Sylvie Baele, Executive Director
Sylvie has been involved with Second Chance Bikes since 2018. She started out planning our 2018 and 2020 Fall Festivals, and then became Programs Manager in June 2020. She recently finished her Master of Public Administration and a Master of Environmental and Sustainability Studies at the College of Charleston. Her thesis research focused on gaining a deeper understanding of the impacts of the Change a Tire, Change a Life program on the lives of people experiencing homelessness. Prior to joining the Second Chance Bikes team, she worked as a trip leader for VBT and Austin Adventures, which she still does part-time. Originally from Charleston, she has traveled or worked in almost every state in the U.S. She prides herself on synthesizing her travel experiences with her passion for bicycles to facilitate collaborative and innovative approaches to help solve complex public problems.
Hoyt Sims, Shop Manager
A native of Birmingham AL, Hoyt Sims has been riding, exploring, commuting, fixing, wrecking (and again fixing) bikes for over 10 years. He has long been a staple volunteer, educator, and mechanic at Redemptive Cycles in Birmingham, and has also served the Providence Bicycle Collective in sunny Providence, RI. A former full-time public school educator, Hoyt is now excited to fully dedicate his time and efforts to community service through transit equity.