Who is SABA?

Owen Howlett
President

Owen has taught courses on traffic cycling skills and bicycle maintenance to adults and children since 2000.  He has taught students to negotiate the busy streets of his native London , England , where he worked as an instructor with Cycle Training Ltd.  Owen moved to Troy , NY in 2002 and worked with Troy Bike Rescue, helping local children and teenagers build their own bikes from salvaged parts. He came to Sacramento in 2003, joined SABA , qualified as a League Certified Instructor and taught Sacramento 's first regular Bike Education courses in 2005.  He joined the board of Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates in 2006.  In the same year he helped to establish the Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen. 

Owen commutes by bike and light rail to his job in Fair Oaks, where he works for the Heschong Mahone Group, conducting engineering research on energy-efficient buildings for the California utilities and the California Energy Commission.  His specialties are efficient electric lighting and daylighting systems.  He owns the world's lickiest dog, who has learned "left" and "right" and accompanies him on rides to the grocery store.

Charles McCann

Vice President

Lea is a charter member of SABA , which was formed in 1991. She was initially elected chair in 1997 and president in 2003 when SABA incorporated. She was termed off the board in 2009 under conditions of SABA ’s bylaws, but is thrilled to be back on the board after a one-year break.

Lea has been an avid bicyclist since being inspired by Earth Day in 1972 when she was a high school student growing up in San Luis Obispo . She began bicycling to school several days a week and has been a bike enthusiast ever since. She met her husband, Skip Amerine, also a charter member of SABA and former director, in the San Luis Obispo Bicycle Club.

She commutes to work from her home in Rancho Cordova – a round trip of 42 miles – primarily on the American River Parkway bike trail.

She is also a charter member of the Sacramento City-County Bicycle Advisory Committee, which was created by the Board of Supervisors and City Council in 1996 to advise them on implementation of the Bikeway Master Plan and other bicycle issues.

Lea has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo . A former reporter and trade publication editor, she is currently assistant director of communications for the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, part of the California Environmental Protection Agency.

She also enjoys bicycle racing and touring. Her adventures include riding across America in 1976, several tours in Europe and numerous trips in California , Oregon , Washington and Canada .

Scott Clark

Director

Scott is a Project Manager for the Local Government Commission, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization that supports local elected officials and other community leaders who are working to create healthy, walkable, and resource-efficient communities throughout California. Scott's work focuses on improving public health by increasing opportunities for active living through sustainable transportation and land use planning. He holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Arizona.

Scott is a daily bicycle commuter and also enjoys pedaling up steep hills and the occasional race.

Chris Davis-Murai
Director

Prior to opening the Bicycle Chef, owner Christopher Davis-Murai has been a busy guy.

• Graduate of Culinary Institute of America
• 12 years as a professional chef
• 18 years road racing
• 5 years cyclecross
• 3 years mountain bike racing
• 2 years track tracing

Christopher is originally from Elk Grove and after years cruising the country in either kitchens or on a bike, he has settled in Land Park with his wife Jennifer of five years. Their first little biker babe was born on December 22, 2006.

Whether it’s commuting, mountain biking, self-contained touring or an occasional racing lark, Yvette enjoys many forms of bicycling. She’s been a bicycle commuter and advocate for 25 years. She’s volunteered for Bike to Work Day events in San Diego since 1992, organized the first San Diego State University Bike Commute event and continues to be a pedal pool leader. She served as a volunteer mechanic for the Arcata Library Bike program and hopes that if you ever rode one of the bikes she repaired, you arrived at your destination without incident or regret.

A resident of West Sacramento, Yvette looks forward to working for the benefit of current and future cyclists in this currently underserved area. She plans to work with local leaders and the business community to design and plan for better connectivity and infrastructure to support bicycling as a parallel mode of travel to vehicles in this remarkable flat landscape.

Growing up in the heart of Los Angeles , Matt learned to enjoy being an urban bike rider at a very early age. He came to the Sacramento area to attend U.C. Davis, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Renewable Natural Resources.

Matt was a recycling advocate as the Executive Director of Californians Against Waste, where he directed the Proposition 11 "Bottle Bill" statewide initiative campaign in 1982. He also served as Campaign Director for Proposition 18, the successful $370 million Park and Recreation Bond Act on the June 1984 statewide ballot.

Matt founded, and for 27 years was the President of Matt Kuzins and Kumpany, which created fundraising mailings that raised millions of dollars each year for nonprofit organizations and ballot measure campaigns. He commuted by bike daily to his downtown office.

When he’s not on his bike, Matt spends time traveling with his wife Nanci and playing keyboards, guitars and drums in various rock and roll bands.

Stanley Leff is a Family Physician with Sutter Medical Group in Roseville , California . He has been practicing in the Citrus Heights-Roseville area for over 25 years. While in Medical School in Houston , Texas , he often cycled to class, and in moving to Sacramento , took up cycling again for recreation and for fitness. He is currently a member of the Sacramento Wheelmen and in addition to riding with his club, has taken numerous bicycle vacations in the US , Canada , and Europe . He is interested in promoting safe cycling, helping to increase more bicycle friendly paths and streets, and encouraging people to increase their exercise, on or off a bicycle, for their health.

A Sacramento native, Ryan works as the information technology manager for a local retirement plan administrator. After the bike ride home, one might find him wrenching at the Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen or possibly pedaling a squealing and overloaded mountain bike home from the grocery store, or even cannon-balling through midtown traffic to make it to yoga on time.

Ryan is not one to be labeled a bike messenger, mountain bike rider, or road racer. Ryan was introduced to the world of bicycle advocacy by fellow riders in an undergraduate California State University Sacramento class called “Politics of the Under-Represented.” Through class participation and networking, Ryan became involved in Sacramento Critical Mass, discovered an intimate knowledge of California Vehicle Code section 21202, the Bicycle Kitchen, fundraising rides like AIDS/LifeCycle, and, of course SABA.

He harbors mixed feelings about Lycra, doesn’t always come to a complete stop at stop signs, and frequently just takes the lane.

Dennis’ first lessons in the reality of bicycling were learned as a high school junior while delivering stationary supplies by bicycle in and around downtown San Jose in the early 70’s. Those experiences taught him how to behave and survive in traffic. Later in life, he bicycled daily to class as a Natural Resources Management major at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California. In his senior year, he commuted to his internship at the San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District. It was there in San Luis Obispo he learned the meaning of “hill”.

After graduating with a Bachelor’s of Science degree and a short stint in the world of environmental consulting, Dennis relocated to Sacramento and went to work for the California Air Resources Board in 1985. In 1989, he began commuting to work by bicycle; first from South Natomas, and later from Folsom and Carmichael.

Dennis is currently in his 25th year as an Air Pollution Specialist in the Air Quality and Transportation Planning Branch of the Air Resources Board. There he is focused on helping to implement Senate Bill 375 (Steinberg, statues of 2009 relating to transportation plans and land use), and is the leadperson for transportation conformity under the Federal Clean Air Act.

Dennis continues to commute to downtown Sacramento as time permits, and enjoys cycling on the American River Bike Trail. Dennis lives in Carmichael with his wife Lisa.