Meet our Cruise for Good Advisory Board

Cruise’s collaboration with the community 

There’s a certain responsibility that comes with building the future of transportation. At Cruise, we believe this future is about more than just technological advancement - it’s about improving access and equity for people underserved by the limitations of transportation today.

Since our founding, Cruise has partnered with and listened closely to community leaders to understand the needs of individuals living in the neighborhoods where our AVs operate. As we refine our technology and expand our offerings, we will continue to keep input from leaders and local community members at the center of our decisions so that we co-create Cruise for Good’s vision.

Today, we are launching the Cruise for Good Advisory Board to formalize and expand our longstanding collaboration with community advocates. The board is a coalition of leaders that Cruise will work with regularly to advance an equitable transportation ecosystem. 

The foundations of the advisory board

Born out of a pandemic crisis response effort to help food insecure individuals, Cruise for Good, is dedicated to closing equity and access gaps for the most vulnerable. We do this by improving access to equitable transportation, to basic needs, and to a more sustainable future for all. 

We’re proud of all that we’ve accomplished since our Cruise from Good efforts began three years ago, including delivering more than 2.4 million meals to help residents battling food insecurity, in partnership with San Francisco-Marin Food Bank and SF New Deal. Our meal delivery program also includes 150,000 deliveries, 265,000 clean miles driven, and 105 metric tons of emission offset. 

Recently, we also launched our Cruise for Good pilot program offering free rides to late-shift, hospitality workers at small businesses to help them get to and from work at hours when transportation is often less reliable, affordable and safe. 

Both of these programs came about as a result of direct input from leaders who had a pulse on critical needs in our communities. We know that our partners best understand how we should approach solving current transportation barriers.

Cruise for Good advisory board in action

As we look to grow our impact as we expand, we’re keeping our commitment to listening and learning center stage. That’s why today we’re launching the Cruise for Good advisory board. This group of community leaders will help to inform our social impact strategy and investments, and provide essential input on key issues facing our communities.

With that growth in mind, we’re thrilled to introduce our Cruise for Good advisory board founding members:

• Andy Burns, Director, San Francisco-Marin Food Bank

• Katie Marchini, COO, Replate.org

• Shelly Francis, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, EVNoire

• Travers McNeice, Vice President of Mission Services and Workforce, Goodwill San Francisco Bay Area

• Ryan Spurlock, Founder & Executive Director, Humanmade

• Cat Ward, Vice President, Jobs for the Future

• Orrian Willis, Senior Workforce Development Specialist, City and County of San Francisco

• Jenais Zarlin, Chief Impact Officer & Co-Founder, SF New Deal

The expertise of our advisory board members spans food insecurity, transportation equity, economic opportunity and sustainability. Each member is a leader in their respective field and is critical to deepening our community-centered approach.

There’s so much more on the horizon for Cruise for Good as we look to expand to new markets and deepen our work. We look forward to engaging with and building from this core group to be of service to our communities everywhere we go – we couldn’t be more grateful to our incredible advisory board members for joining us in this mission.