MEET THE FOUNDER

Melinda Hanson is the founder of Brightside, where she leads the firm’s work with clients to advance climate-friendly policies and technologies. She’s also the co-founder of The E-Mobility Project (TEMP), a policy and deployment accelerator that supports the uptake of electric mobility. Melinda has shared insights on reducing car dependence in The Verge, Bloomberg, and The New York Times, and has been named a Grist ‘Fixer’ and a Remarkable Woman in Transport.

Melinda has spent her career working to deploy sustainable technology and decarbonize urban mobility, including as an Entrepreneur in Residence at climate investor Elemental Impact, as Head of Sustainability at Bird, and as Deputy Director at NACTO’s Global Designing Cities Initiative. She’s worked on Bus Rapid Transit and bikeshare projects in Manila and Peshawar with the Asian Development Bank, implemented tactical urbanism projects in Addis Ababa, and advised city governments on resilient urban design for Rebuild By Design. Earlier in her career, she was a founding staff member at the ClimateWorks Foundation where she oversaw more than $20M in annual grants to public policy organizations.

“She has electrifying ideas for the future of transportation”

One of TUMI’s “Remarkable Women in Transportation”

Rice Urban Studies Fellow

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OUR TEAM

Our team includes strategists, advocates, analysts, designers, and communicators with technical expertise in climate, urban systems, and sustainable transport.

Team + Affiliates
Melinda Hanson
Melinda Hanson

Founder

More About Melinda

Melinda is the founder of Brightside, where she leads the firm’s work to advance sustainable urban mobility. She’s also the co-founder of the Equitable Commute Project, a micromobility policy accelerator and equity program that connects lower-income New Yorkers with quality e-bikes and accessible financing. Melinda has shared insights on reducing car dependence in the Verge, Bloomberg, Canary Media, The New York Times, and NPR’s Marketplace, and has been named a Grist ‘Fixer’ and a Remarkable Woman in Transport.

Melinda’s spent her career working to decarbonize urban mobility, including as Head of Sustainability at Bird and as Deputy Director at NACTO’s Global Designing Cities Initiative. She’s worked on Bus Rapid Transit and bikeshare projects in Manila and Peshawar, implemented tactical urbanism projects in Addis Ababa, and advised city governments on resilient urban design for Rebuild By Design. Earlier in her career, she was a founding staff member at the ClimateWorks Foundation where she oversaw more than $20M in annual grants to public policy organizations.

Kristin Haynes
Kristin Haynes

Senior Affiliate

More About Kristin

Kristin is a senior affiliate at Brightside, supporting clients with communications, market entry strategy, and actionable research. Through this work, Kristin has supported dozens of transportation-adjacent projects in major cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Miami, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. Kristin also briefly served as the Head of Communications for Automotus in 2022, where she supported the launch of zero-emissions delivery zones across the U.S.

Prior to her consulting work, Kristin gained industry recognition as the founding editor of Smart Cities Dive, a B2B media outlet covering the technologies and initiatives that create more livable and sustainable cities. Her work included in-depth reporting on topics including micromobility, EVs, public transit, green buildings and sanitation.

Dr. Rachel Weinberger
Dr. Rachel Weinberger

Advisor 

More About Rachel

Dr. Rachel Weinberger holds the Peter Herman Chair for Transportation at the Regional Plan Association and is the Founding Principal of Weinberger & Associate, LLC. She has over 30 years of transportation planning experience in the public and private sectors and in academia. Dr. Weinberger is an internationally recognized expert in sustainable transportation with specializations in travel behavior, land use transportation interactions, economic impacts of the transportation system, and parking policy.

Matt Chester
Matt Chester

Data Analyst

More About Matt

Matt is founder of Chester Energy & Policy, a firm providing research and analysis for clean energy clients. In his work across the U.S. power sector and with international clients, he has built a reputation as a subject matter expert and established a network of ‘ fellow influencers and decision-makers driving the future of energy. Matt provides insights in the rapidly developing worlds of clean energy, power utilities, and sustainable business practices. Trusted by dozens of clients and stakeholders, Matt regularly delivers market research, data analysis, and work products ranging from white papers to blog posts, podcasts to PowerPoints, key energy sector contacts to personalized data models, and much more.

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