The first plenary session of the Winter Cycling Congress will dig into the question: What opportunities are associated with winter? How can health, wealth, happiness and equity be realized by seizing the season? This diverse panel will be moderated by Amber Dallman, MPH, Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator at Minnesota Department of Transportation and feature: Jennifer Blair, Patrick Coleman, Timo Perälä and Anthony Taylor.
Jennifer Blair, LAc, MaOM, Penny George Institute for Health & Healing – Abbott Northwestern
Jennifer holds a Master’s degree in Oriental Medicine from the Minnesota College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine at Northwestern Health Sciences University. She is NCCAOM certified in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbology, and holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She is also trained in Guided Imagery, Reiki and Qi Gong and is a Master Practitioner of NLP, Master Practitioner of Humanistic NLP and a Master Hypnotherapist. Her approach to practice combines the most appropriate of these tools for each patient. In addition to her work at the Penny George Institute, Jennifer serves on the adjunct faculty at the Minnesota College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine at Northwestern Health Sciences University. Whether working with students or patients, education is at the root of Jennifer’s approach to Chinese medicine. Her goal is to help each individual she works with to unlock their own abilities and insights for self-healing. She has been an active member of the Acupuncture and O.M. community in the Twin Cities, serving as legislative Chair and Vice President for the Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Association of Minnesota. As a champion of collaboration and holism, she served as the board secretary for the American Holistic Medical Association and is a current board member for the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine.
Patrick J. Coleman, AICP, Winter Cities Initiative
Patrick J. Coleman, AICP, is a planner in private practice through his firm, North of 45 LLC, providing the upper Great Lakes Region and Alaska with responsive Urban and Town Planning services. He has been a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) since 1986. He holds Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Urban and Regional Studies from Minnesota State University-Mankato.
Mr. Coleman has been recognized internationally as a leader in promoting the concept of livable winter cities for many years. He has conducted extensive research on planning practices of northern cities around the world. He serves as Executive Director of the Winter Cities Institute, an organization that provides networking opportunities, resource materials and technical assistance for livable and sustainable winter cities.
Timo Perälä, Navico Ltd. | Winter Cycling Federation
Timo Perälä is the founder and the chairman of the Winter Cycling Federation. He runs his own company Navico Ltd. located in Oulu, Finland. Timo is also the chairman for Finnish Cycling Embassy and has been working also as the cycling coordinator for the city of Oulu since 2013. He started working on active transportation projects early on in his career and was the first one to complete a national winter cycling study in Finland in 2. Timo is specialized in winter cycling maintenance projects.
Anthony Taylor, Adventures Director, The Loppet Foundation | co-Founder, Major Taylor Bicycling Club of Minnesota | Vice President, The National Brotherhood of Cyclists
“Each day presents us with the opportunity to create positive effects. Even the simplest, seemingly insignificant choices we make in our daily lives—what we eat, what we wear, what we use on our bodies, in our homes and how we get there – have a ripple effect that reaches far beyond us personally. By living in balance with nature, you strengthen the connections between yourself, the world and creation.” –Anthony Taylor
Anthony is an accidental advocate. He has never stopped biking since receiving a Schwinn Apple Crate for his Birthday in 1971. He and his mentor Louis Moore, using bikes as a tool in the 80’s to raise money for building playgrounds, developed a love for racing and the challenge of endurance races. In the 1998 a group of African American women that wanted to complete the AIDS ride from Mpls to Chicago approached them for help and the seeds of Major Taylor Bicycling Club of Mn were born. MTBCMn was founded in 1999 with the commitment to increase the participation of the African American community in cycling for sport, transportation and health improvement. Anthony is a member of the League of American Bicyclists Equity Advisory Council, an LCI, Co-founder of the Major Taylor Bicycling Club of Mn, A founding member and VP of the National Brotherhood of Cyclists. He is currently working to create a community bike center in Minneapolis. Anthony hails from Milwaukee, WI via Grenada, MS. He is a graduate of the Univ of MN, BS, Chem E and MBA from Univ. of St. Thomas . Anthony actively engages in partnerships that use the bike as tool to build community, increase personal power, safety and improve the wellbeing of our communities with a special commitment in African American communities and other historically oppressed communities. This is his first winter using his bike as a primary mode of transportation.
Amber Dallman, MPH, Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator, Minnesota Department of Transportation
Amber Dallman, MPH is the Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. She has over ten years of experience working in public health with a focus on active transportation with communities throughout Minnesota. Amber is constantly thinking about how to bring health into transportation conversations. This often starts by talking about walking and biking her kids to daycare, nearby parks and random places in between.
