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<br /> Page 2 of 3 Alyson West
<br /> bike. Being able to walk, take the subway, or bike anywhere felt like a revolutionary freedom to
<br /> me. Feeling protected and respected as a biker, a pedestrian, and public transportation rider
<br /> meant that I was released from the burden of owning or needing a car. Better yet, I could learn
<br /> about the city and its people up close and simultaneously lead an active lifestyle by being on
<br /> foot or on two wheels most of the time.
<br /> Berlin was the city that I found especially fascinating, with its very recent history as a divided
<br /> city. My Honors thesis for Lewis &Clark College was an investigation of the urban squatter
<br /> culture that existed in former East Berlin, a culture that sprang up after the wall fell and left an
<br /> excess of unused and unclaimed housing in the East.
<br /> Since receiving my BA in German Studies from Lewis &Clark in 1995, I have lived and worked
<br /> in metropolitan areas with a variety of transportation policies: Portland, Berlin, Chicago,
<br /> Melbourne(Australia), and Los Angeles. During that time, as a tour manager and concert
<br /> promoter, I have been able to visit most major cities and many smaller ones across Europe,
<br /> Australia, New Zealand, the US, and Canada.
<br /> From my first post-graduation job as a tour manager in Europe, to the record label I co-founded
<br /> and ran for almost six years in Australia, to my current role as an artist manager, I consider
<br /> myself as having had a successful and rewarding career in the music business. My professional
<br /> focus during most of this time has been global, but having been back in North Carolina since
<br /> 2007, and as a parent in the community, I am ready to focus more on local planning policies. I
<br /> am an active cyclist in the area, a board member of the Carrboro Bike Coalition, and an
<br /> engaged member of the Carolina Tarwheels Cycling Club, with strong ties to a local community
<br /> of cyclists working to involve women in cycling.
<br /> From my first post-graduation job as a tour manager in Europe, to the record label I co-founded
<br /> and ran for almost six years in Australia, to my current role as an artist manager, I consider
<br /> myself as having had a successful and rewarding career in the music industry. My professional
<br /> focus during most of this time has been global, but having been back in North Carolina since
<br /> 2007, and as a parent in the community who commutes between Chapel Hill and Hillsborough
<br /> most weekdays and rides between the two many weekend days, I am ready to focus more on
<br /> local planning policies. I am an active cyclist in the area, a board member of the Carrboro Bike
<br /> Coalition, and an engaged member of the Carolina Tarwheels Cycling Club,with strong ties to a
<br /> local community of cyclists working to involve women in cycling.
<br /> Transportation planning, while focused on the physical connections made by roads, rails, or
<br /> paths, is a profession that connects people to each other and to their daily lives. Work in
<br /> planning demands the ability to interact with and hear from those who one seeks to serve. One
<br /> must possess a general awareness of that which surrounds us and a desire to continue to
<br /> improve those surroundings. Additionally, planning is interactive and collaborative, requiring
<br /> simultaneous attention to detail and the bigger picture—all occupational aspects that suit my
<br /> background.
<br /> As a member of the Orange Unified Transportation Board, I would be able to apply my
<br /> cumulative experience in the world to local transportation planning. I want to contribute to the
<br /> improvement of towns and cities by helping to make available to everyone multimodal
<br /> transportation options, which I truly believe can have positive economic, social, environmental,
<br /> and public health benefits.After years advocating for artists in the private sector, I would like to
<br /> advocate for people in one of the most public sectors—that of the many shared resources that
<br /> fall into the category of transportation.
<br /> Reasons for wanting to serve on this board:
<br /> Conflict of Interest:
<br /> Supplemental Questions:
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