The Better Bike Share Partnership (BBSP) is an effort led by the City of Philadelphia that works to ensure that Indego is accessible to all Philadelphians. The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia is a non-profit advocacy and education organization working as part of the Better Bike Share Partnership to support bike share and biking education. Better Bike Share Partnership is funded by the JPB Foundation.

At the end of last month Katie Monroe (left), Better Bike Share Outreach Manager, left the Bicycle Coalition to travel and pursue other dreams. You know her as the energetic spirit that lead the charge on Indego’s education classes and much of our combined outreach efforts. Patricia ‘Pati’ Gutierrez (middle) is also leaving. She’s moving to the West Coast to pursue her Master’s in Education. Pati is our Community Liaison and has done outreach on behalf of Indego to Latino communities. We will miss them tremendously. They have been wonderful assets to Indego and the Better Bike Share Partnership (BBSP).

At the same time, we are ecstatic to announce Waffiyyah Murray is the new BBSP Outreach Manager (right)! Waffiyyah was previously the Safe Routes Coordinator for the Bicycle Coalition and assisted Indego with outreach to kids and families. We are excited to have Waffiyyah officially join team Indego. Keep reading to learn a little more about her below.

After two years of leading the Safe Routes Philly program, the Bicycle Coalition’s Waffiyyah Murray is taking over as the Better Bike Share Outreach Manager, where she’ll be leading the Better Bike Share Team in their efforts to help Indego get more riders using Indego.

The Better Bike Share Team engages with underserved communities around Philadelphia, where Indego share stations have been installed since April 2015.

The Better Bike Share team at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia previously included Katie Monroe, Azephra Hamilton and Pati Guiterez; Monroe recently left the Coalition after leading her team in introducing bike sharing to neighborhoods in North, West, and South Philadelphia.

Murray, a Philly native, will take her place after having worked with schools all over Philadelphia, helping promote bicycling as a fun and healthy form of transportation.

Her position with Safe Routes Philly—supported by the City of Philadelphia Health Department and a National Highway Safety Administration grant awarded to the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities— had her working very closely with schools this year on Bike to School Day planning, promotion, and has allowed her to get to know schools, students, administrators, teachers, and volunteers all over the city. She sees the new position as a natural extension of her last position.

“I look at this as an opportunity to bring these two worlds together,” says Murray. “Even before I was working with the Better Bike Share team officially, Safe Routes Philly would collaborate with Indego at places like Kensington CAPA, working with high school students.”

Waffiyyah additionally notes she is excited to work on some pilot programs that Indego is working on with partners throughout the city. These include programs like “Digital Skills and Bicycle Thrills,”  which teaches digital literacy alongside bike safety classes in partnership with the Mayor’s Commission on Literacy, helping Philadelphia’s break through the barrier of computer literacy.

“Katie, Azephra and Pati—as well as the city of Philadelphia and the rest of the Better Bike Share Partnership’s partners—have done incredible work engaging Philadelphia’s citizens over the last two years,” continues Murray. “I’ve got huge shoes to fill, and am excited for the new challenge.”