Want to become more involved in local bicycle advocacy? Consider joining the Madison Bikes board of directors.
Madison Bikes is looking for people who are dedicated, passionate, strong communicators, good compromisers, organized organizers, and able to commit time and energy to promote biking as a priority in the city of Madison. We do not have paid staff and everything we do—from advocacy to organizing to communications to events—is driven by our 15-member volunteer board and volunteers.
We will have several seats up for election on our Board of Directors, with elections taking place in December.
If you are interested in joining our board, please complete this application form by October 7 Deadline extended to October 14. If you would like to nominate someone other than yourself, please forward this post/email to them and ask them to apply.
In the application, we ask for your availability for our November board meeting. All applicants are invited to that meeting for a brief Q&A with our current board members.
Our organization is committed to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic board committed to equity and anti-racism in our work. We strongly encourage applications from people of color, women, and other groups who are underrepresented in bike advocacy.
The Madison Bikes board is an all-volunteer working board. At a minimum, we expect board members to:
- Attend our monthly board meetings (6-8 pm every third Monday of the month, virtual for the foreseeable future), and our community/work meetings (6-7:30 pm on the fourth Monday of the month; sometimes virtual, sometimes in person)
- Commit to doing work outside of meetings, for example organizing Madison Bike Week, attending public meetings, or writing for our blog.
- Have a passion for our organization’s vision: Making Madison a city where anyone can ride a bicycle conveniently and comfortably to any place in the city and neighboring communities year-round.
- Be committed to be on the board for at least one year (terms are for 3 years)
Other examples of things our board members do:
- Write for our blog
- Moderate our Facebook community group
- Plan, organize, and promote events like Madison Bike Week, Winter Bike Week, or the Winter Bike Fashion Show (online or in-person events when those return)
- Attend city-held meetings (public input meetings, City Council meetings, local and regional transportation committee meetings)
- Write email templates and action alerts
- Mobilize the community to advocate for bike projects
- Meet and liaise with community partners (neighborhood associations, non-profits, other bike advocacy groups)
- Contribute to fundraising and organizational development efforts
Are you unsure whether being on our board is right for you? We’d be happy to answer questions by email or schedule a Zoom chat with one of our current members! Just email harald@madisonbikes.org. We will also host an in-person board member candidate open house on September 26. Stay tuned for details.
