Meet Modeshift STARS Honorary Member Alison Holland
Place of work:
Brightwayz social enterprise (formally known as Brightkidz)
What is your role within your organisation?
Founder. Day to day role is Projects and Partnerships Director
How long have you been working in this industry?
I started working in this industry 18 years ago when I organised a local Walking Bus scheme at my son’s school which inspired us to launch Brightkidz to support other schemes like that
When did your Team Modeshift journey begin?
I was a pre-Modeshifter! Since around 2004 I came along to UK LAST meetings (the previous name for Modeshift). We were the first ‘partner’ with a few of our active travel products displayed on a table at the side.
Why do you believe it is important to promote active and sustainable travel?
It’s way more than a job or a business to me- it’s an absolute passion. The importance of promoting and enabling active travel is so underrated by many outside our sector.
Transport is the greatest source of CO2 emissions in the UK. There are so many benefits of people reducing their car dependency and changing their habits: air quality, health, mental well-being, reducing road casualties, equitable access to employment/training/services and overall making places better. But hey I’m preaching to the converted here!
What’s next, how do you plan on getting there, and by when?
Building Brightwayz is our biggest focus for the next few years – making sure we are providing the right products to support the amazing range of active travel initiatives our customers and partners decide to do.
We want to provide good information and ideas to inspire others, so we’ll also build on the projects we exclusively do in our local area here in North Northants.
By working on local initiatives such as travel plans for our own hospital, schools, and community organisations we can face the same challenges our customers face. This helps us understand what products and information support are needed by others doing similar projects elsewhere.
I love my job and love the fact that it brings me into contact with so many great people who share the same values and are doing so many positive things to make our streets safer, cleaner, healthier. and greener.
