Webinar – Looking Ahead in 2026: Trails, Transportation, and the Midterm Elections
Relationship building is at the heart of every successful engagement strategy and is most successful when you start early and often. This year’s mid-term elections offer an opportunity to get ahead of building relationships with potential new leaders and showcase the power of trails in your community.
During this session, attendees heard from Wade Johnston, executive director of Tri-State Trails in Greater Cincinnati, and Brian O’Malley, president and CEO of the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, about how they’ve engaged candidates around their region’s active transportation priorities. This webinar is the perfect opportunity to explore practical, nonpartisan strategies from trail advocates across the country and walk away with ideas you can put into action immediately.
Panelists
Andrew N. Dupuy, Director of State-Level Policy, Rails to Trails Conservancy (moderator)
Wade Johnston, Executive Director, Tri-State Trails
Brian O’Malley, President and CEO, Central Maryland Transportation Alliance
Resources
- Learn more about Wade’s work leading Tri-State Trails: https://tristatetrails.org/
- Learn more about the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance: https://cmtalliance.org/
- Explore the Queen City’s emerging CROWN trail network: https://tristatetrails.org/crown/
- Looking for more inspiration? Check out Tri-State Trails upcoming events: https://tristatetrails.org/events/
- Not sure if your organization can engage in advocacy? Check out the Alliance for Justice’s Bolder Advocacy resource for nonprofits: https://afj.org/bolder-advocacy/
- You can find the 2024 Maryland Senate Transportation Questionnaire here: https://cmtalliance.org/download/senate-candidate-questionnaire/
- You can view the recording of the 2024 Baltimore Mayoral Transportation Forum here: https://www.youtube.com/live/Oiby_OgfAUw Â
- Check out CMT’s Transportation 101 program: https://cmtalliance.org/transportation-101/
- Learn how to conduct a walk audit in your community: https://americawalks.org/how-to-conduct-a-walk-audit-in-your-community-quick-video-guide-for-assessing-your-neighborhood-walkability/
- For more advocacy resources, check out the Alliance for Justice, Bolder Advocacy Resource Library: https://afj.org/resource-library/?topic%5B%5D=29&resource_type%5B%5D=35
RTC’s TrailNation Collaborative, Trail Development and Policy teams produce a free webinar series designed to help trail professionals build, grow, manage, maintain, promote or otherwise support trails and trail networks. Sign up here to get webinar alerts.
Have a comment or question on our webinar series? Contact us below with topic or speaker ideas. We appreciate your feedback! Email us.
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