Committee Description
The Women’s Committee is a group of 8 women (see bios below) whose main goals are to increase and retain the number of women racers in our district. We think that our diverse backgrounds and interests as racers, team managers, coaches and promoters will enable us to identify factors that make for a more positive race experience for more women, and we will then make some recommendations to the NCNCA to help effect those changes and improvements.
Goals for Committee
Long Term
1. Increase the number of new women racers.
2. Increase retention of racers especially in categories 4 and 3.
3. Increase the number of racers that each racer attends.
4. Quantify all of the above so trends can be identified and measured from year to year.
Short Term
1. Create and distribute survey to all licensed women racers to better determine needs/wants of those now racing.
2. Quantify the results of the survey to help guide decisions as to how to make improvements and/or changes.
3. Create and distribute another survey for women who have left the sport (not renewed their licenses).
Committee Members
Meredith Nielsen, Co-Chair
Meredith Nielsen is a Wenzel and USAC Level 2 Cycling Coach who has been riding and racing since 1998. She was a founder of the Left Coast Racing Team, a women’s team that was the Best All-Round master women’s team in the Northern California/Nevada Racing Association (NCNCA). A Category 3 criterium and stage race specialist, she raced in more than 120 races all over California.
Now retired from racing, Meredith remains active in the cycling community. She is the 2013 coordinator of the Northern California/Nevada Racing Association (NCNCA) Women’s Mentoring Program for beginning women racers, and has been active as a mentor in the Early Bird Racing Series for the last 5 years.
Meredith has been coaching Bike Skills Clinics for individuals and cycling clubs and teams for the last 5 years. This year she will also be advising the 800 member Feather Pedals cycling group in their 12 week training series for the all-women Cinderella Century on April 4, 2013. She is available to coach individuals and groups though Wenzel Coaching.
Meredith is the only woman Lifetime Member of the Berkeley Bike Club (BBC) and has been the promoter/co-promoter of the Berkeley Hills road race, BBC Team Time Trial, and BBC Criterium events.
Soni Andreini Poulsen, Co-Chair
Soni Andreini Poulsen starting racing in 2005 at the age of 41. She has dabbled in just about every discipline, but enjoys time trials (in the usual semi-demented fashion) and cyclocross the most. And while she spends pleny of time on a half-bike, she prefers to do anything she can on a tandem. She has served on the NCNCA Safety Committee in the past and has a strong interest in promoting safety in our sport.
Soni is a member Velo Bella, a women's cycling team, whose goal is to inspire women to get out and ride a bike, race a bike, and to eventually grow the pool of talent and have a lot of fun along the way. While the team started in Watsonville and still has California as its base, there are chapters nationwide. Soni serves as their Northern California Regional Coordinator. She is a category 3 racer on the road and in cyclocross. Teamwork and strategy are her specialties.
Kristen Hill, BOD Liaison
Monica Nevitt
Jill Eyres
Jill Eyres has been racing since 2008 in California, Illinois, and Wisconsin. In 2010 she co-founded Team TIBCO II, a highly team-oriented group of Cat 3 and Cat 4 racers committed to positive ambassadorship for women’s cycling. She mainly races on the road (particularly criteriums), but has competed on the track and in the dirt as well. In 2011 she was the highest-ranked Cat 4 individual racer in the Bay Area Women’s Cycling series, and finished third overall in the 16-race W4 omnium at Superweek. Jill is a member of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee for the City of South San Francisco. When not on the bike, Jill can usually be found either wielding a T-square at work, or feeding carrots to her horse, Red.
Brett Ortiz
Brett Ortiz is a Cat 3 entering her sixth year of racing. She enjoys circuit races, crits and cyclocross. Brett began her bike racing career with Zgirls, spent two years on Dolce Vita, and is now serving as president for the amateur women's team, Pacific Crush Racing. When not on the bike, you may find Brett doing crossfit, yoga or tweaking her golf swing.
Lorri Lee Lown
Bill Nicely (non-voting technical advisor)
Bill Nicely is the past President of the NCNCA Board of Directors for 2010 and 2011. Bill is currently the General Manager for Pinnacle p/b Argon 18, the 2012 Premier and Points Series Team Champions in the Elite 1/2 Women's category. In addition Bill has recently sponsored a Women's seminar held at the US Bicycling Hall of Fame featuring speakers from across the country on a variety of topics of interest to women cyclists.