About Us
Special Pedals Inc. is a 501c(3) non-profit bike shop working towards an inclusive community where adults with disabilities are employed at jobs that offer equitable hours, pay, and quality of life.
We provide individualized training and employment opportunities for adults with neurodiversities in a variety of fields. Our team of volunteer mentors have a diverse background of experience in Special Education, Marketing, Art, and Bicycle Mechanics. Each volunteer mentor works to teach our participants new skills to help them be more successful in the workforce.
Get to know our founder
Leah Sherrill
An accomplished EC Education teacher in the public school system and a graduate of UNCW.
During her time at UNCW she also worked at Easter Seals and saw a lack of diversity in available employment and individualized training for the neurodiverse community.
In 2015 while completing her senior year at UNCW Leah founded Special Pedals with help from the Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship to help reduce the employment gap that plagued the community she served.
AWARDS
2015 Teresa S. Lee Scholarship in Education
2015 Innovative Ideas Grant from North Carolina Council for Exceptional Children
2016 Graduate of the Emerging Leaders Program from the BB & T Leadership Institute
2016 1st place at the UNC Social Entrepreneurship Conference
2016-2017 Recipient of the Ignite Program through the Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
2019 WILMA Women to Watch -Rising Star Category
2019-2020 WILMA Leadership Institute
Board of Directors
John Pesackis EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Life experience and opportunity lead me to Leah & Special Pedals where I have been able to express my love for bicycles and my community at the same time.
Ed Kreul SECRETARY
Raised in Wisconsin the youngest of 6 children, the nearest in age being born with Down Syndrome I developed a clear understanding of the challenges neurodiverse individuals face. After retiring from an engineering career I joined Special Pedals to help make a difference in the special people’s lives.
Thomas Zordan Accountant
Leah has been a long time friend of my daughter so when I had the opportunity to help her build Special Pedals into an organization that would give Neurodiverse adults the chance to have meaningful employment.
Tim Baur
With over 45 years of experience in the food and nutritional ingredients industry, I have built a career spanning sales, marketing, and mentoring the development of new talent. My passion for cycling began in the 1980s, inspired by Greg LeMond’s Tour de France victory, and has grown into a lifelong pursuit that includes racing and bike building. Beyond my professional and athletic interests, I am committed to giving back through volunteer work with local charities, supporting and strengthening our community.
Lauryn McAlpin
Although my background is in Finance, my passion has always been working with nonprofits and underprivileged members of my community. I previously worked at the YMCA offering scholarships to at-risk youth and the homeless population in Duluth, MN. Moving to Wilmington, I wanted to find a place to offer my time and experience in a meaningful way in my neighborhood of the Brooklyn Arts District and Special Pedals allows me the opportunity to do that.
Paul Collins
Raised in Wisconsin the youngest of 6 children, the nearest in age being born with Down Syndrome I developed a clear understanding of the challenges neurodiverse individuals face. After retiring from an engineering career I joined Special Pedals to help make a difference in the special people’s lives.
James Reynolds
James Reynolds has been in the media industry for more than 30 years. He has worked in cable television, broadcast television, newspaper, and radio. He has been in the area since 2012, and has been with Cumulus Radio Wilmington since 2021. He discovered Special Pedals online and believed in the mission of the organization, so he began volunteering and also joined the board in 2025.
PRESS
Sam’s Journey
Sam O’Connor has worked at Special Pedals for about seven years. He says the time has made a difference.
WECT Spotlight
Lingam & Tim sit down with Daniella Hankey of WECTto share about Special Pedals mission & community impact.
Pedaling Change
How Special Pedals is empowering neurodiverse adults in Wilmington.
A Bike at a Time
Leah & Lingam sat down with Wilmington Downtown, Inc. to discuss all things Special Pedals & where the organization is headed.
Inspiring Conversations
Our store manager Lingam sat down with voyage Raliegh to discuss Special Pedals, its history and where its headed next.
Mural Reveal
Special Pedals, started by Leah Sherill held a block party to open their new store at 320 Red Cross Street Saturday in downtown.
Special Pedals
Nonprofit aims to help people with intellectual or developmental disabilities who want to work.
Pedaling Forward
Special Pedals creates opportunities for all, launches fundraiser
WILMA’s “Women to Watch” List
WILMA’s 2020 Leadership Institute, an annual nine-month program, gives area women the opportunity to learn from leaders in the region, visit a range of local companies, and serve as each other’s personal board of directors.
Keep On Rolling
The Special Pedals team set up shop at the Waterline Brewing Company in downtown Wilmington. The team was preparing for an event to accept donations, repair bicycles, recycle parts, sell t-shirts and other items to help get their operation rolling.
Four years later
‘Special Pedals’ continues to give adults with disabilities functional jobs
Bike Across NC
Esteamed Coffee, a shop that will employ people with various disabilities who would otherwise struggle to find meaningful employment, hosted its first annual N.C. Bike Ride. The ride started Tuesday, Dec. 3, otherwise known as National Giving Day, and Esteamed Coffee Board Member Kirby Barbour rode his bike 400 miles across North Carolina to raise awareness and funds for the shop’s grand opening in Cary next year.
Idea to Reality
A year into creating Special Pedals Leah sits down with WWAY to talk progress and obstacles.
Wheels rolling on bike shop dream
An organization is making moves with the hopes of becoming a permanent bike shop sooner than later.