WASHINGTON — A Port Townsend man was among 11 people from throughout the nation to receive a “Champions of Change” medal at the White House on Tuesday.
Dan Burden — the director of the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute at 2023 E. Sims Way, No. 121 — and 10 others received the award for “Champions of Change” in transportation issues.
“For more than 35 years, he has worked to inspire leaders in 3,500 cities on ways to design cities for people first, still accommodating the auto,” the White House said in a statement.
“His work helps define the future of transportation and is now celebrated with thousands of new innovations giving full support to walking, bicycling, transit and living in place, driving less, enjoying life more.”
Research has found that social mobility varies by geography and that poor transportation access is a factor preventing lower-income Americans from gaining higher-income levels than their parents, the White House said, adding that transportation is critical to connecting people with jobs.
Others receiving the award are Josh Baker of Blacksburg, Va., general manager of Radford Transit New River Valley Community Services; Evelyn Blumenberg of Los Angeles, professor and chair of urban planning, UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs; Anthony Chiarello of Princeton, N.J., president and CEO of TOTE, the first maritime company in the U.S. to convert its entire fleet to natural gas; Greer Gillis of Washington, D.C., area manager of Parsons Brinckerhoff; and Marilyn Golden of Berkeley, Calif., senior policy analyst, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund.
Also, Daphne Izer of Lisbon, Maine, founder of Parents Against Tired Truckers; Flavio Leo of Newtown, Mass., deputy director of Aviation Planning and Strategy with the Massachusetts Port Authority; Susan Park Rani of Minneapolis, president of Rani Engineering; “Big John” Smith of Fort Washakie, Wyo., director of the Division of Transportation for the Shoshone and Arapaho tribes of the Wind River Reservation; and Wanda Vazquez of Chicago, regional traffic safety liaison with Rincon Family Services.
For more information about the White House “Champions of Change” program, visit www.whitehouse.gov/champions.
For more information about the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute, visit www.walklive.org or phone 360-385-3421.
