Staff
(401) 619-4900
Alice is new to Rhode Island with a huge enthusiasm for biking, hiking, running, and generally being active outdoors. She still remembers the incredible freedom she felt the first time she rode her bike “out of the neighborhood” as a kid. In adulthood she has enjoyed many different racing events in water, on wheels, and on foot. She is
thrilled to be part of a movement to get more people from across the state and all socioeconomic statuses out on bikes – safely.
As the recent chair of the Environmental and Climate Sciences Department at
Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, Alice developed her ability to skillfully manage projects and people. At Brookhaven, she spent nearly 25 years working on efforts to better understand global climate change. She was fortunate to live for 6 months in bike-friendly Stockholm and is proud to have reduced her carbon footprint during that time by never driving a car. Now she is looking forward to channeling her energy and passion towards a mission she firmly believes in for the Rhode Island Waves campaign.
Feel free to contact Alice at alice@bikenewportri.org, (401) 619-4900 or sign-up to receive the RI Waves email alerts.
(401) 619-4900
(401) 619-4900
(401) 619-4900
Educators
Bike Garage Educator and Student Mentor Bike Garage Educator Bike Garage Educator/ Garaje en Espanol educator Bike Garage Educator Bike Garage Educator/ Garaje en Espanol leader As a Newporter, Melissa is very keyed into our community’s needs. She is the Garaje en Espanol leader in the Bike Garage providing translations in spanish for anyone who needs it. Come and join her on Thursdays, 4:30-7pm. Bike Garage Educator Bike Garage Educator Steve built his first touring bike at the East Quad Bike Co-op in Ann Arbor, Michigan and then promptly road it across the state. He’s since embarked on many longer treks, including a 1000 mile tour from Michigan to Vermont. Steve calls Aquidneck Island home, living in Newport and working as an environmental consultant in Middletown where he’s helping to establish the nation’s first offshore wind farm. He’s never far from the Bike Garage, where he spends many hours getting greasy and lending a hand to others. Steve led the bike brigade that restored a fleet of bikes for visiting ballet dancers to Island Moving Company, where his wife Tara is a principal dancer. Not just a bike geek and windmill junkie, Steve is also a talented graphic designer – creator of the famous Giant Squid of Narraganset Bay that adorns Bike Newport’s signature jersey and many other feisty and fun illustrations for Bike Newport.
Bike Garage Educator With four years under his belt at Bike Newport, Brandon is our senior MET School intern. Already a skilled mechanic, Brandon is a wealth of information for Bike Garage participants of every skill level. Brandon enjoys sharing his passion for bikes and biking when he teaching safety and riding tips to youth at the Bike Library on many Saturday mornings. He also serves as a resident consultant member of Newport Health Equity Zone Transportation Committee.
Valerie Larkin is a long-time bicycle enthusiast, going back to her undergraduate days at the University of Pennsylvania, when a bike racing friend coerced her into riding centuries. She first came to Newport in 1980 to work for the Navy and to attend graduate school at Brown University. After moving around Rhode Island for a number of years, she was very happy to return to Newport in 2015, especially because her new home is less than five miles from her office. Since then she has been a dedicated bicycle commuter. Valerie’s particular interest is the integral role that bicycles play in sustainable cities and towns. When not on her bicycle, Valerie enjoys tennis, writing, playing music, and being on the water. Renee Kaminitz represents her family and their commitment to improving and encouraging safe cycling in Newport and throughout Aquidneck Island. Since her husband Elliot, a much loved and respected local dentist, was killed on his bicycle in 2012, the Kaminitz family has committed themselves to road sharing safety education. Together with Bike Newport, in 2013 the family created the annual Elliot Kaminitz Father’s Day Ride as a signature event to raise awareness of bicycle safety. Renee looks forward to supporting Newport’s cycling community as part of Bike Newport. Jim Ryan is an attorney with 30+ years of experience as a civil and criminal litigator. He spent much of his career as a criminal prosecutor in NYC and RI, serving as Chief of the Criminal Division in the RI Department of Attorney General for nine years. Biking recreationally is one of the many ways that Jim enjoys Newport. Chip Young is a communications specialist who has worked on environmental issues for over 30 years. He is President of his own media/government/public relations firm, CY Communications, and is a senior fellow at the URI Coastal Institute. His work has included being P.R. Director for Save the Bay, and involvement with the state’s wind turbine siting off the coast of Rhode Island. He is President of the Board of Directors of ecoRI News, and a widely published journalist and opinion/commentary writer. He has been co-author of the “Phillipe and Jorge’s Cool, Cool World” column for 36 years, now appearing in Motif magazine.
Board of Directors
Laura Murphy has been working for the Preservation Society of Newport County for 20 years in the retail division. Laura hooked up with Bike Newport when Trudy Coxe, the Director and CEO of the Preservation Society, asked her to represent them at the meetings. She was impressed by the organization and decided to give 100% of her volunteer time to Bike Newport. Laura is an avid horsewoman, but also rides her bike to and from work. When she lived in Washington D.C., the trek was 12 miles each way. Today it is a mere 3 miles to and from work! But as Laura says it relaxes her, gets in her exercise, and takes one more car off the road.
Paul graduated from Providence College with an accounting degree and has lived on Aquidneck Island since 1985 where he first worked with Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Newport then for NUWC HQ. He is a past president of the Newport Running Club and was on the race committee for the Thanksgiving Day Pie Run for the first 30 years with the last 15 serving as race director. No longer running, he is now an avid cyclist and is pleased to join Bike Newport to advocate for improved cycling infrastructure for both recreation and transportation.
Sarah was a bike commuter early on, biking to school in her hometown of Washington, DC – up to the highest point in the city. When she lived in Southeast Asia with her family, her fondest memories were biking through the rice paddies and back roads of Vientiane, Laos. Sarah has lived and biked in Colorado Springs, Minneapolis, New York, Baton Rouge, and suburban Baltimore, and was never so inspired to get back on a bike as she was when she moved to Newport with her family five years ago. 
Marguerite has been a school nurse teacher for over 25 years on Aquidneck Island and Bristol. As an avid outdoor enthusiast she enjoys biking as a family activity and transportation to work. “Biking enhances our sense of our community, thereby contributing to overall health and wellness. I am excited to be part of Bike Newport.”
Originally from Spain, Lola moved to Rhode Island 14 years ago when she was accepted at URI to study a Masters in Marine Affairs. As a researcher at the Polytechnic University in Barcelona, she has been on a couple of Antartica scientific expeditions and has worked internationally in Latin America on several coastal sustainability and livelihoods projects. As an oceanographer, Lola loves Newport and being surrounded by this beautiful island and sea. She likes to ride her bike in summer as she used to do in La Mancha, Spain when she was a child. She is committed to coastal conservation and would like to make our city a place where everybody feels proud to belong to. 
