Barb Chamberlain on the Past, Present, and Future of Transportation

This one is long but really worth the whole read (or listen!). Active transportation requires an active leader. Barb's one we should be modeling the role after.

I haven’t had the pleasure of working with Barb Chamberlain—yet. As the Active Transportation Director for WSDOT in the Pacific Northwest, Barb’s both lived the life of an advocate and user of active transportation—biking, walking, rolling, and more—and now administers it statewide. Her breadth of expertise is a direct of her experience working in and around safe mobility for many years across many states and through different roles.

Too often my biggest argument is that professional experience does not necessitate expertise (in most cases); a sentence that starts with, “As a …,” and continues, “I’m therefore qualified to command your respect for my opinions on the following…,” almost immediately loses me and I start looking for ways to refute anything written or spoken. As a result, I am naturally skeptical of position as it relates to posture.

Barb Chamberlain is a professional whose opinions are fully based on truth and lived experience—and I had to know more. So I interviewed her,…