SF Bicycle Coalition Selects 9-Year Member as Next Executive Director

After a national search, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s Board of Directors selected Brian Wiedenmeier as the organization’s next executive director.

As development director for the past two years, Brian has presided over a 24 percent expansion of the SF Bicycle Coalition’s budget, now totaling $2.4 million. Brian begins in this new role on Wednesday, July 6 with a deep knowledge of the SF Bicycle Coalition’s work and San Francisco’s political landscape. He also offers experience helping lead strategic planning processes at other nonprofits. The SF Bicycle Coalition’s board and staff intend to engage their members in a strategic planning process later this year, as the current five-year plan comes to a close, to help shape the direction of their work for years to come.

“Brian’s professional accomplishments and experience really stood out throughout this hiring process,” said Brianne O’Leary Gagnon, president of the SF Bicycle Coalition’s Board. “He’s committed to people biking and the city of San Francisco, and those passions — along with Brian’s track record of success — are going to be a huge benefit to people who bike here.”

Brian moved to San Francisco 10 years ago from Minneapolis, where he went to college, and joined the SF Bicycle Coalition as a member the following year. He bikes both as his primary means of transportation, as well as for recreation. In addition to the long rides Brian often takes on mornings and weekends, he just completed his second 545-mile AIDS/LifeCycle ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles last week.

“It’s really important to me not only that we continue improving biking in San Francisco, but that we do so in every single neighborhood of our city,” Brian said. “If you live in the Tenderloin, the Bayview or the Excelsior, I want you to know that the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is here to help improve your streets to meet your hopes and needs.”

Brian is taking the reins from interim executive director Margaret McCarthy as the final step in a rigorous, seven-month process conducted by the organization’s board.

“Margaret flourished in her role as interim executive director,” said Brianne. “She is a truly inspiring leader.”

McCarthy resumes her prior role as program director through July, also working to support the organization through the upcoming transition. Afterwards, she plans to wrap up nearly four years on the SF Bicycle Coalition’s staff and hopes to enjoy some travel.

“The organization is so lucky to have Brian stepping up as the next executive director,” Margaret said. “At a time when the popularity of biking is soaring in our city, the future has never been so bright for the members of the SF Bicycle Coalition.”

The SF Bicycle Coalition was founded in 1971, when there was not a single bike lane in the city. Forty-five years later, there are 222 miles of bike lanes in San Francisco, and the organization boasts a membership of over 10,000 people.

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