About Michael Gorman

My name is Michael Gorman. I grew up in the Chicago suburbs, Connecticut, and New Hampshire, and went to undergrad at Illinois Wesleyan University and grad school at the University of Chicago.

In 2012, I cofounded a bicycle advocacy organization, Bike BloNo. Through this organization, we promote the bicycle for everyday transportation in the Bloomington/Normal community. My focus was on working with public officials to shape the development of bike-friendly policies (for example, I helped shepherd the adoption of Complete Streets policies in Bloomington and Normal in the summer of 2015) and guiding infrastructure plans, such as new bike lanes and bike racks to make sure they’d be safe, useful, and beloved by the community.
From June 2014 to April 2015, I worked with local attorney Amelia Buragas to help get her elected to the Bloomington City Council, serving as an advisor and campaign treasurer. In addition to managing the books and providing strategic advice on a daily basis, I also designed some campaign literature and graphics.
From August 2014 to July 2015, I served as Chair of the Transportation and Air Quality working group for the development of the City of Bloomington’s 2035 Comprehensive Plan.
In September 2015, County Board member Carlo Robustelli brought me on board as his campaign treasurer for his 2016 re-election bid. The race ended up being uncontested.
In December 2015, Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner and the City Council unanimously voted to appoint me to a three-year term on the McLean County Regional Planning Commission board of commissioners. In this role, I continued to work with and support MCRPC staff as they worked to plan the future of our community’s major infrastructure and land use.
In May 2016, I was elected to the Green Top Grocery board of directors. Green Top is Bloomington-Normal’s only cooperative grocery store. During my tenure, we oversaw the store’s construction, grand opening, and the first two years of operation.
In October 2016, I was elected to the board of the Ecology Action Center, the community’s main environmental nonprofit. From government contracts to help oversee Bloomington and Normal’s solid waste programs, to radon awareness programs, and from DIY rain barrel workshops to group-buy programs for solar panels, the EAC performs a bevy of key projects to promote sustainability in Central Illinois.
From 2019 to 2021, I attended the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy and received a Masters in Public Policy.
From 2021 to the present, I have been working at the University of Maryland’s Center for Advanced Transportation Technology Lab, developing tools that help state and local departments of transportation see what’s happening on their roads in real time.