Sophia VanKlootwyk-Forde

2011 fellow with the Jack Kent Cooke Association

Description

Sophia VanKlootwyk-Forde sees bicycles as more than transportation: she sees them as vehicles for human connection. Equipped with a camp stove and a tent, she has biked thousands of miles across a dozen countries. Sophia is also fervently involved in bicycle advocacy: she co-founded the Cabrillo Bike Co-op as a community college student, taught bike safety and maintenance classes to fellow students at UCLA, and worked at a DIY Bike co-op in a low-income neighborhood in Los Angeles. Sophia earned her Associates Degree while still in high school and obtained a BA in Geography from UCLA and the University of Copenhagen. She is a 2009 fellow with Young People For, a progressive student leadership program, and a 2011 fellow with the Jack Kent Cooke Association, a private scholarship fund that awards outstanding academic achievement.