The Team
Who We Are
Bios for current board members and others involved in CAT Line SJ
Our Team
Lydon George
Lydon George is a champion of all things Bay Area. Born and raised in Gilroy, CA, he strives to represent the diverse South Bay cultures and communities he was raised in through personal, academic, and professional advocacy. Lydon received a BA in Economics with a minor in Sociology from UC Santa Cruz, most recently graduating from San José State University with a Master’s in Urban Planning. His graduate work focused on understanding systemic racism in historic planning, implementing racial equity in current planning practices, expanding local and regional non-car transportation, and uplifting existing communities through enhancement and accessibility of public spaces. Lydon currently works as a Transportation Planner for San Francisco MTA, but lives and thrives in downtown San José, where you can usually find him walking with a cup of coffee, admiring the urban landscape, engaging with the community, on a run, or riding one of many bikes. He is a major fan of local VTA transit services, particularly the Green and Blue light rail lines south of downtown because “those trains jam!”.
Mari Hsu
Mari Hsu (they / them) is a public transit and social justice advocate with a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from SJSU. They are currently acting as the Secretary for CAT Line SJ while working as an active transportation consultant for a small NorCal firm serving often-overlooked small towns and rural communities. With past experience ranging from physics to design, all their work has hinged on communicating complex topics to non-experts in dignified and engaging ways. They are also an expert cat-botherer and an award-winning knitter.
Emanuel Jacobo
Emanuel Jacobo was born and raised in San Jose, California. He is a Master's graduate of urban and regional planning at San José State University. An advocate with a background in justice studies and human rights, Emanuel's work concerns questions of cultural identity, peoples' relationships to their active transportation, and social and spatial equity in urban planning and development. He is President of the grassroots organization Cultural Active Transportation in efforts of resiliency to dignify active transportation; and how public transit stations can help promote a culture that identifies the neighborhood. Emanuel believes he can help make a positive impact within our community by creating, supporting, and enriching a sustainable environment within our communities. In his free time, Emanuel enjoys advocating, supporting, and volunteering for the Coyote Meadows Coalition, Keeping Coyote Creek Beautiful, Friends of Five Wounds Trail, BARTVVA, Sacred Heart Community Services (Pantry, Closet, La Mesa Verde), Communities Allied United for Social Equity, Silicon Valley De-Bug, Affordable Housing Network, and San José Peace and Justice Center.
Lourdes Jimenez
​Lourdes Jimenez is the IMS Program Assistant and a current senior at SJSU. She is majoring in Art History & Visual Communication while simultaneously working towards an Urban Studies minor. Her interests and focus are researching cultural synergies and semiotic fields that contribute to the cultural economy of an urban landscape and plans to proceed with the MUP program offered at SJSU.
Feliberto Martinez
Feliberto Martinez is a East San Jose, California native. He graduated from Yerba Buena High School and San José State University with a Major in Political Science. Shortly after he graduated from Lincoln Law School in 2012, he passed the bar and now is a licensed attorney at law. However, following the footsteps of the family business Martinez Family Funeral Home, Feliberto has become a licensed funeral home director. Currently a member of the San José Rotary Club Organization, he is now the Treasurer to the grassroots organization Cultural Active Transportation Line San José in efforts to empower the residents on the East Side of San José by helping to dignify active transportation and public transit stops. Feliberto believes that health is wealth and a healthy community is rich community.
