Staff Team

Stephanie Orlando is the Executive Director at Charlie’s Freewheels. She is actively involved in the cycling community in Toronto and has worked as a bike mechanic at Ya Bikes and Toronto Bicycle Tours, and volunteered at community organizations such as Bike Pirates and Bikechain. She enjoys camping, long bike rides, and playing the piano.

Stephanie Orlando

 Board of Directors

The Charlie’s FreeWheels board is a group of volunteers that work with staff to establish the direction of the organization and work to carry out its mission. The board attends monthly meetings (currently being held virtually) as well as monthly committee meetings including finance, fundraising, strategic planning, policies, board development, communications and marketing and more.

  • Claire McFarlane

    Claire McFarlane is the President and Co-Chair of Charlie's FreeWheels. She has worked with cycling organizations such as dandyhorse magazine, The Bad Girls* Bike Club and Cycle Toronto. Claire has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University and is currently working towards a masters in journalism at Carleton University. She likes bike touring and pastries.

  • Adam Hasham

    Adam is the Vice-president and Co-chair of Charlie’s FreeWheels. He is currently a Senior Advisor in the Office of the Chief Capital Officer (GO&UP) at Metrolinx, working on the expansion of the GO Rail network across the GTHA. While a Director at consulting firm MASS LBP, Adam has led transportation, public space, infrastructure finance, and illicit drug policy projects for governments and their agencies across Canada. Adam holds a Master of Cities Engineering & Management from the University of Toronto, where he is now a lecturer, and a Bachelor of Transportation Engineering from McGill University.

  • Gary Chen

    Gary joined Charlie's Freewheels in 2021 as a Director on the Board. Gary has deep experience from the private sector in technology, software and consulting services. He is currently a product commercialization leader at Shopify. His passion for direct community engagement, youth empowerment and cycling brought him to Charlie's FreeWheels. Gary holds a Bachelor's of Commerce degree from the University of Ottawa.

  • Hermann Tamnou

    Hermann joined Charlie's FreeWheels in 2021 as a mechanic and youth educator.

    He is part of Charlie's programming committee and has worked with Cycle Toronto, and the Regenesis cycling club at York University; where he studies electrical engineering.

    He enjoys bike-backing, camping, and doing wheelies.

  • Michael Bercovici

    Michael is a party pace cyclist and aspiring mechanic who joined Charlie’s board in 2023. He has experience in community advocacy and works with data in finance. Mike is the proud father of a one-eyed, goggle-wearing Yorkipoo.

  • Andrew Lynes

    Andrew joined the Charlie’s FreeWheels Board of Directors in 2023. He is a human resources lawyer and has previously worked in the legal aid clinic system representing tenants in housing matters. He is an avid bicycle commuter, backcountry canoe paddler, and hockey player.

  • Michelle Kearns

    Michelle joined Charlie's in 2024 as a Board member. She is a professional transportation planner and brings experience in stakeholder engagement, strategic planning, and program assessment. In her past, Michelle was a researcher with the Toronto Cycling Think and Do Tank, a frequent volunteer at bike DIY shops, and the co-founder of Bike Minds, a Toronto-based in-person bike-themed "talk show" with curated speakers. She joined Charlie's to support youth empowerment and continued development of bike culture and community building in Toronto. On weekends, you can find her cycling around the city, at a live concert, or gardening. 

 Interested in Joining the board?

Those who are interested in joining the board should email claire@charliesfreewheels.ca. We encourage people from the CFW community including youth program graduates and people from the Regent Park neighbourhood to apply. Board members usually contribute a minimum of 10 hours per month to the organization.