The WALC Institute team members are passionate about helping communities become more walkable and livable. Here’s more about us:
Kelly Morphy, Executive Director, based in Winter Garden, Florida
Kelly brings to the WALC Institute and the communities it serves more than 15 years of experience in community involvement and public service. She works directly with communities to help them become healthier, better connected, more accessible and more sustainable through effective and meaningful civic engagement. She also advances the mission of the Institute and the livability movement by developing strategic plans and effectively managing community projects, outreach programs, and business-development initiatives. Kelly’s experience prior to joining the Institute included managing communications for an urban-design firm in Florida, serving as a public-information officer for an air-pollution-control district in California, and operating two small businesses. She started her career as a journalist on her home island of Guam, and also competed internationally as a member of the Guam Women’s National Soccer Team, before relocating to the mainland. She and her husband Tim have three children and live in Winter Garden, Florida, where Kelly also serves in a volunteer capacity as president of the not-for-profit corporation Safe Streets West Orange.
Dan Burden, Co-Founder and Director of Innovation and Inspiration, based in Port Townsend, Washington
Dan has spent more than 35 years helping the world get “back on its feet” and his efforts have not only earned him the first-ever lifetime-achievement awards issued by the New Partners for Smart Growth and the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals, but in 2001, Dan was named by TIME magazine as “one of the six most important civic innovators in the world.” Also that year, the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences honored Dan by making him their Distinguished Lecturer. In 2009, a user’s poll by Planetizen named Dan as one of the Top 100 Urban Thinkers of all time. Early in his career, starting in 1980, Dan served for 16 years as the country’s first statewide Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator for the Florida Department of Transportation and that program became a model for other statewide programs in the United States. In 1996, Dan sought to expand his reach and ability to really change the world, so he and his wife Lys co-founded a non-profit organization called Walkable Communities. Since then, Dan has personally helped 3,500 communities throughout the world become more livable and walkable. In 2009, Dan co-founded the WALC Institute with Director of Education Sarah Bowman to create a focus on education, capacity-building and training to support communities in becoming more engaged and healthier through active living. Dan serves on the board of advisors for Walkscore (www.walkscore.com) and Transportation for America (www.t4america.com).
Sarah Bowman, Co-Founder and Director of Education, based in Port Townsend, Washington
Sarah has over 13 years of experience in building healthy, sustainable communities with a focus on education. Sarah works with communities to implement projects for active community environments. Projects range from single-day active living workshops to long-term pedestrian planning and corridor improvement projects. Sarah reviews policies, plans and project structuring to determine how initiatives might be prioritized to better support community health and engagement, while maximizing investments. Sarah taught at the University of Notre Dame and was a tenured professor at the City Colleges of Chicago prior to co-founding the Institute. She is a planning commissioner for the City of Port Townsend.
The WALC Institute is proud to also offer the talents of the following individuals:
Lisl Coady, Graphic Design and Development, based in Olympia, Washington
Sally Lovell, Finance Manager, based in Port Townsend, Washington
Samantha Thomas, Project Coordinator, based in Port Townsend, Washington
Emily Tracy, Outreach and Development Coordinator, based in Davis, California
The WALC Institute team is always interested to hear ideas on how we can help communities in their efforts to become more walkable and livable. To share your thoughts or let us know how we can help your community, please contact us.