Marshall Greene is best known around Central Oregon as the 7x winner of the Pole, Pedal, Paddle multi-sport race, but he’ll be the first to tell you that has nothing to do with why he joined the Board of Commute Options. Having spent many years as part of the lycra-wearing crowd, first as a cross-country ski racer and then as a bike enthusiast, Marshall spent two years in Madison, WI getting his Masters Degree in Population Health. While there, he learned about how a city’s built environment—in particular, it’s streets—can shape the health of a community by improving its fitness, reducing local pollution, and building social capital. While in Madison, Marshall also learned to love the bike paths of Madison by becoming an avid bike commuter. To all the naysayers who think it is too cold in the winter for active transportation in Central Oregon, Marshall recommends a visit to Madison in January to see the lines of people riding in the cold Wisconsin wind and snow.
“I want the streets to be safe for my kids to ride their bikes and and to advocate for vulnerable users of the road. As a healthcare data analyst at a community health center (Mosaic Medical), I also see that many of Central Oregon’s most at-risk populations—people experiencing homelessness, who are out-of-work, or physically disabled—are not able to drive and instead rely upon public transportation and biking to get around. By advocating for safer streets with Commute Options, I hope” to help reduce at least one stress for these Central Oregon residents.”
