Columbia local Mike Burden will start a new role as the CEO of Local Motion on March 31, 2025. Burden is a daily bicycle commuter with a keen interest in transportation equity, a strong record of professional and volunteer leadership, and deep connections to the local community. As the CEO of Local Motion, he will lead the organization’s mission of providing walking, biking, and transit solutions to meet people’s everyday transportation needs. Burden will oversee advocacy, outreach, and programming activities and ensure the organization’s long-term stability.
Burden moved to Columbia in 2000 and taught at Hickman High School for two years. From 2006 to 2008, he served in the U.S. Peace Corps in Mongolia, after which he returned to Columbia and worked in various roles at the University of Missouri. Since 2015 he has taught at Columbia Independent School. Burden has long been involved in local transportation and cycling organizations, having served five years on the City of Columbia Bike and Pedestrian Commission and as the co-founder and coach of CoMo Raptors, a local youth mountain biking team, since 2020.
Mike adds, “I'm thrilled to join such a talented and dedicated team, and I look forward to continuing the momentum that Local Motion has built in its 25 years of making our city a safer and more vibrant place to live.”