Like many others in the city of Philadelphia, Taylor Kuyk-White rides a bike to get from one place to the next. What makes Taylor extra special is her ability to harness the power of bicycling to push others forward. Through her work at
Neighborhood Bike Works, Taylor coordinates programs to empower teen youth by teaching them how to maintain, safely ride and develop leadership skills through biking. When Taylor's not on a bike, she's making waxed canvas bags as
Shrimp Muffin Haberdashery and raising chickens in West Philadelphia.
When did you fall in love with biking?
I fell in love with the feeling of freedom that biking gave me as soon as I lost my training wheels. Racing up and down my block listening to "I Think We're alone Now" (the Tommy James & The Shondells cover, not the Tiffany version) on my mini portable boom box zip-tied to my handlebars.
It wasn't until my later college years, however, that I fell in love with the bicycle as a vehicle for community building and social change. After teaching myself a thing or two about repairing my own bike, I got a job with the campus bike co-op. I have been deeply engaged in the "Community Bike Project" world ever since, focusing on access for minority and oppressed populations.
What do you love most about your job as Youth Bike Education & Empowerment Program coordinator at Neighborhood Bike Works?
My position as the
YBEEP coordinator at NBW focuses on developing leadership and professional readiness opportunities at the most advanced level of our tiered structure for our teen youth. Though the nature of my work has a consistent focus of youth development, my day-to-day is ever-changing and has nurtured my professional and interpersonal growth more rapidly than with any position I've held prior.
In the midst of coordinating with program partners, developing curriculum, supporting direct teaching staff, etc., the most fulfilling part of my work is building authentic relationships of care and growth with the youth we work for, especially in the all-too-rare unstructured moments of connection. I am awed and humbled on a daily basis by the youth leaders who have had the patience and persistence to guide us to see NBW's potential as a truly youth-led organization, and I am excited to stick around to support their vision. Did I mention that we do this through bicycles?
Where is your favorite place to think in Philadelphia?
My studio. I allow my thoughts most freedom when my hands are busy. I love the challenge of perfecting design, the bliss of creative expression, the grounding of material productivity. My studio is one place I come to for solace from my (admittedly self-inflicted) manic social and professional life. I'm currently most excited about my waxed canvas bicycle bags and leather amulets, but with a name like "Shrimp Muffin Haberdashery," I don't take it too seriously. You can come see my work in person at the
Go West! Craft Fest on April 25 at the Woodlands Cemetery.
You are also a keeper of chickens. What are their names?
I prefer the title "Chicken Tender." My girls' names are Tooskie, Reginald and Namtarn Peep. Past generations have included Trotsky, Hominy, Machiavelli, Baron Von Toossen and Ursula.
What are you up to this weekend?
Moving! I'm honored and excited to be the newest collective member of
Fancy Affordable Housing Cooperative, Inc (“Fancy House”). West Philadelphia has an incredibly rich history of collectively owned and operated houses that, through lower rent cost and communal living practices, allow their occupants to focus more time and energy on community organizing and action. I'm excited to continue this culture of value-based cooperative housing, as I feel it has allowed Philadelphia organizing and community-building advantages in a magnitude unseen by other cities in the U.S.
Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice
