Kendra Ramsey, AICP is an active transportation and sustainable land use professional with 15 years of experience in planning, policy development, community engagement, and evaluation. Her experience includes work in state and local government, as well as the non-profit and private sectors.
Kendra is the Executive Director of the California Bicycle Coalition, which advocates for equitable, inclusive, and prosperous communities where bicycling helps to enable all Californians to lead healthy and joyful lives. At CalBike, Kendra works with partners in multi-modal advocacy across the state, serves on multiple advisory bodies to state agencies on active transportation, and works to advance bicycling as a mainstream mode of transportation. She holds a vision of the future where people on bikes are able to feel the wind on their faces and enjoy the journey to work, school, and other destinations without fear of traffic violence — where people from all walks of life can get physical activity and stay healthy through transportation, supporting our environment, and saving themselves money in the bargain.
Kendra contributes to the planning profession through multiple board positions. As the President of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals, Kendra helps connect active transportation practitioners with resources, policy guidance, and a robust professional community. In her role as Professional Development Officer of the American Planning Association, Sacramento Valley Section, Kendra provides guidance to planners seeking certification from the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), helps plan certification maintenance programming, and works to diversify the profession.
Previously, Kendra spent close to a decade as a transportation planner in the private sector, including time at GHD and Alta Planning + Design, where she managed a variety of active transportation projects throughout California, including Active Transportation and Safe Routes to School Plans for municipal clients, active transportation program development and implementation, and grant applications. She worked across geographic contexts, including unincorporated communities, small towns, suburbs, and urban areas, from Shasta County south to Los Angeles. Prior to consulting, Kendra spent four years in state service. She served as Transportation Program Consultant II for the North Carolina Department of Transportation Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation, where she provided technical assistance, project consultation, and training to NCDOT Divisions and Business Units, local and regional government agencies, and the public. While living in North Carolina, she also chaired the Durham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission. She served as Team Lead for the Safe Routes to School Technical Assistance Resource Center at the California Department of Public Health (now known as the Active Transportation Resource Center), which provides trainings, technical assistance, and resources to implement safe and successful active transportation and public health strategies throughout California.
Prior to her work in state government, Kendra served as Land Use Policy Director for the Sacramento Housing Alliance, where she engaged in planning and advocacy for equitable, health-promoting land use and active transportation, developed and launched a community leadership training program, and provided fiscal management.
Kendra holds certification by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), an MS in Community Development from UC Davis, and a BA in Sociology from UC Santa Cruz. She is also a Safe Routes to School National Course Instructor, and has completed coursework toward a Certificate in Non-Profit Management at Duke University.
Raised in a car-free household, Kendra can often be found getting from here to there on her bicycle, by foot, in an electric car, or by public transportation. An avid distance runner, Kendra has completed eight marathons on two continents. She also enjoys preserving and pickling local produce, and hiking in the foothills and Sierra. She lives within two miles of her childhood home in the central city area of Sacramento with her husband Neil Matouka and their daughter.
For more information on Kendra, find her on LinkedIn.