Anatol Poppe
President
Anatol is a full-time student studying to be an electrical engineer. He was 10 years old when his father was paralyzed in a bicycle accident. He helped his father convert his first handcycle to add electric assist, which completely changed his father’s life. So much so that they decided to share the technology with the disabled community and started the Able Bodied handcycle program under NorCal SCI. Anatol is the “able bodied” help for all the 1:1 lessons and helps make sure are the rides are safe and bikes are in good condition.
Wojtek Poppe
Treasurer / Test Dummy
Wojtek is a life long avid cyclist and outdoor enthusiast. He was an avid mountain biker, road biker, skier, windsurfer, hang gliding pilot, and adventurer before he became a T5 complete paraplegic (with no sensation or muscle control below his chest). Electric assist handcycling was the first activity he has done that has helped him feel “able bodied” again. He now goes on rides with the same friends and on the same routes he used to bike with before he was paralyzed.
Natalie Zhar
Secretary
Natalie is an Assistant Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. She has been an NIH funded academic researcher with a focus on translational neuroscience comprising of imaging and biomarkers for over two decades. Her background in writing grants and running human studies makes her a key asset for Able Bodied and the disabled community.
Sam Kolb
Board Member
Sam is an accomplished engineering leader with 25 years of experience building cutting-edge technology in Silicon Valley. He has a proven track record of success in both startup and established company environments, spending the last five years as a senior manager at Meta with extensive experience in large language models and AI. Sam was one of the first riders in the Able Bodied program and is now running Able Bodied Sonoma out of his house in Sebastopol.
Matthew Beadon
Board Member
Matt is an adventure seeking engineer who’s one year experiment in Silicon valley has lasted two decades (so far). He loves cycling and wants to help more people experience able bodied experiences among the coastal redwoods.
Suet Fei Li
Board Member
Born in China and educated in the US, Suetfei is an avid runner who represented Hong Kong in international competitions. She has seen the overwhelmingly uplifting impact of sports participation: providing purpose and meaning, strong communities, boosting physical and mental health. She is passionate about removing barriers and making sports accessible to people of all ages, economic backgrounds and physical abilities. When she is not running around, suetfei is a software engineer at Google.
Shara Poppe
Board Member
Shara is an experienced nurse manager in Oncology and avid runner/hiker. She likes to compete in ultramarathons and recently hit a major bucket list item by qualifying for the Boston marathon. She enjoys going on hikes and bike rides with her paralyzed husband, Wojtek, and is a first hand witness to how life changing electric assist handcycling can be not only for the rider, but his entire family.