Director Vacancies: 8.
Current Directors seeking Re-election
Benjamin Meek
Benjamin Meek (he/him) is a year-round bicycle commuter who works as a Research Coordinator at the University of Manitoba. Ben and his family have always been passionate about cycling and regularly turn to the bike as their primary means of transportation.
Ben has served on the board of Bike Winnipeg for the past four years, first as Secretary and then as Co-Chair, and he is keen to continue this work for a final term. With Bike Winnipeg, Ben seeks to encourage wider adoption of cycling for both recreation and transportation by advocating for better cycling infrastructure, promoting ease and accessibility of use, and fostering a welcoming cycling community.
Besides cycling, Ben loves soccer, skating, board games, camping, canoeing, and disc golf.
Patty Wiens
Patty Wiens joined the Board of Bike Winnipeg in 2022 and took over the role of newsletter editor, where she helped formalize the communications team alongside Steve West and Ian McCausland. In 2024, she made history as Winnipeg’s first Bicycle Mayor, a title awarded by BYCS.org, an international bicycle advocacy network.
As Chair of Bike Winnipeg’s Advocacy Committee, Patty is a passionate community organizer dedicated to advancing active transportation. She promotes year-round cycling through her YouTube channel, Instagram, and website (pattybikes.com), and has been featured on notable platforms such as The War on Cars, Active Towns, Radio-Free Urbanism, and Tom Babin’s Shifter. Her influence was further recognized when she was named one of Ace Burpee’s Top 100 Most Fascinating Manitobans of 2024.
Patty also hosts That’s Her Problem!, a podcast exploring women’s relationships with their communities, set to launch in May 2025. Her upcoming book, That’ll Never Work Here: Challenging the Myths Around Biking in a Winter City, is slated for release in October 2025.
Ian McCausland
With nearly 40 years of experience in communications and freelancing, Ian McCausland brings a wealth of expertise to his role on Bike Winnipeg’s board. Over the past two years, he has refined the organization’s messaging, strengthened engagement with members and stakeholders, and taken on website management—freeing up the executive director to focus on advocacy.
Beyond strategy, Ian is an active advocate, engaging with city and provincial leaders alongside mentors like Mark Cohoe, Ian Walker and Dave Elmore. He plays a key role in amplifying the cycling community’s voice, ensuring constructive dialogue on infrastructure and policy.
In 2024, Ian spearheaded “Coffee Outside Winnipeg”—a weekly summer meetup that fostered connections among cyclists, boosted Bike Winnipeg’s visibility, and grew membership. His efforts reflect a commitment to both community-building and organizational growth.
Looking ahead, Ian is focused on expanding Bike Winnipeg’s reach, particularly within underrepresented communities, including Indigenous cyclists and newcomers.
Passionate about making cycling more inclusive, he is eager to drive further progress in the years to come.
Jaya Beange
Jaya is the Executive Director of Storefront Manitoba and a Sessional Instructor in the Faculty of Architecture and the School of Art at the University of Manitoba. She is interested in the dynamic relationship that exists between ethics and aesthetics, in how our shared aesthetic experience can serve as a foundation for communities that are happy, healthy, equitable, and sustainable. She graduated from McGill’s Masters of Architecture II program in the History and Theory of Architecture and the professional Masters of Architecture at the University of Manitoba, and has worked extensively in the cultural and design community, including positions as Senior Exhibit Designer at the Manitoba Museum, and Curatorial Assistant at Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art. She serves on the executive of Building Equality in Architecture: Prairies, and the Programming Committee for 10x20x20 design talks. She is an all-weather cyclist, a yoga enthusiast, and a lover of dance.
New Nominees
Cindy Labaty (Withdrew Application)
Cindy Labaty holds an MBA and CPHR designation with many years of experience in senior leadership roles in Human Resources. Cindy is a dedicated cyclist and climate change activist having served a six year term on the Board of Directors of Green Action Centre from 2018-2024.
Eva Kwok
My name is Eva Kwok and I am excited to put my name forward for Bike Winnipeg’s Board of Directors.
I started cycling during the pandemic and quickly realized how much freedom it gave me in getting around. But at the same time, I also experienced how dangerous and discouraging it can be when bike infrastructure is poorly designed or not even there. Within months, I developed a strong passion to make Winnipeg a safer, more connected, and bike-friendly city for all ages and abilities. This passion even led me to become a transportation engineer, so I could help drive change. In my work, I see firsthand how street design impacts people’s ability to bike safely, and I want to push for stronger policies that give people real freedom in how they travel.
I have been involved with Bike Winnipeg for the past 4 years, volunteering at outreach events, group rides, Bicycle Valet, and working groups like the Wellington Crescent project. Beyond cycling advocacy, I have experience on other boards and committees, including serving as President and Accountant for the Manitoba Chinese Youth Committee and Vice President of the Canadian Society for Bio-Engineers.
Winnipeg’s Transportation Master Plan still heavily prioritizes cars, and the City’s approach to safety shows a lack of real commitment to protecting vulnerable road users. Bike Winnipeg plays a crucial role in holding the City accountable and advocating for real change. If elected, I want to provide my engineering experience and technical knowledge to strengthen that advocacy and push for a city where cycling is truly a safe, viable option for people of all ages and abilities.
Thank you for your time and your support!
Linda Postma
Linda’s earliest memory of cycling is standing on the picnic table in order to get her leg over the bar of her brother’s bike before he noticed. And then riding off, moving too fast for him to catch her. Since then, the freedom and privilege of riding a bike has only intensified and her hope is that everyone can experience that rush.
Her desire is to make cycling available and accessible for anyone who wants to ride. As a former teacher of adult ESL students she is acutely aware of the challenges facing women especially with riding and owning bikes. She believes that being a member of the board of Bike Winnipeg will allow her to support the work that is being done to make cycling in the city safe and available for all.
Linda Postma(she/her)
Wendy Van Loon
Wendy Van Loon (she/her) has reignited her passion for cycling and is enjoying the cycling network in the City of Winnipeg. She has recently joined the Wellington Crescent Bikeway Working Group, where she collaborates with committee members to advocate for safer infrastructure on Wellington Crescent and throughout the City of Winnipeg. Wendy has also participated in group rides and is seeking Board membership to help drive change and promote a vision for safer cycling routes.
Wendy has recently retired after a distinguished career spanning over 35 years with the Province of Manitoba. In the final five years of her tenure, she dedicated her efforts to Truth and Reconciliation as well as Accessibility for Manitobans. Wendy focused on cultivating an environment that promoted inclusiveness and continuous learning within Manitoba Finance.
Wendy is a proud mom of four children and proud nana of five grandchildren. She has already gifted her oldest granddaughter, who is three years old, her first bicycle with training wheels.
Adinna Vergara
I’m Adinna Vergara, a City Planning Master’s student with a Bachelor’s in Environmental Design, deeply passionate about creating cities that prioritize sustainability and active transportation. With experience as a Cultural Curator at Storefront Manitoba and now as an Events & Communications Coordinator for Transcona BIZ, I’ve seen firsthand how thoughtful design can transform communities.
I believe in a Winnipeg where cycling is safe, accessible, and year-round, with protected bike lanes that make biking enjoyable. I’m excited to contribute to a future where biking is part of our daily life in our city.
Michael Abon
I first experienced cycling in Winnipeg as a middle- and high-school student in the early 2000s, navigating challenging and often dangerous conditions. I studied computer science at UBC in Vancouver, then for 15 years lived in San Francisco, New York, and Vancouver again, all the while travelling and commuting by bicycle and truly experiencing how those cities built great cycling networks. Four years ago, I moved back to Winnipeg, pleased with how much better the cycling experience had become and dismayed at how much further it still has to go.
I’ve been actively involved in cycling advocacy here, demonstrated through my active involvement with the Bike Winnipeg City Centre Local Bike Group for the past few years, my continued liaison work with the Winnipeg Goldeyes to address their cycling route interruptions, and my community organizing efforts that helped mobilize over 50 of you to speak at city council meetings on cycling safety issues. I love being a part of group rides, whether marshaling with Bike Winnipeg’s Art and History Rides and with Bike Jam, bringing my toddler out to Kidical Mass, or just vibing at Bike Jelly.
With my 18 years in the technology and cybersecurity sector, I bring substantial web development expertise that would enhance Bike Winnipeg’s digital presence. I’d love to improve functional aspects like the event calendar to better connect our cycling community, or displaying Bike Winnipeg’s extensive cycling network planning to drive the city forward, or make it much easier for people to sign up to participate in or volunteer in group rides. These improvements would help Bike Winnipeg engage more cyclists and strengthen our collective voice in the community
My vision for Winnipeg is deeply personal: I want my child to bike to school without causing me fear, my parents to cycle confidently without needing to ask which roads are safe, and for all Winnipeggers to have safe, accessible cycling options. I believe Bike Winnipeg can build on its foundation by strengthening its advocacy position with city officials and ensuring cycling infrastructure decisions prioritize safety and accessibility.
Karla Braun
Karla Braun first discovered biking as transportation as a rural kid with a family that did not have a vehicle for every driver in the house. She moved into the West End of Winnipeg after living in the Netherlands for a year (including 6 months of daily bike commuting to work on the only road in the country without a bike lane) and continued living as a European: walking, bussing and biking.
The transformation to cycling advocate began in 2009 when biking took over as the dominant mode of commuting and she also began winter cycling.
Karla is convinced that biking is the most wholesome way of getting around: it’s good for physical health, mental health, financial health and social and community health. She firmly believes biking is for everyone, but we need to build a city where everyone feels safe to bike.
When not wending her way from place to place on her rickety but glorious omafiets, or struggling with a computer that insists on malfunctioning, she can be found trying to rescue discarded items for a better end.