R.J. Heckelman is the Director of Partnerships and Resources at Trips for Kids. He was born and raised in Marin County where he started riding bikes at an early age. His first real bike was a hand-me-down blue Schwinn that was purchased at the local recyclery back in 1998. In high school he took up mountain biking, and raced in cross country for San Rafael High School. After that he went into the bicycle industry first working as a mechanic in a few bike shops, and then working for a professional youth development team. RJ started with TFK as a part-time mechanic at the Marin Recyclery, and within a year moved over to the Earn-a-Bike program to teach youth in the Canal district of San Rafael. RJ has been with Trips for kids since 2018, and National since 2019. He enjoys regular MTB rides and hanging out with his dog Sadie.
