Staff

Bonnie Anderson – Founder and Executive Director

Community involvement has always been very important to Bonnie. Driven by her desire to bring people together and by her love of music, art, movement, and the outdoors, she has participated in a variety of community projects.

While volunteering at the Burlington non-profit Bike Recycle Vermont (now Old Spokes Home), she saw first hand the benefits of a project that uses reclaimed bicycles to teach skills and provide much needed affordable transportation to the community. She took that inspiration with her when she moved to Bellows Falls in 2012 and created the BF Community Bike Project.

Daniel Hoviss – Shop Manager & Head Mechanic

Daniel’s interest in bike repair began at about age 10, when his mother told him she would buy a new fine Italian bike if he learned how to repair his old one, so he took the entire thing apart, every bearing and nut, all laid out on a large table, leaving only the frame, and then put it all back together. Daniel managed SoHo Wheels in NYC in the late 70’s, created the Putney Green Bike Project in 2007, he began volunteering at the BF Community Bike Project in 2017, and was hired as a mechanic in 2019.

Aidan Quinones - Assistant Mechanic

Aidan began participating in Bike Project events at age 9. He loves riding around town with his friends, and when he was 13, he started working on bikes at home, so they all had one to ride. Over the years, he occasionally volunteered at the Bike Project and worked on his own bike, acquiring a good set of mechanical skills. After a period of focused training, he began working for the Bike Project in 2023 at age 17.

Board Members

Mike Foster – President

Mike Foster is a life-long Vermonter.  After serving in US Coast Guard as a helicopter mechanic, he studied Civil Engineering at Vermont Technical College and University of Vermont.  As a civil engineer, some of his favorite work included bike and pedestrian project design for small communities.  Currently Mike is a Building Inspection Engineer with a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design professional certification.

Mike is passionate about good health and improving the environment.  Inspired by Bonnie and Fred’s vision and energy, Mike joined the BF Bike Project’s Board of Directors to support their mission of providing the community access to affordable bikes, shop space, training and promoting the benefits of biking as a method of transportation.

Lee Trapeni – Vice President

Lee Trapeni came to the non profit field in 2003 when he began working with at a school for at risk youth.  He currently works with the homeless population at a non profit in
Springfield, VT. Lee has served on the BF Bike board since the beginning of 2015.

 

Berta Martin – Secretary

Berta grew up riding bikes around with her friends in Richmond, Virginia(her favorite was her yellow Schwinn Varsity 10 speed). She served for two years in the U.S. Peace Corps in Mauritania, West Africa before moving to Vermont in 1985. Currently she is an Early Childhood Special Education Teacher in our local school district.  She joined the board in 2020, and her theory on why everyone loves bikes is that cycling connects us to feeling like a kid again!

Matt Dall
Matt has been living and riding in Vermont for the last thirty years.  As soon as he moved to the state, he knew he wanted to explore it by bike as much as he could.  Matt works at the Putney School as a learning specialist and runs the afternoon mountain bike team.  He has led tours across the state for Bike Vermont and has even toured Ireland by bike.  He is excited to be part of the Bellows Falls Community Bike project and get involved in all the initiatives they have undertaken to make biking part of people’s lives.

Carol Blackwood
Carol joined the US Navy after graduation from UVM.  She served 25yrs in the USA, Japan, Korea and Iraq.   While in the Navy, she attended UVM College of Medicine and spent the second half of her Navy career as a Family Physician.  After retirement from the Navy, she returned to Vermont and worked for the Veterans Administration for 10 years, until April  2021.

She keeps busy on her farm, caring for the land, horses, dog and cat.  Carol has been a bicyclist ever since childhood and was one of the founding members of the UVM bicycle club.  She believes every child deserves to experience the excitement and freedom of owning a bike.

 

Ginger Driscoll
Ginger is a prevention specialist at greater Falls Connections, working with the community to prevent substance misuse among youth and their families. She is also an artist and a non-profit consultant. She served as an Americorps Vista at Greater Falls Community Justice Center and continues to volunteer as a reparative justice panel member. Ginger is excited to join the Bike Project's Board.

John Marchica

John joined the board in April 2024. His bio and photo will appear soon!

Heidi Anderson – Fundraising Committee Chair

Heidi has been an enthusiastic volunteer from day one, and served on the board from 2015 – 2019. 
She continues to organize all of our fundraising events, using her creativity to ensure they are both successful and fun!

In Memory of Fred Tipton (1947 ~ 2021)

Fred Tipton – Shop Manager & Assistant Director (2014 – 2020)
Fred joined the Bike Project as a volunteer mechanic in 2014. He quickly become Shop Manager later that year, Assistant Director in 2015, and was instrumental in the growth and success of the organization. Fred was determined to fix any broken thing you put in front of him, and would find ways to repair even the most dysfunctional bikes.

During his six years working at the shop, he refurbished hundreds of bikes and worked with dozens of local youth – not only teaching them bike repair skills, but also serving as a positive role model.  He was also an accomplished jazz musician and band leader, infusing his cool saxophone grooves into many a local ensemble. We miss Fred’s presence in the shop and around town, and are ever grateful for his years of dedication to the Bike Project and for all that he contributed to this community!