Staff
(401) 619-4900 (401) 619-4900 Isabel is managing the launch of RI Waves the statewide expansion of the Newport Waves road safety campaign targeted to pedestrians, bicycles and motorists. She brings more than 15 years of marketing experience to Bike Newport and has developed campaigns to help organizations build their brands and engage new audiences. She has a specialty in digital and social media communications. Isabel met the Bike Newport team on the inaugural Bridge Bike Shuttle ride, a pilot service to transport bicyclists safely across the Newport and Jamestown Bridges. In a short time, she has become a regular bike commuter. She is excited to be applying her marketing communication skills to expand the Newport Waves campaign to all communities in Rhode Island. Feel free to contact Isabel at isabel@bikenewportri.org, (401) 619-4900 or sign-up to receive the RI Waves email alerts. (401) 619-4900 (401) 619-4900 (401) 619-4900 Bike Garage Educator
Educators
Bike Newport Volunteer of the Year in 2015, Pat is always generous with his time and spirit. Pat can be found nearly 365 days of the year on an assortment of road, folding, fat tire, and mountain bikes. If there’s a Bike Newport ride, chances are that Pat is happily sweeping. In addition to being an avid cyclist, Pat loves to sail for fun and in all the local regattas. A retired NUWC Systems Engineer, Pat lives in Middletown with his wife, Janet. He has two grown boys, both engineers, and four grandchildren with a fifth on the way.
Floater
Bike Garage Educator
Bike Garage Educator
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
Sarah grew up in Providence and started cycling in the MS150 rides when she was 13. Since building her own bike in 2006 at an organization similar to Bike Newport in Montreal, she has become increasingly involved in the bike industry. She has held jobs as a pedicab driver, mechanic, bicycle tour guide, courier, advocate and product ambassador since leaving her biology job in 2011. She has toured extensively around North and South America and races cyclocross and occasional triathlons. She writes about her adventures on her website, nomadiccycling.com. 
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. Leonora Valvo has entrepreneur in her DNA. A two-time venture capital-raising tech entrepreneur, Valvo has an enviable talent: the ability to recognize industry gaps and to solve for the “why-can’t-we-just-do-x” problems in it. She creates dynamic companies that inspire people to quit other jobs to work for her – and it’s not for the cool offices, free snacks and ping pong tables (her current employees work remotely from around the globe!). She launched her current company, Swoogo, in 2015 and moved to Newport in April, 2018. She is passionate about her 4 kids, learning to sail, cars and helping make the planet a more hospitable place to live. Leonora discovered road cycling in 2012 in Westport CT. After moving to Newport she noticed a disparity in cyclist awareness and bike routes. As an avid champion for the environment and healthfulness Leonora is excited to help continue the great work at Bike 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
A retired Navy Captain, Don Jagoe has made Newport home since 1995. He has served on the Boards of the Newport Art Museum, the Armed Forces YMCA, the Island Moving Company and is a past President of the Newport PhotoGuild and the Castle Hill Neighborhood Association. A committed and enthusiastic road cyclist, Don is extremely pleased to join Bike Newport to work on improving cycling and sustainable infrastructure on Aquidneck Island.[/three_fourth_last]
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. 
