Zach Vanderkooy Email & Phone Number

Boulder, Colorado, United States

I work with a top-notch team of planners, designers and dreamers to bring more Dutch urban design magic to the U.S. and Canada. I specialize in active transportation (walking, bicycling, rolling), hands-on international knowledge transfer and leadership mobilization (study tours, workshops, trainings). Think of me as a translator; I help smooth the gaps between Dutch expertise and North American practice.

I started Inspired by Cities in 2016, a global small batch consulting firm specializing in strategy, support, and leadership development to catalyze innovation in cities. I collaborated with professional organizations to curate custom hands-on experiential study tours for influencers and stakeholders to world leading destinations such as Denmark, Spain and the Netherlands; places with perspective-changing examples of climate policy, urban design, infrastructure, mobility and culture.I offered process planning, strategy, and on-the-ground guiding and facilitation to ambitious organizations that want employ the power of travel to inspire, motivate, disrupt, delight and catalyze actions among city influencers. Based in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, USA, I worked with clients across North America, Europe and Oceania.Select clients include: • CIVITAS HANDSHAKE: A Horizon 2020-funded five-year cycling inspiration and knowledge transfer platform involving 13 cities in the European Union.• PeopleForBikes: I provided start-to-finish planning, strategy and custom agenda design for PeopleForBikes' international study tours, an element of a project to rapidly advance the implementation cycling networks in American cities.

I helped grow and develop the nascent network of U.S. cities working to advance Vision Zero — a bold policy goal of eliminating all traffic deaths and serious injuries. I worked closely with city staff and community leaders to develop resources, analyze data, and share emerging best practices to guide cities toward successful and equitable Vision Zero efforts.

Boulder, Co

I delivered strategy, project management and leadership to nearly all aspects of the PeopleForBikes' Green Lane Project - a four-year campaign to accelerate the spread of innovative bike infrastructure in U.S. cities. The campaign was a success: the number of protected bike lanes in the United States quadrupled during the tenure of the project and next-generation bike lanes became a permanent tool in the toolbox of American street design.In 2015, I led the World Class Cities Initiative, a summer-long series of study tours for city influencers working to draw inspiration and ideas from the world's most advanced bicycling environments in Denmark and The Netherlands. During my tenure, I designed and led more than 25 international study tours and hosted more than 350 elected officials, city staff and community leaders abroad.

I helped create a program to inspire and enable U.S. city leaders working to implement world-class bicycle transportation practices. I led workshops and study tours — both virtual and in person — covering infrastructure, urban design and policy with a goal to make bicycling safer, more comfortable, more appealing, and ultimately a mainstream transportation choice for people of all ages.In 2012, the Bicycling Design Best Practices Program was expanded and relaunched as the Green Lane Project.

I provided graphics, communications and urban planning data analysis assistance to a variety of transportation projects as a summer intern while in graduate school.

I helped create, enhance, and preserve opportunities for mountain bikers on public lands worldwide. I focused on fundraising, eCommerce, and corporate and major donor development. I authored a chapter of "Managing Mountain Biking" — a guide for land managers — and directed the National Mountain Bike Patrol, a national network of volunteer trail stewards and first responders.

Masters, Urban Planning

Activities and Societies: Harvard Urban Planning Organization, American Planning Association Student LiaisonAreas of Focus: Urban Design.

Ba, Government

Activities and Societies: Cornell Cinema, Cycling team, Philosophy ClubFour-year athlete on University Cycling and Nordic Ski teams, Rock.