The International Federation of Pedestrians (IFP) is governed by a Board composed of representatives from member organisations, who represent local and national Pedestrian NGOs from around the world and are committed to advancing pedestrian rights and people-centred urban mobility. The Board provides strategic direction, ensures the integrity of the organisation’s mission and oversees the development of IFP’s activities at the international level.
As a global network, IFP brings together organisations and advocates working in diverse social, cultural and geographic contexts. The Board reflects this international character, bringing experience from civil society, research, urban planning, public policy and community advocacy. Board members contribute their expertise voluntarily and play a key role in strengthening collaboration between pedestrian organisations, supporting research initiatives and promoting walking as a fundamental component of sustainable and equitable transport systems.
The Board is responsible for guiding the long-term strategy of the organisation, supporting the work of the Secretariat and ensuring that IFP remains accountable to its members. It works to strengthen the global pedestrian movement by fostering partnerships, supporting knowledge exchange and advocating for policies that prioritise safe, inclusive and accessible public space.
Board members are elected through the governance structures of the organisation and serve fixed terms. Together they represent the collective commitment of the international pedestrian community to building cities and territories where walking is safe, valued and accessible to everyone.
Mário J Alves – Portugal –Associação de Cidadãos Auto-Mobilizados (ACA-M) – Secretary General of IFP
Mário has a degree in Civil Engineering and a Master of Science in Transport. He worked at the Centre for Transport Studies of the University of London and the Centre for Urban and Regional Systems of the University of Lisbon. He was executive coordinator of mobility plans and participated in several European projects related to walking and cycling. Recently he worked on a report to critically assess the policies of the Portuguese government to achieve the Kyoto targets.
He was part of the International Scientific Programme Committee of the conference Walk21 in Toronto and National Coordinator of the COST Action: Pedestrian Quality Needs. He was advisor for the Mayor of Lisbon and currently advisor for several Portuguese and European institutions. In 2010 he was the co-editor the book “The Walker and the City”. Over the last decade he has written articles and presented numerous papers and seminars on topics related to walking in particular and transport and sustainable mobility in general.
Alejandra Araya Canepa – Spain – Vianants Mallorca
Alejandra Araya Canepa holds a degree in Political Sciences and a Master’s in International Security. She began her career as a Social Researcher in a marketing company serving private sector businesses. In 2011, alongside her professional commitments, she became involved in grassroots movements advocating for children’s right to play outdoors in a local entity. Subsequently, she co-founded a local group championing pedestrian rights in Mallorca, Illes Balears, Spain. The focal point of her efforts is to bring pedestrian issues into the political agenda, striving to make our streets safer, accessible, and more livable for everyone.
Dominik Bucheli – Switzerland – Fussverkehr Schweiz – Treasurer of IFP
Dominik Bucheli is a geographer. In his master’s thesis, he analysed how road design affects conflicts between road users. He then worked as a transport planner. Since 2010, he has been working as a project manager at Fussverkehr Schweiz, the Swiss Association for Pedestrians. He has been responsible for several awareness-raising campaigns on road safety and is working on a project to compare the walkability of Swiss cities. He is a member of the standardization committee for design standards for pedestrian and bicycle traffic.
Gustavo Calderón – Colombia- Fundación Colombiana de Peatones
Gustavo is a Civil Engineer, Specialist in Road Design, Transportation and Traffic Engineering. He has a Master Degree in Environmental Administration for Sustainable Development, and Advanced training as a scholar in Japan and Sweden on Transportation Planning and on Public Transportation and Environment. He is a Consultant, Researcher and Promotor of Sustainable Mobility. Co-founder of the Colombian Foundation of Pedestrians and its President and Executive Director since 1999.
Eileen McCarthy – USA – America Walks – Vice-President of IFP
Eileen McCarthy represents her ward in Washington, DC in the United States on the Pedestrian Advisory Council, which advises the Mayor, City Council and city agencies on pedestrian safety and accessibility. Among other activities, Eileen led the Council’s efforts to support DC’s adoption of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act of 2016, which institutionalized open public access to crash data and the District’s Complete Streets policy, mandated bicycle and pedestrian priority areas, established an aggressive driving law, and created a task force to review major crashes and identify needed engineering and other changes.
Eileen also serves as a mentor for the America Walks Walking College. Eileen worked as a lawyer at the US Department of Labor from 1988 until 2013, in a variety of roles and on a variety of subjects. She earned a Bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College in 1980 and a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University in 1984.
Silvia Stuchi – Brazil – Corrida Amiga
Environmental manager (University of São Paulo), PhD in Scientific Policy and Technology (State University of Campinas), with internship period at University of Science and Technology, Lille/ France, and visiting Student Researcher at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. In 2018 she started a Post doc in Sustainability (University of São Paulo) with emphasis on active mobility. With 8 years experience in sustainability and climate change projects (CDM and voluntary carbon market projects), and 5 years on pedestrian mobility.
Passionate active transportation advocate, she is coordinating the NGO “Corrida Amiga” since 2014 and also developing Como Anda project, in parter with Cidade Ativa, sponsored by iCS, with the goal to map the walking initiatives in Brazil. In June (18), together with other partners, she started a research to evaluate the Impact of “Paulista Aberta” program on Urban Vitality.
Ana Magdalena Rodríguez Gómez – México – Liga Peatonal
Ana is an urban architect with more than ten years of experience in mobility, citizen participation, and community project management. She builds strategic alliances between civil society, government, and the private sector to advance social impact. She is the General Coordinator of Liga Peatonal, where she manages public policy projects, fundraising, and the annual Pedestrian Congress.
Her work on walkability interventions earned her two Local Actions awards from the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety. She previously contributed to La Banqueta Se Respeta, supporting the Mobility and Accessibility Law in Nuevo León. She holds a master’s degree in Urbanism and Territory.
Arzu Filiz (Güngör) Çıdamlı -Turkey – Yaya Derneği
Arzu graduated from DEU Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Department of Industrial Engineering and prepared her thesis on the organization of NGOs. She has been producing and working in the field of visual arts and culture for more than 35 years. She has participated in many exhibitions and curated cultural events. Arzu was also the İzmir representative for Geniş Açı Photography Art Magazine and co-founded Çizgelikedi Visual Culture Center in 2005.
She is one of the founding members of Yaya Derneği (Pedestrian Association) and currently serves on the board. Her work with the Pedestrian Association focuses on gender-blind city policies, accessibility issues and the use of creative communication tactics to raise awareness. Based in Izmir, Turkey, Arzu speaks Turkish, English and a very basic level of German. She works as a freelance photography consultant, runs workshops and volunteers for public projects.
Francesca Chiodi – Italy – Movimento Diritti dei Pedoni
Francesca Chiodi is a Haematologist with professional expertise in global medical leadership and scientific communication, expanding her focus to the impact of active mobility on public health. An experienced advocate in diverse sectors, including LGBTQIA+ rights, health, and sustainable mobility, she is particularly committed to promoting walkability. In 2023, she founded and chairs since then Movimento Diritti dei Pedoni, an NGO dedicated to promoting safety, accessibility, and dignity for people walking in Italy and collaborating with institutions, academic stakeholders, and community organizations.
Francesca has coordinated multi-faceted public affairs campaigns with governments to advocate for mobility justice and leads local and national initiatives to foster active citizenship, expand lobbying networks while collectively decoding and shifting the motonormative cultural model. Drawing on her expertise in science, advocacy, and mobility, Francesca works to accelerate cultural and political change for reducing inequities and advancing community health.
Geert van Waeg – Belgium – Johanna.be – President of IFP
Born in 1959 in Brussels, Belgium, Geert got his PhD in medical science in Uppsala, Sweden. From the mid 70ies on, he was active around non-motorized road users (mainly cyclists, as local chairman of the “Groene Fietsers” in Brussels) and liveable cities (Brukselbinnenstebuiten). Together with family and friends, he founded the NGO johanna.be, after he lost his daughter when a car crashed into a group of scouts on a hike on a small country road in 2003.
Johanna.be supports local grass root initiatives around infrastructure for non-motorized road users in Belgium through advice and visibility of the projects on its website. Defending the fine network of public footpaths and right-of-ways for the generations to come is done both through johanna.be and through the NGO Trage Wegen (slow roads), of which he is a board member. He is an active member of the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration, and represented the IFP on many occassions, including at the High Level Ministerial Conferences on Road Safety in Moscow, November 2009 and Brazilia, November 2015.