The Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP) Awards honor individuals who have demonstrated excellence, leadership, and innovation in the bicycle and pedestrian profession, as well as APBP chapters that have significantly contributed to the organization by fostering local engagement, professional growth, and visibility.
The 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award, five Professional of the Year Awards, and one Chapter Award were presented during APBP’s 2025 Conference on August 11, 2026 in Pittsburgh, PA. Their acceptance videos can be viewed by visiting APBP's Annual Awards page.
Lifetime Achievement Award
The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an individual who has made a substantial commitment to the profession during their lifetime and who has shown excellence in the field of bicycle and pedestrian planning, design, advocacy, research, or education. The award distinguishes those whose vision and determination have made their communities better places to bicycle and walk and who inspire the rest of us.
Lisa Austin is the recipient of the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award. Retired as of May 2025, she was previously the Director, Center for Community Connections at the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
Lisa has been a change-maker in the active transportation space throughout Minnesota for decades. Her leadership began with the Twin Cities Bicycle Club, where she realized that there was a lack of local opportunities to learn safe cycling practices. To address this, Lisa became a League Cycling Instructor (LCI) and organized Smart Cycling classes that helped establish a network of instructors throughout Minnesota. She later joined the State Bicycle Advisory Committee (SBAC), where she worked to expand bicycle education and advocacy across the state.
One of Lisa’s most significant achievements was helping create the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota (BikeMN). After identifying the absence of a statewide bicycle advocacy organization, she collaborated with others to organize a 130-person workshop that brought together public, private, and community stakeholders. The effort gained crucial momentum when Quality Bicycle Products committed funding for the organization’s first executive director. Lisa has remained involved with BikeMN as a board member since its founding.
In 2008, Lisa joined the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), where she helped launch and strengthen numerous initiatives. Her accomplishments included establishing a scholar-in-residence program that evolved into MnDOT’s bicycle and pedestrian highly regarded data collection program, co-developing the “Share the Road” educational campaign, and leading early Safe Routes to School efforts - branded Walk!Bike!Fun!. Throughout her career, Lisa has fostered partnerships and lead initiatives including Bikeable Community Workshops, the Bicycling Around Minnesota (BAM) touring ride, evolving downtown parking ramps into multimodal hubs, advancing the Nice Ride Bike Share program, and planting the seed for the beginning of the Minnesota High School Bicycling League.
In reflecting back on her career and engagement in active transportation work, Lisa shared that she loves to work with other people to identify a critical need or idea, get things off the ground and rolling, and then handing them off to the next wave of people who can continue to carry the work forward. Her legacy is defined by identifying opportunities, building collaborations, and launching programs that have set Minnesota up for long-term success advancing walking and bicycling in communities large and small.
Professional of the Year Awards
The APBP Professional of the Year Awards recognize the achievements of pedestrian and bicycle professionals made in the last 12 months in the private, public, nonprofit and research sectors.
- 2026 Professional of the Year – Private Sector: Conor Semler is a generational leader in active transportation. He draws upon deep expertise in urban planning, traffic engineering, and technical research in Complete Streets to design community-focused transportation systems that promote health and livability. Throughout his career, he’s been highly regarded for his research and designs that inspire cities to adopt safer, innovative, and more inviting bicycle facilities.
Conor’s work includes citywide bicycle and pedestrian plans, corridor redesigns, quick-build implementation projects, and multimodal studies that integrate land use and transportation. He has also contributed to national design guidance, including the NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide, FHWA Separated Bike Lane Planning and Design Guide, and FHWA Guidebook for Developing Pedestrian and Bicycle Performance Measures. His recent work as Principal Investigator for NCHRP Research Report 1036: Roadway Cross-Section Reallocation: A Guide, and as Project Principal for the follow-up implementation project NCHRP 20-44(52): Implementing a Guide for Urban and Suburban Roadway Cross-Section Reallocation, has transformed how agencies approach street design and decision-making.
Beyond project work, Conor is dedicated to developing the next generation of transportation professionals. Along with his team, he has led more than 20 workshops and presentations on NCHRP 1036, trained over 1,000 professionals through MassDOT’s Complete Streets Training Program, and co-developed the Street Design Leadership Training program for municipal staff in smaller communities who may lack formal transportation backgrounds.
Conor served on the APBP Board of Directors from 2016 – 2020. During his time on the APBP Board, Conor was a champion for the creation of the Policy Committee, recognizing the importance of connecting technical expertise to policy outcomes that shape communities far beyond any single project.
Through innovative research, impactful training, high-quality design, and an unwavering commitment to equity, Conor continues to shape the future of active transportation and create safer, more inclusive streets for all. - 2026 Professional of the Year – Public Sector: Since 2018, Matthew Sweet has served as Manager of Active Transportation for the City of Mississauga, providing strategic leadership across a broad portfolio that includes cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, transportation demand management, and shared micromobility. Over the past year, he has played a pivotal role in advancing the City’s Cycling Master Plan, helping strengthen Mississauga’s commitment to a safe, connected, and accessible transportation network integrated with broader mobility and land-use goals. Under his leadership, the City has implemented 179 km of cycling facilities since 2017. Additionally, through his leadership on the CMP update, he’s built support for rolling out an additional 190 km of all-ages-and-abilities cycling infrastructure over the next five years, all while under the Ontario provincial constraints of Bill 60/212 environment that aims to limit bike lanes that require removal of vehicle lanes.
A defining accomplishment of Matthew’s recent work is his leadership in developing and launching Mississauga’s shared micromobility program, culminating in a 2024 partnership with private operators to deliver a citywide e-bike and e-scooter system. His work demonstrates how municipalities can operationalize innovation—transitioning from pilot projects to scalable, long-term mobility services.
Beyond his municipal role, Matthew has demonstrated significant leadership within the broader transportation profession. He has served as Chair of the Ontario Traffic Council Active Transportation Committee and continues to be actively involved in professional organizations including the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and the North American Bikeshare and Scootershare Association (NABSA), where he co-founded and cochaired the Canadian Policy Working Group. Through these roles, he has influenced policy discussions, supported knowledge exchange across jurisdictions, and helped shape emerging practices in micromobility across Canada. As a mentor within the APBP Mentorship Program and a former post-secondary instructor in active transportation and urban mobility, he has helped educate and inspire the next generation of practitioners. This commitment to professional development strengthens the capacity of the field and reflects his dedication to advancing the profession.
Matthew has played a pivotal role in advancing pedestrian and bicycle planning in one of Canada’s largest and most diverse cities. He consistently advances equity, innovation, and excellence in public sector transportation planning through leading complex initiatives, influencing institutional change, sharing knowledge widely, and mentoring future leaders.
- 2026 Professional of the Year – Nonprofit Sector: Evan Schmidtke has been a transformative leader in advancing cycling access, transportation equity, and community engagement in Cedar Rapids, Iowa through his leadership of Chain Reaction Bike Hub (CRBH), a community bike shop. Through his leadership, CRBH has grown to over 175 community volunteers and 4,600 volunteer hours in 2025 alone. By expanding the organization beyond just bicycle repair and education, Evan has helped create a community-centered resource that empowers residents of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities to choose active transportation.
Under Evan’s leadership, CRBH has become a trusted partner to the City of Cedar Rapids, supporting initiatives that advance active transportation, sustainability, and quality of life. As a member of the City’s Active Transportation Advisory Commission (ATAC), he has played a key role in expanding Bike to Work Week into a month-long celebration of cycling and active mobility, while also leading educational programs that help residents confidently commute by bicycle.
Evan’s impact is evident through innovative partnerships and programs that remove barriers to transportation. He facilitated the refurbishment and distribution of retired City shared-mobility bicycles to local residents; secured funding to support the City’s new Building Resilience Through Transportation Voucher Program; and, has helped connect hundreds of community members with reliable transportation options through CRBH initiatives such as the Cycle for Change initiative, annual Kids Bike Drive, and Earn-A-Bike program.
From local bike shop owner and CRBH Board Member Logan Orcutt: "There might not be another person in our community more anchored and invested in lowering the barriers to bicycles in our community today. The Cedar Rapids cycling community has grown to be more diverse, inclusive, and accessible because of the energy Evan has spent here in the past 3 years."
- 2026 Young Professional of the Year: Ayden Cohen has distinguished herself as an emerging leader in active transportation. As a Planner at Toole Design Group, she has spent the past 4.5 years advancing safe and accessible transportation systems for all roadway users. Across multiple projects, her work has reflected a combination of technical expertise, collaborative leadership, and a deep commitment to vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, people experiencing housing insecurity, low-income communities, and communities of color. While working on a regional safety action plan, she played a pivotal role in guiding client conversations toward prioritizing vulnerable road users, and contributed to developing an implementation grant that secured $24.5 million for implementation. She has maintained long-term engagement with clients beyond project completion, providing ongoing technical support and problem-solving. Her credibility and collaborative approach have earned trust from senior engineering professionals who now seek her input on additional projects and request her involvement in future leadership roles.
Colleagues appreciate Ayden’s enthusiasm, attention to detail, and creative problem solving. They note that Ayden is skilled and dependable at leading tasks, developing new systems and processes, and invests in her colleagues and peers in meaningful ways. Her commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace is also appreciated and respected - she is the office lead for Silver Spring in companywide work related to Fairness, Access, Inclusion, and Representation (FAIR).
Beyond her project work, Ayden contributes to the broader profession through presentations at local and national conferences and webinars, making complex Safe System concepts accessible to diverse audiences: She is also a co-author of the 2023 publication Safe System Approach for the Urban Core.
Ayden truly exemplifies the qualities recognized by the APBP Young Professional of the Year Award.
- 2026 Young Professional of the Year: As a transportation planner at Toole Design Group and a leader in the Greater Boston bicycle and mobility community, Alexis Vidaurreta-Zhu exemplifies the next generation of practitioners advancing safer, more equitable, and more community-centered transportation systems.
Alexis has quickly distinguished herself through the production of thoughtful and high-quality multimodal transportation and safety plans and studies that improve safety, accessibility, and equitable mobility outcomes. Her work consistently demonstrates strong technical expertise paired with a deep commitment to meaningful community engagement and equitable decision-making. Alexis has been most drawn to opportunities to support local-level capacity building – particularly in communities where transportation safety and affordable transportation are linked with social equity, public health, economic development, and quality of life goals. In addition to her work on planning projects to support these communities, since 2024 Alexis has worked with a Massachusetts foundation to provide free-to-communities technical assistance to apply for funding through the USDOT Safe Streets and Roads for All Program (SS4A).
Alexis also stands out for her dedication to mentoring and supporting emerging professionals in the field. She supervises two early-career planners at Toole Design, and is serving as the companywide intern coordinator for 2026. Outside of her professional responsibilities, Alexis is an exceptionally active volunteer and leader in the mobility advocacy community, serving as Vice Chair of the Board of Bikes Not Bombs, an organization centered on economic mobility for Black and brown youth in Boston. Alexis has also been a staff member with the Somerville Bike Kitchen (SBK) for 5 years, helping manage SBK as a community resource and working directly with hundreds of community members per year to teach them how to work on their bikes.
Alexis combines technical excellence with humility, mentorship, community-building, and a genuine commitment to making transportation systems work better for everyone. She truly exemplifies the qualities recognized by the APBP Young Professional of the Year Award.
Chapter of the Year Award
APBP Chapter Awards recognize the achievements of APBP chapters that have added value to the organization by creating opportunities for local APBP members to grow, engage and connect.
The APBP Utah Chapter is awarded the 2026 Chapter of the Year Award for its exceptional commitment to member engagement, professional development, and community building.
The Chapter fosters a strong, inclusive professional community through networking events, guided bike tours, and social gatherings. Their various networking events support knowledge sharing across organizations, strengthen relationships, and foster a sense of local community within APBP. Professional development is fostered through member discussions around active transportation best practices, policy, and emerging issues in Utah. A recent highlight was the AASHTO Book Club, where members shared key takeaways from assigned chapters, followed by sponsored meals that encouraged community discussion and peer learning.
Hands-on field activities reinforced the Chapter's mission over the past year, including bike tours of projects such as the 9-Line Trail and 700 East Bikeway, an Earth Day trail cleanup, and a multimodal group ride to the Utah Bike Summit via the FrontRunner train. These activities promoted experiential learning, sustainability, and active transportation as a practical everyday choice.
The Chapter invests in the next generation of professionals by empowering student leadership. With a University of Utah student serving as Social Media Chair, outreach is expanded to university programs. This in turn has led to increased student participation in Chapter rides, networking opportunities, and Chapter events.
Led by two young professional women, the APBP Utah Chapter experienced remarkable growth during the past year. Their leadership reactivated the Chapter, more than doubled membership, and introduced consistent programming and intentional outreach. Today, APBP Utah serves as a vibrant, inclusive hub connecting professionals, students, and advocates dedicated to improving walking and bicycling throughout Utah.