ARL

Michelle Brydges is a 25+ year resident of Arlington, Virginia, and her appreciation of her walkable neighborhood of Clarendon is one of many reasons she is working to complete a MPS in Sustainable Urban Planning at George Washington University. Michelle believes improving opportunities for safe, active transportation in all communities is essential for saving lives, moving the needle on climate change, and addressing a range of physical and mental health challenges.

A volunteer since 2018, Michelle currently serves as a board member for the Arlington chapter as well as the regional scale NoVa Families for Safe Streets, a community-based volunteer organization that advocates for improved street safety programs, legislation, and infrastructure for vulnerable road users, with a focus on pedestrian safety.

After starting her career in management consulting, Michelle has spent the majority of the last two decades working primarily in nonprofit leadership roles and raising a family. Her interest in urban planning topics first took root in her 20s, during an “around the world” backpacking trip, and was reignited after wrapping up more than 12 years at environmental nonprofit Conservation International, to provide interim support to her father’s commercial real estate finance business.
Michelle is currently balancing her graduate work with consulting projects. Previously, she was executive director of a small non-profit working to help older Arlington residents “age in place.”
Michelle holds a Bachelor of Science in Commerce from the University of Virginia, with concentrations in Management Information Systems, and Finance. She spends her free time with family and friends, ideally on foot around her neighborhood, or exploring far-flung cities.

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 is an investment banker by trade. He worked at JP Morgan; Charterhouse, Inc. and BHF Bank in Frankfurt Germany. He started his own firm, Novahill Advisors, in 2002 and provides M&A advisory services to Digital Health technologies companies across the U.S. In addition, he is a member of the Housing Affordability Advisory Committee in Alexandria, Virginia. Mike graduated from Villanova University with a B.S. degree and received an MBA from New York University’s Stern Graduate School of Business.

Lucas Henneman is a biker, runner, and walker in Arlington. In his day job, he studies air pollution as an environmental engineering faculty at George Mason University. He is passionate about policies and street design that keep travelers of all modes safe.

Ruth Shearer is a long-time Arlington resident, and for the past 24 years has been committed to improving traffic calming and pedestrian safety measures in the County. As the President of the Williamsburg Civic Association (WCA), she chartered the WCA Traffic & Pedestrian Safety (T&PS) Committee in 2011 to work directly with the County staff and the police department to find solutions to safety challenges in our community. Ruth is also a member of the board of the Arlington Families for Safe Streets, a volunteer organization that advocates for improved street safety.

Hung is a runner, biker and outdoors enthusiast living in Shirlington. As an Urban Planner, he is passionate about finding ways to make streets safer and more accessible to those who walk, roll and bike. Hung has a degree in Urban and Environmental planning from the University of Virginia and five years of experience as a planning consultant. In his spare time, he is a member of Arlington FSS’s Board and enjoys volunteering with Arl FSS and training for his next road race.