Bear Valley Hospice
This has been my primary commitment living in Big Bear. My involvement as an assistant administrator has included developing the website, leading recruitment, accounting, and correspondence.

Bear Climbing Company
A small climbing store within the North Shore Trading Company in Fawnskin, this project has been a rewarding labor of love. We currently have an account with Black Diamond and are working towards carrying shoes with 5.10 and Edelweiss ropes. Five percent of sales goes towards supporting the locals crags.

Unself
This young non-profit pairs high school volunteers with exciting opportunities with local organizations. Partnering with animal shelters, trail work, and many other groups, this non-profit connects students with personal and career developing opportunities whilst bolstering their resume and supporting local organizations.

Sugarloaf Sharing Café
A remarkable geographic discrepancy is found between the social resources in Big Bear Valley and the need for these resources. This project aims to provide a locally-oriented coffee shop and community space that is actually close to where local demand is.

Big Bear Valley Trails Master Plan
Following the city and county’s adoption of the master plan, this project is an initiative to keep the community involved in the implementation of the master plan. Organized through a website, it aims to disseminate information and engage community members in the implementation process.

Old Projects

Transportation Planning: eBikes and the Future
Considering the growing trends in population and urbanization, new solutions will be needed to address the limited structure and capacity of today’s transportation system. It is suggested that ebikes would be an ideal solution, combining high-tech innovation with minor structural overhead.

Ebikes address issues faced by other modes of transportation by hybrid nature. Features of this include:

• Higher transportation density – less spaced used to travel and store a bike than a car
• Less exertion – permits commuters to arrive at work clean and without perspiration
• More social – without the glass and steel barriers, ebike commuting offers greater connection with others and the city
• Convenient form of exercise – following the primary purpose (transportation), a secondary benefit is exercise built into the commute.
• Limited demands on infrastructure – unlike electric vehicles, which have great demands and complications upon electrical infrastructure, ebikes’ impact is relatively negligible.
• Etc.

There are several challenges for a shift towards ebikes as a prominent means of transportation.

• Safety – including the development of protected bike routes and other features
• Policy issues (insurance, speed regulations, etc.)

I hope to pursue research into this development in transportation at UC Irvine.

The Blessing and Curse of Too Many Good People: Friendship at APU
This essay refines a previous paper on the issue of friendship in homogeneous societies into an easier to read “pop” version. It is intended for submission to APU’s Collide magazine. Download the original paper article here.