October 24, 2018
Page 9
Mississippi
Alberta
North Portland
Vancouver
East County
Beaverton
photo by D anny p eterson /t he p ortlanD o bserver
Craig Fondren, an award-winning community leader who has worked on housing and urban development in the past, is using his skills at fulfilling community needs as
the new Community Program Manager at the Community Cycling Center, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to broaden access to bicycling for all Portlanders.
A new mission
and a good fit
for local leader
by D anny p eterson
t he p ortlanD o bserver
A community member with deep roots
in northeast Portland and a track record of
commitment to housing and urban devel-
opment has been named the new Commu-
nity Programs Manager at the Community
Cycling Center a nonprofit organization
located on Northeast Alberta Street whose
mission is to broaden access to bicycling
for all Portlanders.
“They wanted to expand their program-
ming. It works for me. They work with the
same populations that I love to work with.
They’re now branching out to the East
County, which is great for me, I also like
that,” Fondren said.
Fondren previously worked at the Sabin
Community Development Corp., which is
Community
Driven
the neighborhood organization working
to keep inner northeast neighborhoods af-
fordable for the historically African Amer-
ican community. He served as the orga-
nization’s program director from 1999 to
2010 and then as executive director until
2013. He also had an earlier career in the
food service business, including operating
a downtown Portland cafe that focused on
providing job training for youth.
Fondren will take over a role recently
vacated by Ira Dixon, who served as the
Cycling Center’s Programs Manager for
two years before moving to Iowa with his
family.
Initially, Fondren’s primary work will
be leading the Cycling Center’s programs
in the New Columbia/Portsmouth neigh-
borhood of north Portland.
Since 2008, the organization has had
a “pop-up shop,” known as a hub in the
neighborhood, working with other partners
to improve access to bicycling and provid-
ing things like free bike repairs and offer-
ing courses to learn bike mechanic skills.
The hub is located next to the Boys and
Girls Club on North Trenton Avenue and
a “bicycle pump track” around the hub,
gives youth (and sometimes adults) a fun
riding adventures on site.
Having recently wrapped up its summer
session, Fondren said he’s already look-
ing forward to making improvements on
it for next year, such as getting volunteers
to help them paint the Hub and updating a
nearby bicycle skills park.
Fondren will also be working with the
parents, staff, and community at near-
by Cesar Chavez and Rosa Parks schools
through the Cycling Center’s “Community
Based Safe Routes to School” initiative. In
this program, the Cycling Center is asking
neighbors how they can support kids and
families in walking and bicycling to school
and in the neighborhood. If you live in the
neighborhood, expect to see him around
and to hear him asking for your input.
Fondren has been working in Ports-
mouth with a team of two mechanics and
two “safe routes coordinators.” During the
summer he worked with several interns
through SummerWorks program. In the
longer term, he will work with the team at
the Cycling Center to identify other needs
and opportunities for community pro-
grams.