The Alexandria Team


    • Elena Caudle Hutchison
      Self-employed
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      Elena Hutchison lives in Alexandria and is a parent who navigates her community by car and cargo bike. She serves on the board of the Del Ray Citizens Association and helped revive its Traffic Calming Committee. Professionally, she runs a strategy consultancy for B2B tech companies and previously served as Chief Strategy Officer at Medallia.


    • Mike Doyle
      Founder & Executive Director
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      Mike is a crash survivor after the driver of an SUV crashed into Mike as he was walking in a crosswalk. Six months after being released from the hospital he founded Alexandria Families for Safe Streets (AFSS) in 2017, Arlington Families for Safe Street (Arl FSS – 2019) and Fairfax Families for Safe Streets (Ffx FSS – 2020). In 2022 the Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets (NoVA FSS) entity was established as the not-for-profit 501.c3 umbrella organization for all three NoVA FSS chapters. All three chapters are dedicated to building an awareness of, and support for, safe streets in our community where all people can walk, cycle, and drive safely and seek to eliminate traffic-related pedestrian fatalities and injuries on our streets.

      Mike initiated the concept of a “Near Miss” survey application for people to report near miss incidents where they were almost crashed into by a driver of a vehicle and/or report a dangerous location on our streets. With the stories of crash survivors or families who lost a loved one to a crash combined with the crowd sourcing Near Miss data, NoVA FSS advocates for policymakers to invest in vulnerable road users’ safety on our roads.

      Mike had been an investment banker by trade. He worked at JP Morgan; Charterhouse, Inc.; BHF Bank in Frankfurt Germany and started his own firm, Novahill Advisors, in 2002. He retired from Novahill Advisors in 2025 to work full time on NoVA FSS matters. In addition, he served as a member of Alexandria City’s Housing Affordability Advisory Committee for 9 years .

      Mike graduated from Villanova University with a B.S. degree and received an MBA from New York University’s Stern Graduate School of Business.


    • Dane Lauritzen
      Department of Veterans Affairs
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      Dane is a resident, pedestrian, biker, and commuter who lives in the City of Alexandria and works for the Federal Government in Washington DC. Dane believes that by improving the public infrastructure for pedestrians and bikers, the City can become a safer and more enjoyable place for all roadway users. Dane also serves as a volunteer member on the Alexandria Building Code Board of Appeals.


    • Melissa McMahon
      Member & Professional Planner
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      Melissa McMahon, AICP MPH, has worked for Arlington County Transportation for over a decade, first as a contractor and now as staff. She currently serves as manager of the parking and curbspace program. Her prior work includes overseeing transportation demand management (TDM) in new development projects, managing the County’s TDM research program, helping to run Capital Bikeshare, and leading major pilot programs and policy development for shared- and micro-mobility.
      Before coming to Arlington, Melissa worked as a land use and environmental planning consultant in California for four years. She serves on the City of Alexandria’s Planning and Transportation Commissions and is raising a “fantastic threenager” at home. Melissa is honored to serve on the board of Alexandria Families for Safe Streets.


    • Katia Nilender
      Human Resources, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
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      Katia Nilender is the Recruiting Operations Lead at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where she manages the internship program. Her professional background includes talent acquisition roles at The Walt Disney Company and Louis Vuitton. Katia is a SHRM-Certified Professional. She also volunteers her time to assist refugees with employment.


    • Dr. Christian Paletta
      Member and Physician in Medical and Public Health
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      Chris Paletta has lived in Alexandria for twelve years and has enjoyed the walkability, bikeability, and easy access of Old Town. He, his wife Blair, and their golden retriever Odell have personally experienced several near-misses from automobiles and witnessed too many preventable crashes on local streets. Driver inattention and distraction, failure to yield to pedestrians, driver disregard for stop signs and stop lights, and speeding are challenges that must be addressed if Alexandria is to be a safe and welcoming community for residents, workers, and visitors.
      Chris trained in general and reconstructive surgery at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Emory University. Over the course of his 40-year professional career, he has treated hundreds of individuals harmed by natural and manmade traumatic events. These include firearm injuries in Atlanta, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, road accidents and burns in Rwanda, vehicular crashes in St. Louis, combat wounded at Walter Reed, and more. He now serves at the Department of HHS as a contract specialist in burns and trauma.

      Chris is honored to serve on the Board of Alexandria Families for Safe Streets.


    • Brian Shankman
      Retired
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      Brian Shankman serves as Treasurer, and Alexandria FSS Representative for NoVA FSS. He is a retired professional and dedicated advocate for safe streets. Now living in Old Town Alexandria. Brian spent most of his career in travel-related industries, has walked in all 50 US states and dozens of countries. Prior to moving to Alexandria, he resided in pedestrian-friendly cities, such as London, as well as several car-friendly cities in Texas. He is an avid walker. Brian holds a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Texas and an MBA from the University of Dallas. He enjoys playing and teaching piano and traveling the world.Brian holds a masters degree in mathematics from the University of Texas and an MBA from the University of Dallas. He enjoys playing and teaching piano along with traveling the world.