FOUNDER & BOARD CHAIR

xTx is spearheaded by Charlie Gandy. He’s a veteran trail hiker, bike-riding adventurer, and proud native Texan. After graduating from North Mesquite High School in 1976, Charlie traveled around the world solo and received a political science degree from the University of Texas in 1980. At age 23, he was elected to represent Mesquite and East Dallas in the Texas House of Representatives.

Charlie went on to work for the governor and the Texas Nature Conservancy before founding BikeTexas.org, one of the first state-wide bike advocacy organizations in the United States.

In national biking and walking advocacy, Charlie worked for the Bicycle Federation of America, hosting workshops and walk audits to inspire and seed biking and walking advocacy organizations across the country, and hosted the groundbreaking Thunderhead Retreat. In 1997 and 1998, he was the Field Director of the successful national political “Bikes Belong” campaign, which helped to save and expand federal funding for biking, walking, transit, trails, and more in the "Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century (TEA-21).

Charlie has climbed all the 14ers in Colorado, hiked over 4,000 miles (mostly in US western states and including the entire state of California), and biked everywhere. He’s a serial entrepreneur, having owned several businesses, including a travel agency, a Colorado mountain lodge, and an urban design firm. He currently splits his time between living in Poulsbo, WA, with his wife Melissa and traveling through Texas planning this legacy trail.

Connect with him: Gandy(dot)Charles(at)gmail.com.

CHIEF STORYTELLING OFFICER

Melissa is an artist, writer, and communications coach. Her passion is for elevating the impact of those working to create a healthier, more equitable and sustainable world through storytelling.

She’s also Charlie’s wife, and encouraged him to make sure horses and horse people were included in xTexas. She was an avid equestrian in her childhood and teens, riding both English and Western.

Though no longer riding, Melissa is passionate about horses and mules as part of the active-and-sustainable living conversations.

For the past 14 years Melissa has trained those working for active and safe streets on the local, regional, state, and national level on using storytelling and strategic media outreach.

She’s also placed active + sustainable mobility positive stories in news outlets such as the Associated Press California, Bicycling Magazine, Bloomberg News, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Living on Earth, the Los Angeles Times, National Public Radio affiliates KCRW, KPCC, KQED, and the Texas Standard, Reuters, the San Francisco Chronicle, Sierra Club Magazine, and more.

Connect with her: Melissa(at)xTexas.org

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IN TRAINING

Born and raised in Central Texas, Beckie spent the past seven years in Northwest Arkansas working in the cycling industry. While there, she earned my master’s degree in Recreation and Sports Management from the University of Arkansas, and I focused my research on women’s’ barriers of entry to the sport of mountain biking.

Following grad school, she cofounded Grit MTB Festival and All Bikes Welcome, 501c(3) in order to increase trail access and ridership for members of historically marginalized communities.

In 2023, she opened her own consulting practice where I helped secure over $1 million in funding for projects that focused on outdoor recreation and conservation. All of this led her to being honored as one of the Top 100 Women of Impact in Arkansas by the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas in the Fall of 2023.

Since then, her heart called her back home to Central Texas, where she’s excited to continue this work in her home state. She’s especially passionate about conserving public and working lands, advocating for our incredible biodiversity, and ensuring that Texas’ landscapes remain open and accessible to future generations. 

When not working, you can find her pedaling down gravel roads, swimming in a river, photographing native plants, or reading something nerdy—often about dinosaurs or western water conservation.

Connect with her: Beckie(at)xTexas.org