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Our Staff
Core Staff
Laura Istead
Executive Director
Laura spent most of her childhood moving around with her family across Western Canada and central Europe. One of her favourite memories of that time was when her Grade 5 class went on a week-long cycling expedition in the Swiss Alps, sleeping in a castle, a cave and a Swiss army bunker. She hold as BA of Geography and a MA in Environmental Education and Communications as well as Public Relations and Social Media Certificates from Mount Royal University. Laura is passionate about organizational culture, creativity and storytelling and is always looking for resources to support the TWV team and participants. She started at TWV in 2010 and continued her adventure as Executive Director in July 2017.
Pat Lennox
Director of Finance
Pat was born and raised in Calgary, where he grew up enjoying a wide variety of sports and outdoor pursuits. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the U of Alberta and a Chartered Professional Accountant designation. His professional experience includes time spent with a big 4 accounting firm, as well as managing the financial planning and analysis team with a publicly traded energy services company. In addition to his role at TWV, he teaches and develops educational content for the CPA West School of Business. Pat is an avid traveler, having visited close to 30 countries, with plans to do more (from the seat of a bike of course!) His cycling story began at 3 years old when he took off his training wheels and promptly knocked out a couple of teeth. Undeterred, Pat continued to love cycling and whether commuting or building community, he is a firm believer in using two wheels rather than four.
Thom Hoff
Program Development Manager
Thom grew up in the foothills of the Rockies, chasing freedom on two wheels or two planks. He completed a BA in Sociology at the University of Victoria where he also came to know the bicycle as form or transportation and a way of life. Two wheels took him on many adventures across North America in pursuit of wild places. Bringing this passion back to Calgary, he became a certified bike mechanic and enjoyed the bliss of wrenching on bicycles in a small community shop for several years. Two Wheel View entered his life in 2016 when began working with the Beltline Bike Club in downtown Calgary. Since then he has been working at TWV full time and is the creator and co-facilitator of the GAP program. He is excited about the expanding opportunities to use the bike to spread joy and empower youth.
Hank Hansen
TWV Bike Shop Manager
Hank is a Canadian transplant and native Californian who moved to Calgary in January 2016. His first bike tour involved racks held on with duct tape, sleeping in roadside bushes and a very awkward ride in a police car. He was 18, and has been hooked on bike adventures ever since.
Hank graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN with a degree in English/Creative Writing. It was there that he also began to learn the art of bike repair, thanks to the university's awesome campus bike co-op, MacBike. Since that time, Hank has been working almost exclusively in the bike industry as a mechanic and service writer, at different shops in Northern California and Calgary. His passion for bikes is perhaps best represented by the number of bikes in his house at any given time: typically 15-20, including his bikes, those belonging to his partner Shasta, and other bikes being refurbished for fun, fixed for friends or displayed as 'art' on the walls. Hank is equally at home commuting across town or bikepacking through the wilderness; he's stoked to get the opportunity to share his passion for riding and repairing bikes with the next generation of cyclists at Two Wheel View.
Micaela Widmer
Fundraising and Social Enterprise Manager
Micaela was born and raised in Calgary. She went to the University of Calgary and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Culture. Micaela spent over a decade as a competitive skeleton athlete. She competed internationally for both Canada and Switzerland, finishing her athletic career ranked top twelve in the world. After working in the public and private sector, Micaela realized that she wants her career to make a positive impact in the community she lives in and knew that the non-profit space would be the best fit. While not an avid cyclist, Micaela believes in the power of sport and is passionate about making sure that all kids have the opportunity to be active. She knows the values that the Two Wheel View programs teaches to participants are not only about the bikes, but are integral to empowering youth.
When she isn't at Two Wheel View, Micaela can be found trackside, coaching skeleton athletes around the world, ranging from rookies to Olympians. She also spends a lot of her free time volunteering as an athlete ambassador at KidSport Calgary.
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