Cascade Bicycle Club and its sister organization Washington Bikes have named Lee Lambert as executive director. Lambert, who currently serves as executive director of City Year Seattle/King County, joins Cascade following a long career in state and federal politics and nonprofit leadership focused on education, inclusivity and youth empowerment.

A lifelong lover of bikes for transportation, recreation and fitness, and a four-time finisher of Cascade’s Seattle to Portland ride, Lambert officially starts work on September 12.

“As an active bicyclist and follower of state and local government, I have seen the impact that Cascade and Washington Bikes have made in Seattle, the Puget Sound region and Washington state, where the amount of bicycling infrastructure continues to expand and where more people of all races, ages, genders and backgrounds are riding bikes than ever before,” Lambert said.

“Washington consistently ranks as one of the most bike-friendly states in the nation thanks in large part to Cascade and Washington Bikes hard work uniting people to experience the joy of bicycling,” added Lambert. “As we emerge from the pandemic and press forward with efforts to make bicycling and society at large more equitable, we have a tremendous opportunity to use our collective pedal power to drive progress—and use bikes as tools to improve our region’s health, safety, sustainability, and economy.”

Board President Tamara Kim Schmautz said, “We are extremely excited and proud to find someone of Lee’s caliber to lead our organization and help us chart a new path forward for the next 50 years,” she says. “Lee is a lifelong resident of our region who has devoted his career to public service and nonprofit leadership that is uplifting, collaborative and unifying. We all look forward to pedaling alongside Lee as he begins this new journey.”