Pedals, Purpose, and Power
Remembering the Inspiring Deb Hubsmith
Dear Fabulous Female Founders,
This Memorial Day, I’ve been thinking about service: the honor of serving our country in the military of course, but also the service of those who dedicate their lives to building a safer, more just world. In my past life, one of those people was a tiny powerhouse of a woman named Deb Hubsmith. A pioneer of the Safe Routes to School movement, Deb believed that every child deserved the opportunity to safely walk or bike to school for their health, for their sense of freedom and self-determination, and for our planet.
I first met Deb in the early 2000s through my consulting firm, Alta Planning + Design. Deb, an activist in Marin County, CA, had caught the bicycling fever after her car was totaled. From then until her untimely death in 2015 from acute myeloid leukemia, she channeled her ferocious energy into making walking and biking viable transportation options for children and their families.
She and I were two peas in a pod, both obsessed with making bicycling and walking safe, easy, healthy, and fun ways to get around.
While I built a professional networking organization, consulting firm, and academic program, she built coalitions, first in California, then nationally. She organized, lobbied, and brought home the bacon, successfully gaining bipartisan support for $1.1 billion in Safe Routes to School funding going to more than 15,000 schools in all 50 states.
An entire generation of safer kids and their parents have Deb to thank.
Deb transformed the Safe Routes Partnership into a powerful coalition with more than 750 partners, a $3 million annual budget and nearly 30 staff. She testified before congressional committees, delivered inspiring speeches, and received numerous awards including a Pioneering Innovation Award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Not only do parents owe gratitude to Deb, but advocacy groups and firms like mine that benefited from the resulting contracts.
༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶
Flowing all around us are ideas seeking the perfect person at the perfect moment to bring them to life. While the idea of bicycling and walking to school was not new, it needed a fiery visionary and creator to move policymakers, communities, and culture. It needed Deb Hubsmith.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. —Margaret Mead
Today, as I champion female founders, I carry Deb’s legacy with me. She reminds me that impact isn’t always about scale—it’s about staying rooted in your values and showing up, again and again, for the world you believe in. It’s about the relationships you build and the trust you earn. It’s about persistence in the face of obstacles.
This Memorial Day, I honor her memory by continuing to support bold women and a future where service takes many forms.
Who are you honoring today?
~Mia
P.S. The Wind at Her Back: The Life of Transportation Activist Deb A. Hubsmith, published by Page Publishing, is available online.
Toast to the ones here today
Toast to the ones that we lost on the way
’Cause the drinks bring back all the memories
And the memories bring back, memories bring back you.
~Maroon 5