Adriel Thornton named Executive Director of MoGo
MoGo team set to grow with additional positions
DETROIT. May 5, 2021 —Adriel Thornton has been named the new executive director at MoGo, metro Detroit’s nonprofit bike share system. Thornton has been the director of marketing and community outreach at MoGo since its launch in 2017 and brings a wealth of leadership and community engagement experience to the executive position. MoGo is also adding two part-time positions to support community outreach and programming as part of a grant funded by the Better Bike Share Partnership.
“I’m thrilled to be stepping into this leadership role and am excited about the future of MoGo,” said Thornton. “Having been a part of MoGo’s story from the beginning, I remain confident that we will continue to bring more opportunities for mobility and equity in Detroit and the region.”
MoGo is a nonprofit affiliate of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, which has provided a variety of support to launch and expand bike share since 2015. “Adriel brings a wealth of skill and talent to his new role at MoGo, and he is in a great position to build on the opportunities associated with leading a growing bike share system,” said Eric B. Larson, CEO of the Downtown Detroit Partnership. “Transportation and mobility are key issues for Detroiters and MoGo will continue to play an important role in the city’s future. MoGo has successfully expanded, and now it’s time for the organization to evolve.”
Thornton joined MoGo Detroit in January 2017, helping launch the nonprofit in May of that year. Previous to that, he served as the outreach and operations manager at Allied Media Projects, and manager of corporate marketing for American Entertainment Technology. He is also the founder of Fresh Media Group. Additionally, Thornton has been a long-time community activist and event producer. He earned his bachelor’s degree in public relations from Wayne State University.
MoGo Board Chair Ned Staebler said, “Adriel is a tremendous asset to the MoGo team. His experience in marketing and community outreach, his commitment to transportation equity and his love of biking: they all work together to make Adriel the obvious choice to head up MoGo.”
Thornton begins as executive director on May 5, 2021. He replaces Lisa Nuszkowski, MoGo’s founder and outgoing executive director, who is now the president of M-1 Rail.
In addition to the promotion of Thornton, Jeremy Rosenberg, MoGo’s current marketing assistant, will step up as the organization’s marketing and digital media manager. Two new positions also will be added to the MoGo team in coming weeks through the Better Bike Share Partnership’s Living Lab program, an initiative to support, showcase and learn lessons from four cities including Detroit. Designed to reduce barriers to micromobility in lower-income communities, the positions of outreach and engagement manager and program manager focus on improving connections between bike share and bus service with partners Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT), Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) and Wayne State University.
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About MoGo
With 620 bikes located at 75 stations in metro Detroit, MoGo is a non-profit organization that strives to serve a wide range of people and needs. MoGo is made possible by generous support from its title sponsors, Henry Ford Health System and Health Alliance Plan (HAP), who have been partners in fostering healthy, vibrant and active communities through bike share since 2017.
