Bruce Sawhill, Board President
Dr. Bruce Sawhill is a relative newcomer to the fields of trains and transport, having taken a roundabout course from his education in theoretical physics and music. For the last ten years, he has worked in various aspects of transportation science, from being a founder of the on-demand airline DayJet to modeling future transportation scenarios of the United States for NASA and the FAA. He is currently an Adjunct Professor in Computer Engineering at UCSC and is a member of the Control and Robotics Group where he works on issues related to introducing unmanned and robotic aircraft into the US airspace. Bruce is an avid cyclist and looks forward to the day when he can ride or walk a few blocks to the train corridor and visit many places by bike or rail from there.
Piet Canin, Co-Founder & Board Member
Amelia Conlen, Board Member
Amelia Conlen is the director of People Power, a grassroots bike and pedestrian advocacy organization that has worked to promote alternative transportation in Santa Cruz since 1991. People Power has a long history with the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail Network project, and was instrumental in building community and political support for the RTC’s purchase of the rail corridor. Amelia holds a degree in urban planning from the University of Washington, with a focus on bike and pedestrian planning and community development, and has studied bike planning in Portland and the Netherlands. In addition to serving on the FORT board, she is a member of the Climate Action Technical Working Group for the City of Santa Cruz.
Eric Horton, Board Member
Eric was born and raised in Santa Barbara. His father, an administrator at UCSB, served two terms on the City Council and has been a great public servant and an inspiration for Eric. Eric’s been a lifelong cyclist and started riding centuries in Jr. High, continuing to race all through high school. He holds a BFA in Industrial Design. Eric worked at Fox Racing in the mid 90′s where he developed their first line of mountain bike gloves and clothing. He moved to Aptos in ’99 and worked at Specialized Bicycles where he was a senior product designer for 8 years. Eric has been with Giro since 2007. He started as senior product designer and has moved onto being the Creative Director for which he oversees design for all categories of products from helmets and shoes to gloves and Giro’s new apparel line.
Eric has also been serving on the RTC bicycle committee for 4 years representing District 2. The highlight of his service on the committee was working with the county, the RTC and PVUSD on implementing new crosswalks, new signage, in-class bicycle safety classes, a new concrete bike pad with 24 bike racks and a robust Bike to School day program at Rio Del Mar Elementary school.
Paul Schoellhamer, Board Member
Served for many years as professional staff in the US House of Representatives, specializing in transportation and environmental issues. Positions held included Chief of Staff of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Vice President first of Republic Airlines and then of Northwest Airlines. Partner in the Washington law firm of Zuckert, Scoutt & Rasenberger, focusing on transportation and competition law and policy. Now retired.
David Wright, Co-Founder & Board Member
Dave one of the founders of Santa Cruz County Friends of the Rail & Trail and served as the Board President for the first seven years of the organization’s inception. Dave is also the Director of the San Lorenzo Valley Recycling and Redemption Centers and has over 20 years of management and communications experience with companies ranging from Yamaha to the American Red Cross. He holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration, is bilingual Spanish, and is a Rotary International Scholar. In recent years Dave has spent his spare time coaching high school basketball and teaching multimedia development at Cabrillo College. He and his wife have two children and have lived in Santa Cruz County since 1991.
