Farewell to Evren
If you’ve been involved with Living Streets Alliance over the past 11.5 years, chances are you’ve had the pleasure of meeting or working with Evren Sönmez, our Director of Strategic Policy & Practice. Evren has been a key advocate, collaborator, and team member, who first started with LSA as the organizer of our Neighborhood Walkability Assessment program back in 2013, where she worked with multiple people and neighborhoods across Tucson to identify barriers to safe, comfortable, and continuous walking/rolling access and to flag short and long term ways to start building a more walkable/rollable community. Through her vision, commitment, and advocacy many of the projects identified through those Assessments landed in Prop 407, Tucson Parks & Connections, and are finally being built!
Evren (in LSA T-shirt) leading a Neighborhood Walkability Assessment with neighbors from Rincon Heights.
In addition to supporting Safe Routes to School, open streets, and so many of LSA’s initiatives over the years, Evren led LSA’s Complete Streets campaign, writing the policy that eventually earned Tucson one of the highest rankings in the nation from Smart Grown America and culminating in the adoption of a strong Complete Streets ordinance which will shape Tucson’s streets for generations to come.
We could go on and on about Evren, which is why it is with heavy heart that we share she will be moving on from LSA. Starting mid-September, Evren will serve as Housing Development Lead Planner with Tucson Housing and Community Development. While we’re sad to see Evren go, we’re also excited for the next chapter in her journey doing powerful and meaningful work to further affordable housing and address the current housing crisis in the Tucson community.
Q & A with Evren
Evren holding up "I'm A Fan! Complete Streets" fans in preparation for the Mayor & Council meeting during which Tucson's Complete Streets Ordinance was finally adopted in January 2019.
1 - What did you enjoy most about being a part of the organization?
We’ve managed to build and foster an organizational culture that is grounded in collaboration and no matter how the team has evolved over the years, that has been a strong tenet of the way we operate. I think it’s very special and I’ve truly enjoyed being a part of that. And I know I will greatly miss it.It’s also been such a delightful part of my work that I got to meet and work with so many people across Tucson over the years. Many of those relationships have lasted to this date and have left an imprint on me, both personally and professionally.And of course, the work we’ve done in the advocacy realm and the changes we pushed for to help create “streets for people” has undeniably given me immense pleasure and gratification. Everything from our white board strategizing sessions with our small but nighty team, all the way to speaking at public meetings where our policy and funding decisions are made have generated so many defining moments for my time here at LSA.
2 - What are you most proud of?
Our Complete Streets policy campaign and the award-wining, nationally recognized Complete Streets Policy that came out of it. This work meant so much to me personally; it nurtured my growth while also carrying LSA’s advocacy work to a whole new level.
3 - Any parting thoughts?
We still have such urgent and important work to do here in Tucson to address our traffic safety crisis and it will take every one of us to mobilize and instigate change beyond the wonderful humans at LSA who are dedicated to this cause. So, I don’t intend to be a stranger to LSA and will continue to stay involved as a supporter, volunteer, and a friend.
We will also of course have wins to celebrate together and times we come together in joy at events like Cyclovia. I have a feeling that our paths will keep crossing with many of the other “friends of LSA” out there.
Looking forward to seeing you all on the streets!