Executive Director, Anna Zivarts
Anna Zivarts is a visually impaired parent and author of When Driving Is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency (Island Press). Since its publication in May 2024, Zivarts has led more than 100 presentations and discussions about the book across 22 states and four Canadian provinces. Joining the team at Disability Rights Washington in 2018, Zivarts launched the Week Without Driving to address the needs of nondrivers in planning accessible communities and now continues that work with the Nondrivers Alliance.
Zivarts earned undergraduate and master’s degrees from Stanford University and sits on the boards of the League of American Bicyclists and the Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium, and serves as a member of the Transportation Research Board’s Committee on the Implications of Transportation Choices and Access on Public Health. Previously Zivarts served as a member of the Cooper Jones Active Transportation Safety Council (2019-2023), Washington State DOT’s Transit Demand Management Executive Board (2019-2024), Washington State’s Autonomous Vehicle Workgroup (2018-2022), Puget Sound Regional Council Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (2019-2021), Seattle Pedestrian Advisory Board (2019- 2021), the King County Mobility Equity Cabinet (2019-2021), and the National Aging and Disability Transportation Center Coordinating Committee (2022-2025).
For recent publications and essays, visit annazivarts.com.
Director of Coalition Building, Ruth Rosas
Chicago-based bilingual organizer Ruth Rosas led the national expansion of Week Without Driving and Freedom to Move at America Walks and brings over 15 years of experience advancing mobility justice. Their background includes leading public health, walkability, and transportation equity initiatives at Lurie Children’s Hospital and serving in the U.S. Peace Corps in Fiji, where they helped create a youth cycling cooperative promoting sustainable transportation and climate resilience.