Who We Are

Bikes for the World, Board and Staff

CRAIG ANNEAR

Chairman, Craig Annear is a long-time recreational and commuter cyclist, active volunteer for many years in Bike Virginia, member of WABA, and a supporter of bicycle recycling for more than a decade. After 31 years of Federal service, including 21 years at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Craig retired in January 2005. During his time with EPA, Craig served as an Associate General Counsel and Senior Counsel in the Office of General Counsel. Previous federal attorney positions were at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Craig has a law degree from the University of Michigan and an undergraduate degree in Government from Cornell University. He has a long-standing interest in Africa, having first visited in 1966 with Operation Crossroads Africa. Craig lives in McLean VA, with his wife, Sara. They have three grown sons: Chris, Brian, and Alex.

KEITH OBERG

Executive Director and board member, Keith Oberg has led Bikes for the World since its founding. Prior to that, he served as Vice-President and Washington DC Area Coordinator of Pedals for Progress, following a career in international development culminating in 13 years with the Inter-American Foundation (IAF), an independent U.S. Government agency providing grant support to private grassroots development in Latin America and the Caribbean. In 1999, Keith took a leave of absence from the IAF to work with Pedals for Progress and ultimately Bikes for the World, to put into practice some of the insights he gained as a funder, to test the potential of used American bicycles to serve as a catalyst and resource for domestic community volunteer work and community-led development overseas. Keith’s interests in cycling range from the local to the global. A long-time bicycle commuter dating to his early years in Washington DC as a non-car-owning graduate student, he is a former board member of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association and co-founder and past secretary and executive board member of Phoenix Bikes, a youth bike program in Arlington VA. Between 1986 and 1998, Keith served as a member (and chairman, 1992-97) of the board of directors of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, an advocate for environmentally and economically sustainable transportation policies worldwide. Keith holds an M.A. in International Studies from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a B.A. in Political Science and History from Middlebury College. He currently lives in Arlington VA with his wife, Jessica Mott; they have two grown children, Kathryn and Alexander.

JOHN BURG

Board member, John Burg joined the Bikes for the World board in April 2012 and is an avid, life-long cyclist. Specializing in international development and public sector financial management, he currently works in the Office of the Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance in the Department of State. Previously he worked in the U.S Treasury's International Affairs division, Office of Technical Assistance, in Washington DC and iin the Middle East.  His background in the bicycle industry and cycling community is both local and international, non-profit and for-profit. Among other positions held, he has been Program Officer for West Africa and consultant for Haiti with the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy; Program Manager, Handlebar Helpers, a youth earn-a-bike program in Scottsdale AZ; and bike mechanic with several retailers.  He holds a BA in Islamic Civilization from Arizona State University and an MA in Sustainable Development from the School for International Training.  He lives with his wife Heather in Takoma Park MD with their two whippets. Jasper and Pablo.

HELLEN GELBAND

Board member, Hellen Gelband develops global health policy alongside researchers and policy makers from low- and middle-income countries, including those in which Bikes for the World's partners work. She is also a DC-area bicycle commuter. Currently with the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy, Hellen has worked previously for Resources for the Future, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, and the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment. She holds degrees from Pomona College and the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health. Hellen has been on the Bikes for the World Advisory committee since 2005 and a board member since Bikes for the World's incorporation in 2011.

TED HAYNIE

Secretary and board member, Ted Haynie became involved with Bikes for the World by organizing a collection through his work as a school system administrator with the Calvert County Public School System in Southern Maryland. He is a life-long runner and recent convert to recreational cycling. Ted recently completed a 37-year career in public schools and currently teaches in the graduate school for Towson University as well as working as a consultant and national trainer for the School Improvement Network. He received his undergraduate degree from Bowie State University, M. Ed. from the University of Maryland, and Ed. D. from the George Washington University. Ted lives in Solomons, Maryland with his wife, Laurie.

DR. KAREN HENDRIXSON

Board member, Karen Hendrixson joined the Bikes for the World board in April 2012. She is an independent international development consultant specializing in Africa. She has lived in Ghana and Liberia, and has worked or travelled in another eleven African countries. She served six years on the board of The Langley School in McLean VA, where she chaired the Governance Committee and served four years as Vice-Chair/Treasurer. Karen holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, has studied international relations at the London School of Economics, and is a magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, graduate from Brandeis University. She lives in McLean VA with her husband and their three teenagers.

THOMAS MCCARTHY

Board member, Thomas McCarthy has been a Financial Advisor for over 26 years, is an Executive Financial Advisor with Raymond James Financial Services. Previously he was Associate Director of National Youth Work Alliance which established and assisted programs for at-risk youth across the country. His long-term and extensive volunteer work includes Board membership on several non-profit organizations. He is a founding member of the Coordinating Committee of the Cyprus Friendship Program and served in a similar capacity for the Children’s Friendship Project for Northern Ireland for over 15 years. He has been a collection manager for Bikes for the World (and before that Pedals for Progress) every year since 1995.

PATRICK MCCORMICK

Board member, Patrick McCormick is an avid cyclist, who bikes to work in DC year-round and has ridden in numerous endurance events, including Ride the Rockies and a double century down the length of Vermont. Patrick works in fundraising and marketing communications for FINCA International, one of the world’s leading microfinance institutions. FINCA provides small loans and other financial services to nearly one million clients in 21 developing countries. He served previously as Communications Director for League of American Bicyclists and as Marketing Director for Bicycling magazine. Patrick has an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and a B.A. in History from Middlebury College. He speaks Spanish and French, dabbles in other languages and has traveled to over 40 countries. Patrick lives in Falls Church VA with his wife Tracey and their teenaged children Patrick and Amanda.

TOM TEPPER

Board member, Tom Tepper loves to ride on, tinker with, and ogle at bikes. He also likes numbers. From his roots in public accounting, Tom’s career has spanned operational and financial leadership roles in large and small for-profit and for-cause enterprises, including Hendricks Investment Holdings, Discovery Communications, and National Geographic Society, assisting in strategic planning and execution in existing businesses or new initiatives spanning media, hospitality, sports entertainment, and new technologies. From massive marketing and outreach efforts—such as leadership within the International Coastal Cleanup and its parent Ocean Conservancy—to intensive development and acquisition— such as The Nature Company and Discovery Channel Health—Tom has been instrumental in the growth of the enterprises and teams with which he has worked, providing insight and delivering lasting value in companies’ continued delivery on mission and reach towards their vision. Tom is a graduate of The Catholic University of America and a Certified Public Accountant, and has served on a variety of boards in leadership positions, including the Colorado Treasury Management Association and EarthShare. Tom resides in Kensington MD with his wife Kristen, their three daughters, a chocolate lab, and seven bicycles.

GEORGE TYLER

Treasurer and board member, George Tyler is a life-long biker and long-time supporter of Bikes for the World. An economist, George worked on Capitol Hill with Senators Hubert Humphrey and Lloyd Bentsen, and as Senior Economist on the Joint Economic Committee before being appointed by President Clinton as a Treasury deputy assistant secretary. George later served as Counselor at the World Bank where his international expertise supported export promotion. In 1999, George helped establish and later served as a member of the audit committee of the Geneva-based Drugs for Neglected Diseases, a non-governmental organization which develops medicines for diseases of the developing world. He has also been active in the private sector and is author of What Went Wrong (2013), examining the evolution of the American economy in the Reagan era.

NICK COLOMBO

Operations Manager, Nick Colombo joined Bikes for the World in September 2010, following seven years of professional and volunteer work in the Chicago cycling community. Most relevant, Nick served three years as general manager at Working Bikes Cooperative, a Bikes for the World sister organization (and before that as a salaried mechanic and volunteer). Immediately before coming to Bikes for the World, Nick worked a year as head mechanic at a Chicago boutique bike shop. Earlier (2007 and 2008) he led summer youth programs for Chicago's Junior Bicycling Ambassador program. He holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Loyola University.

YVETTE HESS

Outreach Coordinator, Yvette Hess joined Bikes for the World in March 2010 as part-time Office Manager. In 2012 she added Outreach Coordinator responsibilities and came aboard full-time. She previously worked as a Studio Technician for a local news organization and wrote bike related content for the web. A dedicated cyclist and cycling advocate, Yvette has served as Crew Chief (2008-2010) for All Wheels 4 Fibromyalgia, a four-person team participating in the Race Across America, the “World's Toughest Bicycle Race”. She holds a B.A. in Communications from Salisbury University.