A nonprofit advocating for better biking and walking in the Bisbee area

Board Members Bisbee Bikeways

Meggen Connolley- Project Manager/ President

Meggen is a native of Bisbee and one of the founding members of Ecotopia, the 501c3 nonprofit that Bisbee Bikeways operates under. Bisbee Bikeways began when Meggen decided to bike around town with her then two-year-old in tow. She quickly realized that one small error by a nearby driver could end their lives, and became determined to create safe pathways for the residents, (especially the youth), of Bisbee.

Meggen quickly evolved into the Project Manager of Bisbee Bikeways, and through continuous advocacy work and research, connected multiple stakeholders including the City of Bisbee, Cochise County, ADOT, Freeport McMoRan, and members of the public.

Stephanie Peavey- Secretary

Stephanie is originally from Maine and moved to Arizona in 2006. She has an MS degree in Resource Economics and an MS in Exercise Physiology. Stephanie has a long history of working to develop major multi-use trails in both Maine and Arizona. She was a member of the Downeast Sunrise Trail Coalition in which she helped in the building of the Downeast Sunrise Trail in Maine, a 100 mile multi-use unpaved trail built on an inactive rail. She volunteered hundreds of hours working on 2 passages of the Arizona Trail and she participated in four trail building projects in Arizona with Wilderness Volunteers. She also served for 3 years on the Maine Governor’s Council on Physical fitness and health which was a think tank for developing projects that promote healthy, active lifestyles for Maine citizens. In addition to her volunteer work, Stephanie owns and operates a personal training business and specializes in working with deconditioned clients and those with chronic health iss

Gregg Garfin

Gregg is an Associate Professor and Associate Extension Specialist, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, the University of Arizona. Gregg has worked for the last 20 years to bridge the science-society interface through dialogues between scientists and decision makers and collaborative climate and environment research projects. His research focuses on adaptation to a changing climate, climate variability, and drought. Geographic interests include semi-arid regions, transboundary regions, and monsoon climates. He is co-lead author for the Southwest chapter in the Fourth National Climate Assessment. He is co-editor of Climate in Context: Science and Society Partnering for Adaptation, a 2016 book on the development and practice of use-inspired science and the co-production of science and policy, through NOAA's RISA program. His recent projects include development of a partnership to address the public health risks of extreme heat in the U.S.-Mexico border region, an assessment of National Park Service cultural resource vulnerability to climate extremes, and an investigation of best practices for assessing the costs of floods in North America.

Tim Whipple- Treasurer

Tim is a financial savant with an abundant mindset and a contagious generosity. He earned enough credits in college to have graduated with multiple degrees in such diverse subjects as Arabic and chemical engineering. As First Purpose’s chief financial strategist, Tim thrives on solving complex financial situations for clients by devising strategies that require a holistic approach and blur the lines between financial disciplines. For renewal, Tim enjoys cycling and playing racquetball. With his wife and five children, Tim also enjoys doing service vacations to orphanages in Mexico and Bethlehem with A Child’s Hope Foundation.

Eric J. Meyer

Eric is a Project Coordinator in the College of Education at the University of Arizona. Eric has a talent for running and teaching science, and instilling a love of exploration in his students. He is a track and cross country coach and is always ready to lend a helping hand with neighbors and strangers.

Advisory Team

Melanie Greene

Melanie Greene is the principal for M.Greene Planning & Resource Development, a consulting firm serving Arizona, California, and Alaska. As a professional grant writer and project developer, Ms. Greene's clients include non-profits, tribes, and rural municipalities and private businesses.

Her 30-plus years of experience include professional interests in Resource Development, Strategic and Project Planning, Non-Profit Management, Board Development, Organizational Capacity Building, Public Transit, Education, Affordable Housing, and Community Organizing.

In addition to her consulting work, Ms Greene volunteers for non-profit organizations in Bisbee Arizona where she has lived for the last 15 years.

Kenneth Steel

Kenneth Steel is the Healthy Communities Programs Manager at Pinnacle Prevention and the co-chair for the Arizona Alliance for Livable Communities. He stands behind a data and community-driven approach to developing solutions and values the impact of meaningful, multisector partnerships. Kenneth has worked on food systems and active living policy in Arizona since 2013 and has a special passion for how the natural and built environments of communities help to facilitate better physical and mental health. In 2019, Kenneth was recognized as one of the “40 under 40 in Public Health” across the country by the de Beaumont Foundation.

Steve Anderson

Steve Anderson works as the Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation’s Planning Division Manager, and has spent a total of 26 years working for the Department.

Steve is a co-founder of the Arizona Trail Association and the Arizona Trail Foundation, as well as a former member (and president) of the International Mountain Bicycling Association’s Board of Directors. In 2013, he proposed the 1,500-mile Sun Corridor Trail form Las Vegas, Nevada to Douglas, Arizona, a trail that is now 40% complete and getting longer all the time.

Steve is responsible for a wide range of projects, most notably Pima County’s 28-mile Arizona Trail segment, the Sweetwater Preserve Trails Park, the Robles Pass Trails Park, and eight others. He has developed almost 30 projects for Tucson Mountain Park, Tucson’s 21,000 acre open space preserve, and is a big river parks builder, having worked on all six river parks and greenways in the Eastern Pima County area. From 2010 to 2016, he served as a key member of the County’s Urban Loop River Parks Committee. He also did the master planning for Tortolita Mountain Park, and wrote the 2011 Pima Regional Trails System Master Plan, which had 2,275 miles of trails in the Eastern Pima County area.

Steve is also partially responsible for Pima County Loop, the 130-mile paved “loop” trail that goes around the city of Tucson and connects with every major suburb. He was the first planner to execute popular development agreements with Home Depot and Lowe’s that resulted in the building of several major elements of the Pantano River Park.

Steve’s conservation record is considerable, and includes leading the effort to upgrade Saguaro National Monument to Saguaro National Park and expand the park’s west unit by 3,500 acres in 1994, producing the Ironwood Forest National Monument in 1998, and assembling the $175 million 2004 open space bond element for the Parks Department. In 2002 he was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to serve as the chair of the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail Advisory Council. In 2018, he opened the 1,700 acre McKenzie Ranch Trails Park, which features a 10-mile mountain bike competition loop.