsblog New York, Capitol Hill, and San Francisco, as well as Streetsblog Network. Brad lives in Manhattan with his wife and their many, many cats. Follow Brad @streetsblogNYC.
Reporter, New York City
Stephen Miller
Stephen is a full-time reporter for Streetsblog NYC, where he covers livable streets and transportation in the five boroughs, including everything from MTA funding and bike lane expansions to pedestrian plazas and street safety. In addition to reporting for Streetsblog, Stephen is a master’s candidate at Pratt Institute’s City and Regional Planning program. He grew up in Rhode Island, where he collected Matchbox cars and maps as a kid. You can follow Stephen on Twitter @miller_stephen.
Editor, San Francisco
Aaron Bialick
Aaron’s interests inevitably honed in on sustainable transportation advocacy at San Francisco State University, where he studied communication with a focus in rhetoric. He spent his last semester in Denmark, where parading around in bicycle utopias left him with an everlasting impression of what’s possible in his homeland of California. He hails originally from the Los Angeles region. Follow Aaron on Twitter @streetsblogSF.
Editor, Los Angeles
Damien Newton
Damien is the first editor of Streetsblog Los Angeles, the impact journalism site that’s bringing better transportation options to the City of Angels. Before moving west, he was the NJ Coordinator for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, and he has lent his media relations know-how to a number of advocacy campaigns. Damien holds a Masters of Arts in Public Communications from American University and was a 2011 Annenberg School of Journalism “Online Health Journalism Fellow.” Follow Damien on Twitter @streetsblogLA.
Editor, Capitol Hill
Tanya Snyder
Tanya reports from Washington on federal transportation policy and national advocacy efforts. Before joining Streetsblog, she covered Congress for Pacifica and public radio and brought a bicyclists’ perspective to the traffic reporting at WTOP, the Washington area’s most listened-to radio station. Tanya has lived, worked, walked, biked, and taken buses in Bogotá, Colombia and Havana, Cuba, participating in two of the world’s most unique transportation systems. She has been doing those things for most of the last 13 years in DC, where she now lives in transit-oriented and bike-friendly Columbia Heights (walk score: 83) with her partner, Mike, and daughter, Luna. Follow Tanya on Twitter @streetsblogDC.
Editor, Streetsblog Network
Angie Schmitt
Angie manages the Streetsblog Network, highlighting the best in progressive transportation blogging from around the country, and she reports for Streetsblog Capitol Hill on regional land use and transportation issues. Angie is co-founder and editor of Rustwire.com, which covers contemporary urban affairs in the industrial Midwest. She is a strong advocate for more livable streets, particularly when it comes to the revitalization of older, so-called ‘rustier’ cities. Angie holds a masters degree in urban planning from Cleveland State University’s Levin College of Urban Affairs. Prior to OpenPlans, she worked as a newspaper reporter covering municipal governments throughout her home state of Ohio and in Southeast Michigan. Follow Angie on Twitter @StreetsblogNet.
Development Director, Streetsblog & Streetfilms
Christa Orth
Christa leads fundraising and business development for Streetsblog and Streetfilms. Before joining OpenPlans, Christa managed sustainable funding efforts for a variety of nonprofits including Equity Foundation and StoryCorps. As a dedicated bike commuter, she’s thrilled to be strengthening the support base for the livable streets movement. Hailing from the Pacific Northwest, Christa holds degrees from Western Washington University and University of Oregon. She’s committed to sharing stories of community transformation through activism and perseverance, she is writing a book about the queer history of the Pacific Northwest, and she serves on the board of MIX NYC.
Advisory Board
Christine Berthet, Clinton Hell’s Kitchen Coalition for Pedestrian Safety
Langston James “Kimo” Goree, International Institute for Sustainable Development
John Kaehny, Reinvent Albany
Aram Khachadurian, CHF International
Aaron Naparstek, Streetsblog Founding Editor
Guillermo “Gil” Peñalosa, 8-80 Cities
Lisa Sladkus, Upper West Side Streets Renaissance
