James Gardner, Ph.D – Founder and CEO

Jim founded Good Karma Bikes in July 2009 to serve the needs of homeless and low-wage working people for reliable, safe transportation.  He quickly realized that what was going on was not about bicycles; it was about the Clients and the transformation of their self-esteem.

Jim grew up in Huntington Beach, CA.  It was that particular stretch of Pacific Coast Highway that caused his lifelong love of cycling.  In high school, he took his bicycle apart after almost every ride.  Cleaning and fixing bicycles was as much fun as riding them.

Jim attended college at the University of Southern California, studying engineering.  He received a bachelors, two masters and a Ph. D. degree in Solid State Physics, Optoelectronics.

It was while going oh-for-four in start-ups, that Jim realized he hadn’t done enough to make the world better.  About that time, he saw a homeless man on an unsafe bicycle.  He started wrenching bikes in the park.  It was then that Good Karma Bikes was Born…

Jim lives in Willow Glen with his wife of twenty-five years and four rescue cats.

Jenny Circle, Director of Development

Jenny was born and raised in Menlo Park. She found her passion in sports at Sacred Heart Prep and earned a scholarship to play Division 1 basketball at USC before transferring to the University of Colorado.  A major in communications, Jenny took her first job with eScrip, a for-profit fundraising company linking brick and mortar businesses with nonprofits raising over $350 million for schools across the United States.

In the last 20 years after leaving eScrip, Jenny has raised over $25M in funds for Kehillah Jewish High School in Palo Alto.

Jenny has been with Good Karma Bikes since 2021. She lives in Redwood City with her two kids, Tommy and Lilly and their puppy, Yogi.

Lisa DeGolier, Operations Manager

Lisa grew up in Wisconsin and has lived in Washington, D.C., Chicago, IL, Boise, ID, and Bristol, England. She left the East Bay when the internet bubble burst and came back to San Jose in 2006. She’s been in the South Bay for 16 years and has three daughters  ages 11-19.

After attending a spin class in 2016 she found that she loved being on a bike. She went two mornings a week until the class was canceled with lockdowns. That forced her to get outside on a road bike -and what a beautiful time to get on a bike with so fewer cars on the road. She taught all of her kids to ride on the road that year.

At the time she was riding a bike she had gotten off freecycle.org that was a little too big for her. One day a carbon Calfee Road bike was donated to GKB, where she was volunteering, and it was love at first sight.

Lisa was officially brought on staff in 2020. We must say that we are so proud to have a female mechanic running Silicon Valley’s Best Bike Shop (2016-Present). Lisa holds two Bachelors of Business Administration (BBA), in Production and Operations Management & Management Information Systems from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. She commutes on her bicycle every day to GKB – sometimes with her three daughters and has been known to also chauffeur two dogs and a guinea pig via bike baskets – a memorable sight, biking through Willow Glen with her little zoo. These days she terrorizes pedestrians and dogs on the Three Creeks Trail going a little over the speed limit on her way to work.

She’s the first friendly face you’ll see at GKB and we are fortunate to have her.

JAY COBB

Jay is super passionate about getting everyone that walks through our doors on a bike! Jay himself is a life-long biker who has transitioned recently to eBikes. Need a bike? Jay will size you up and get you one that fits your needs.

Kenneth Lounge

Kenneth grew up exploring the undeveloped around his home by bike. As a youth, he found bikes a tool for freedom and independence. He raced mountain bikes in college and worked at a bike shop. In 2005, Kenneth was a professional mechanic at Race Across America. He has been lucky enough travel a lot as an adult and is happy to be in California. Kenneth is passionate about helping people with their bikes.

RICK LUNDBLAD

Rick first started working on bikes when he modified a childhood bike into an early version mountain bike to deliver newspapers in the winter snow. As a young man, Rick worked at a bike shop during a bike boom when Schwinn bikes were delivered by the train car load. Rick came to California as a young man and spent many years as a mechanical engineer in Silicon Valley. He found his way back to working on bikes several years ago. At Good Karma Bikes, Rick has earned a reputation as the mechanic that can fix anything.