Walt Custer, Bike Mechanic
Nate Hallquist, Assistant Bike Mechanic
Lloyd Lucas, Assistant Bike Mechanic
Tammy Carson, Assistant Bike Mechanic
Cody Sullivan: Motivation Leader
Harrison Steinbrecher: Music Coordinator
Griffin Carroll: Transition Leader
Milo Pages Russo: Therapy Dog
The People of Bike First!
Ann Donaca: Director & Founder, annbikefirst@gmail.com,
503-816-6568Angela Vossenkul: Business Director, angelabikefirst@gmail.com, 503-708-3236
Beth Madison: Finance Manager, bikefirstfunding@gmail.com
Bobbi Sullivan: Rider & Volunteer Coordinator, Floor Director, bobbibikefirst@gmail.com
Heather Hunt: Rider & Volunteer Coordinator, Leader, heatherbikefirst@gmail.com
Dave Stewart: Safety Director, Behavior Coordinator, davebikefirst@gmail.com
Owen McLafferty: Assistant Safety Director, Leader, owenbikefirst@gmail.com
Sammy Carey: Assistant Safety & Social Emotional Director, Leader, sammybikefirst@gmail.com
Emma Flynn: Floor Director, emmabikefirst@gmail.com
Parker Lemm: Media Coordinator, parkerbikefirst@gmail.com
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Cody Sullivan
Cody is the inspiration behind Bike First! He is our lead motivator and everyone’s best friend. Cody was the first person with Down syndrome in the state of Oregon to graduate from a university in 2018. This news spread throughout the world as it went viral to many different countries. Cody is a strong advocate for marginalized populations and has shared his first-hand knowledge of an inclusive life as a person with a disability. Most recently, Cody has been a participant on Oregon and National Safe Routes to School panels as an expert in the inclusion of people with disabilities. He supports the Portland Trail Blazers, the University of Oregon Ducks, and MANY other sports teams. Cody has been described as "pure joy".
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Ann Donaca
Inspired by her son Cody’s struggle to learn to ride, Ann is the director and one of the two founding organizers of Bike First!., in addition to a rewarding and demanding schedule as vice principal of Multnomah Learning Academy. As an advocate for people with disabilities, Ann has shared her knowledge with hundreds of people. Ann has recently participated in Oregon and National Safe Routes to School panels as an expert in including people with disabilities. Ann handles fundraising and community advocacy and customizes the skills balance in each camp.
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Dr. Angela Vossenkuhl
A dedicated mother and educator, Angela is the business manager for Bike First! and the interim chair of the College of Education at Eastern Oregon University. Since meeting Cody Sullivan as a baby, Angela has diligently advocated for people with disabilities. She led the team to create an inclusive program at Concordia University, Portland, for Cody to graduate from college. Angela is dedicated to educating others about inclusion in general education and manages t-shirts, participant gifts, and commemorative photos.
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Beth Madison
Beth is a retired public school principal and serves as the finance manager for Bike First! and the treasurer of Northwest Disability Support, the fiscal agent for Bike First!. Beth helps procure funding by writing grants and seeking donors and sponsors. She runs the front desk during the camp, manages the online administrative systems and website, helps develop vision, and does whatever is needed to continue to drive Bike First! into the future.
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Bobbi Sullivan
Bobbi received her undergraduate degree in Behavioral Psychology from Saint Mary’s College of California in 2020. She has worked for Bike First! since it began in 2006 and is Cody’s younger sister. Currently, Bobbi is a teacher in Portland and a professional artist. Bobbi wears many hats for Bike First!. She is a floor director and works year-round as a rider & volunteer ordinator.
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Heather Hunt
Heather has been with the Bike First! family since 2016. She is a leader and works year-round as a rider & volunteer coordinator. Heather completed her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education at Oregon State in June 2022 and her master's degree in special education at Portland State University. Heather currently works as a special education teacher in Portland.
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Walt Custer
Walt has been part of the Bike First! family since its birth in 2005. He transports the bikes to Portland, Oregon, from Sonoma, California, each summer. Walt is our bike mechanic extraordinaire. He not only ensures that riders’ bikes have the best fittings, but he tunes up the entire fleet for each family. Walt is our hero.
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Nate Hallquist
Nate is an assistant bike mechanic for Bike First! and has lived in Portland for 18 years. After serving in the Navy for six years, he came to the Pacific NW and worked in the semiconductor industry for over 16 years. Nate has always enjoyed working with his hands, building and fixing things. Nate looks forward to Bike First! every year as an opportunity to help people get their bikes ready and safe for the road. Nate is currently a stay-at-home dad of three children he adopted in 2016 with his wife, Tiffy. They love being part of the Bike First! family.
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Lloyd Lucas
Lloyd is a retired Heavy Equipment Mechanic and Equipment Manager who joined Bike First! in 2024. He volunteers year-round with United Cerebral Palsy, fixing bikes to help fund bicycle events connected to UCP. Lloyd is motivated by the expressions of joy when riders learn to ride with confidence.
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Tammy Carson
Tammy is a Registered Nurse who is a caring and compassionate caregiver on and off the clock. She enjoys bikes, hikes, and traveling to new and exciting places. Tammy jumped into the Bike First! family in 2024 when she saw the need to coordinate multiple processes and proved herself to be a valuable asset to the Bike First! program.
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Emma Flynn
Emma (she/her) has been with Bike First! family since 2009. She volunteered and led for several years before starting as a floor director in 2018. Emma is passionate about inclusion, thanks to Bike First!, and works in year-round adaptive outdoor recreation. If you see Emma at camp, make sure to give her a crisp high-five or show her your favorite dance move!
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Dave Stewart
Dave is the safety director and behavior coordinator for Bike First!. He has been working with Bike First! since 2016. Dave is passionate about inclusion and cycling. His daily bike commute is 38 miles to his teaching job as an elementary behavior specialist in the Oregon City School District. With his oldest son, he puppeteers. He is a native Oregonian and lives with his wife, two sons, and two German shepherds. Combining cycling, teaching, and puppets makes Bike First! Dave’s favorite week of the year.
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Owen McLafferty
Owen started volunteering for Bike First! as a fourth grader in 2007 and is the assistant safety director and a leader for Bike First!. After graduating from the University of Oregon in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Business, he has pursued a career in operations and now lives and works in the Portland area. Owen loves sneakers, music, and sports. He also coaches baseball at his alma mater, Grant High School.
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Sammy Carey
Sammy (she/her) joined the Bike First! family in 2017. She is a leader and a part of the safety team. Sammy has an undergraduate degree in Kinesiology and is trained in behavior support and crisis intervention. She now works at an elementary school as a behavior learning specialist. Her secret talents are her top-notch Voldemort impression and her ability to never run out of dad jokes!
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Parker Lemm
Parker is a senior in high school who plays lacrosse and is already committed to playing at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She loves to be outside, and when she started volunteering with the disability community, she fell in love with the warm and welcoming environment. Parker loves to hang out and capture fun moments to post on social media. She is a first-year media coordinator and will post on Facebook (annbikefirst) and Instagram (bike_first_bike_on). Make sure to show her your biggest smile if you see her!
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Harrison Steinbrecher
My name is Harrison Steinbrecher and I was a participant in June 2007. I'm the DJ. It's so much fun to be the DJ and be able to play what the riders want. If you have a request, send me an email to hjhs4694@gmail.com and I can put it together for you. I enjoy doing the bike camp and making friends with this camp. In my spare time, I work as a nutrition services assistant for Portland Public Schools. I'm currently at Ainsworth Elementary School. I like to camp and travel.
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Griffin Carroll
Griffin first participated in Bike First! at age 9 and again at age 10, and then returned as a volunteer (along with his brother Myles) when was 18. He LOVES the tandem bikes and still appreciates the tandem Walt altered for extra safety. Griff loves being part of the Bike First! team because the leaders make the experience safe and fun for everyone. Griffin loves singing karaoke. He is also a huge sports fan, particularly loves to play basketball and soccer and is a proud player on this year’s Timbers Unified team. When not playing sports, he enjoys playing games and watching superhero movies.
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Milo Pages Russo
Milo Pages Russo is an 18-month-old Australian Labradoodle who is pursuing his therapy dog certification. He enjoys playing with his soccer ball, playing Frisbee with his big dog sister, and snuggling with his human family members. His favorite food is peanut butter.
Bike First! Leaders
Bike First! leaders are skilled cycling instructors trained to work with people with disabilities. They form groups that support the riders, assigning them according to their interests and abilities. Many of our leaders have been working for Bike First! for years and have gone on to become educators. They are the backbone of our program.
Bike First! Volunteers
Bike First! volunteers are called “spotters”. Their job is to work with the riders by running with them, helping them if they start to fall, cheering them on, and supporting their group leader. Many are high school students working for volunteer hours, children of our staff, siblings and other family members of our riders, and former Bike First! riders. We love our volunteers!
What Our Volunteers Say
“I just wanted to say I had the best time at camp. I got so much more out of it than I would have ever expected! I’ve never worked with kids with disabilities before, and I thought I wouldn’t be able to be good at it because I’m impatient, but I ended up genuinely having so much fun. This camp has opened up my heart so much and I’m so grateful to have experienced this week. Thank you so much!”
— Emma, Volunteer Spotter
Bike First! was one of the coolest things I have ever done. It truly inspired me to be so much more in the moment and choose happiness and love in my everyday life. It has shown me confidence and given me a certain determination to help my community, take risks, and try new things. Working with kids has always been a passion of mine, and Bike First! helped me prove to myself that I belong working alongside and with not just kids, but people.
— Volunteer Spotter for Many Years
"Five years ago, during the latter days of June 2015, my father dropped off fourteen-year-old me outside the doors of Concordia University’s gym. The night before, a Sunday, I attended an orientation meeting for all volunteers participating in the Bike First! summer camp. The camp itself is unlike any other throughout the country. Bike First! targets a specific demographic: those who are differently-abled; these disabilities can be cognitive, physical, or behavioral. During the camp, youth and adults embark on a life-altering journey as they learn how to ride a bike. Volunteers provide the skills necessary to ride a two-wheeler while developing inexpressible relationships with their assigned riders. I’d like you, the reader, to pause for just one moment and imagine what fifteen-year-old Noah was thinking: a young, inexperienced teen who, prior to this camp, possessed no tangible experience working with people with disabilities. As I walked through those gym doors on that Monday in late June, my life was unequivocally changed. I can assert that my volunteering at Bike First! is one of the most salient reasons behind my continued development as a human being.
Before I began volunteering for Bike First!, I’m not ashamed to admit that I certainly failed to realize the necessity and subsequent implementation of inclusion. Bike riding is a mundane concept; myriad people take this life-changing experience for granted. You and I learned to bike for a plethora of reasons: becoming independent, the ability to hang out with friends and family, to have a mode of transportation. Each biker, before attending camp, is required to complete a questionnaire. Towards the end of the application, there is a question that has led me to routinely ruminate deeply on the meaning of this work: “Why does your child want to ride?” Many of the answers to this question have brought me close to tears; all of them are centered upon one thing: the concept of normalcy. For some, it’s wanting to be like their brother or sister. For others, they long to play with friends without having to have their parents commute with them. And for even more, they just want to be like everyone else. Throughout the entirety of their lives, many of these children have been embattled with constant differences and societal exclusion. Getting on the bike is an indescribably large first step, an opportunity that I’m immensely appreciative to help them achieve. At the end of camp, to see them ride with smiles while their parents are reduced to tears or joyfully yelling at the top of their lungs. This is why I volunteer.
I have dedicated approximately 235 hours to this camp. When I began volunteering at Bike First!, I was an untested, eager teen; I wanted to make an impact within this program. I had participated in a variety of programs and volunteering commitments before this initiative began, but I’d never experienced something like this program which has continually forced me to grow. Midway through my first year, I had several lead volunteers talk privately with me; they informed me that I possessed a unique ability to connect with the campers. After that conversation, I promised myself that I’d learn everything there was on how to best connect with these youth, and by extension, foster inclusion within my own community. Each year I gradually improved my skills; my experiences throughout the years, both beneficial and negative, deepened my perspective and allowed me to better serve the riders I taught. In year four, I became a QuickStart leader; QuickStart children begin mid-way through the camp, as they’ve already developed some of the skills necessary to ride. This experience gave me a taste and a newfound passion for working alongside individuals with disabilities.
This past June, the leader cohort nominated me to become a full-time leader for this year’s camp. I was in charge of working with five riders and over 10 volunteers. I was the sole communicator to the parents on their child’s progress, taught them how to handle lessons following the conclusion of camp, and was the first point of contact for my riders. I’m proud to state that all five of my participants made it onto two wheels, yet I attribute all of the credit to the sheer dedication and drive they exhibited. For several of the riders, it was a struggle. Tantrums were had, crying occurred, and there were slip-ups along the way. Nevertheless, we persisted. One child I worked with refused to touch the bike and had massive outbursts all throughout the camp; on the final day, my team and I were able to coax him onto the bike, upon which he began smiling and rode around with his sister. I collapsed into his mother’s arms, overwhelmed with emotion. This is why I volunteer.
My life, and future goals, are radically different than they were five years ago. I met one of my friends through this program, Cody Sullivan; he recently was the first person with Down syndrome in the state of Oregon’s history to graduate from a four-year university. I promised myself two years ago that once I complete college and enter the workforce, I would adopt a young child with Down syndrome. These are just a few of myriad examples of the changes that have occurred throughout my life. I will continue to devote my time to this camp every summer into the foreseeable future, as these children are living proof of the power of commitment and volunteering. I’ve known several of the participants for all five years of my tenure, and it’s been an absolute blessing to grow alongside them."