Chloe joined the NWTA board in 2023.
You can reach Chloé at [email protected].
How and when did you first get involved with NWTA?
In 2021 I started riding some of the trails that NWTA maintained, so I became a member, and through the summer of 2022 I begin joining women rides and clinics that were being supported and put on by NWTA.
What made you decide to join the NWTA board?
I graduated with my masters in Nonprofit Leadership from Portland State University in 2020. I spent the last few years trying to find an organization that I could not only bring value to with my formal schooling, but that also aligned with a passion or hobby of mine, as well as shared values that I hold as an individual. NWTA felt like the perfect fit for me to serve as a board member.
What part of NWTA’s mission resonates with you; what are your plans to help move this forward?
I love the overall mission to advocate for new trails, to protect, improve and build sustainable mountain bike trails, but I think the part that resonates with me the most is to create recreation opportunity for mountain biking.
Creating recreation opportunities is not only the physical aspect of building trails and improving trails. It is also introducing the sport to everybody. Mountain biking can be intimidating or feel out of reach for some, and I’d like to be able to share my love of mountain biking with everybody who has a body. I look forward to advocating and helping with continued access and adaptability, as well as potential learning opportunities for those individuals that might be of low income or minority populations to ensure that anyone who wants to ride has the opportunity to ride.
When did you first start mountain biking and what was your first bike?
I got into mountain biking in early 2021 when my roommate at the time helped me purchase my first mountain bike so that we could ride on an upcoming national parks camping trip that we were planning. I still ride my first bike on trails today, it is a Specialized Rockhopper Comp 27.5- yes I still ride a hard tail and love it… but maybe an upgrade with a dropper seatpost is in the future.
What do you love about mountain biking?
I love more than just the wind blowing on me as I ride my bike out in nature, mountain biking challenges me both mentally and physically. This mental and physical challenge not only helps me as I mountain biker, but through life, as it reminds me that I can do anything that I put my mind to. We just have to work hard enough at it, and never give up on anything that we truly want.
Favorite place to ride?
Stub Stewart will always be my favorite place to ride; it was where I did my first ride ever, it was where I truly got comfortable on my bike, and it will forever be the location that I went over my handlebars for the first time.
What do you do during the day that pays the bills?
I am a Performance Improvement Consultant at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU)
What song or type of music do you listen to to get pumped up for a ride or for a dig day?
My go to music is 90s R&B and Hip-Hop.
Tell us something not mountain bike related about yourself.
I love being outdoors in general. In addition to mountain biking, I am an avid hiker. One of my life goals is to get to every single national park in the United States. So far I have made it to 10, and have 53 more to go (until more are added, as there was a new park added in 2020)!