Mayor London Breed has nominated bike advocate Jane Natoli to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors, the mayor announced Thursday.

Natoli sat on the Board of Directors for the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, the politically powerful local bike advocacy organization, from 2018 to 2019, according to the coalition. She is also a board member of the San Francisco LGBT Center and YIMBY Action.

Should her nomination be approved by the Board of Supervisors, Natoli would also be the first out transgender person to serve on the SFMTA Board of Directors, according to the Bay Area Reporter, a long-standing local LGBT publication.

Natoli is a financial crimes analyst at tech company Stripe, and previously was a financial crimes consultant at Wells Fargo bank. She also ran an unsuccessful campaign this March to join the San Francisco Democratic Party board, garnering 14,894 votes in the state’s 19th Assembly District, which encompasses roughly half of San Francisco.

“I’m proud to nominate Jane Natoli to the SFMTA Board of Directors,” Breed said in a statement. “She is a leading advocate for safer streets and reliable transit. I am confident that her perspective will benefit the City as we work to achieve our Vision Zero goals and create a more equitable transportation system for all of our residents.”

The SFMTA Board of Directors oversees Muni, the creation of bike lanes, street signs and curbside changes in San Francisco, as well as overseeing parking control officers among other transit and traffic challenges.

Natoli will replace outgoing SFMTA board member Malcolm Heinicke, who is currently chair. The SFMTA board is also losing member Art Torres, who was recently named to the UC Board of Regents, according to the Bay Area Reporter. Torres has notably often spoken on behalf of San Francisco car drivers, a voice that may be missing on the SFMTA board in his absence.

In interviews posted to the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition website, Natoli has said she wants to see more protected bike lanes built throughout San Francisco in the name of safety. She also is a member of Women Bike SF.

Natoli moved to San Francisco in 2013, according to The Mayor’s Office, and serves as an appointee to the Citizen’s General Obligation Bond Oversight Committee.

“I personally know the value of safe streets as someone who has unfortunately been hit three times while biking on our streets,” Natoli said in a statement, “which is why I’ve put so much energy into advocating and supporting SFMTA and Director (Jeffrey) Tumlin in getting protected bike lanes like Folsom and Howard and car-free stretches like Market implemented throughout San Francisco.”

Local officials lauded the move to appoint Natoli.

State Senator Scott Wiener wrote on Twitter, “Wonderful news that Mayor @LondonBreed has nominated the amazing Jane Natoli to the MTA Board of Directors. Jane is a stellar advocate for a progressive, forward-looking approach to transportation.”

joe@sfexaminer.com

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