Our Team

John has been with the firm for 15 years and has served a number of roles through his ascent to CEO, most recently as the Vice-President of Global Sales & Marketing. Other roles over the past decade have included Web Developer, Project Manager, IT Manager and Mentorship Program Lead. John has an over-arching holistic understanding of BNP and lives our paradigm.

As the CEO, John focuses on leading the team in the delivery of the myriad of projects, services, and goods already in place, increasing efficiencies, and establishing systems that will allow the companies to continue to expand across Canada and the US.  “The people who I work with every day are remarkable, talented and relentlessly positive. I am excited to be in a position to advocate for their growth, the growth of the company, and the growth of the movement to connect children to nature through play.”

Adam is an internationally acclaimed designer, builder, and researcher of nature-based play spaces, and the founder of Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds. Adam has traveled globally to advocate for children’s rights to nature play, and to collaborate on the creation of spectacular natural parks and playgrounds.

His resume in the natural playground industry is unparalleled; highlights include creating campuses, training, working on projects for the US Army, Parks Canada, and Australia, and City projects for Toronto, San Francisco, Vancouver, Calgary, New York, Austin, Denver, Chicago, and Miami.

Adam lives and works at the forefront of the movement to connect children to nature. His bold, charismatic personality sets the tone for the entire company, and he’s at his happiest when he’s pushing executives, municipal managers, and educators out of their comfort zones.

He sits on numerous advisory committees, including the International Association of Nature Pedagogy, Parliamentary Commission on Urban Conservation, The Canadian Wildlife Federation, and the Systematic Literature Review on Risky Outdoor Play. His work is accessible, natural and fun.

Known for his wit and humour as a public speaker, Adam invites us to shed our inhibitions and play in the mud. He is the proud husband of Jill Bienenstock, and father of two sons, Sam and Leo. He sneaks off to northern Ontario when he needs to immerse himself in nature; he believes it’s one of the most beautiful places on earth.

As the co-author of The Systematic Literature Review on Outdoor Risky Play, Adam warns us not to be fooled by the serious nature of his experience, after all, at its core this is about inspiring play for our kids… so you can expect some playfulness and irreverence when working with him!

Jill is an early childhood educator with over 30 years experience in various settings. She currently works as the Director of Education, alongside her husband, Adam, at their company Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds. Jill is part of an exciting team that designs and creates natural playgrounds, which connect children to nature. She focuses on finding ways to extend curriculum outdoors, making it simple and fun for both children and educators. Jill is inspired by the children she works with and enjoys finding creative ways to transform outdoor ‘roadblocks’ into learning opportunities for all.

Andrew is a seasoned leader with a diverse background spanning automotive, manufacturing, energy, masonry, landscape contracting, and environmental remediation. As COO, he brings that wide-ranging expertise to Bienenstock’s mission of reconnecting children with nature through immersive, inclusive play environments.

Since joining Bienenstock, Andrew has played a key role in leading an operations team deeply committed to efficiency, safety, and environmental responsibility. He is passionate about championing processes that reflect our shared values. Under his guidance, our team continues to raise the bar on craftsmanship and stewardship, making it easier and faster for communities to bring nature play to life.

Passionate about the environment and creating a better world for future generations, Andrew plays a critical role in helping Bienenstock deliver on its bold promise: to connect one million children to nature every day.

His happy place? Up north with his wife, their three adventurous daughters, and a pair of happy dogs in tow.

A self-described “nature enthusiast, play-rights champion and community builder,” Tash leads Bienenstock’s global sales and client-care engine with the same contagious energy you’ll see when she’s chatting with educators at conferences or walking a site with municipal partners.

Her background in coaching and strategic planning shows up in the way she mentors emerging talent and translates our mission—“connecting one million children to nature every day”—into measurable impact for every client engagement.

Tash is often invited to speak to city councils and school boards about the sensory, social, and environmental benefits of nature play. Whether she’s co-authoring an RFP response or rolling up her sleeves at a community build, her north star remains the same: disruptive, transformative, relentless advocacy for children’s right to play outdoors. Off the clock you’ll find her exploring new trails with her husband, 3 daughters and dogs.

Louise Dickmeyer is a seasoned strategic relationship leader with experience across both nonprofit and for-profit sectors. Her career includes serving as a Strategic Account Manager at Taylor Corporation—one of Forbes’ top 200 largest privately held U.S. companies.

For the past six years, Dickmeyer served as CEO of the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota, where she led the development of a proposed outdoor expansion project. Through this work, she was introduced to Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds and developed a strong commitment to their mission of connecting children to nature.

A longtime Minnesota resident, she holds a bachelor’s degree from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and a master’s degree from Regis University in Denver, Colorado

Andrea personifies the play/joy within our mission to connect children to authentic nature experiences. She consistently provides feedback and suggestions for improvements across our digital platforms and the way in which we reach out to our lead base demonstrating agency & ownership over both her own and our team’s success.

Throughout my career, I’ve focused on integrating nature into urban settings and preserving natural assets. By encouraging environmental stewardship, I aim to inspire communities to actively participate in preserving our planet. Joining Bienenstock aligns with my commitment to addressing environmental crises like deforestation, water insecurity, and habitat loss. This team empowers me to design resilient and playful spaces that conserve water, promote native plants, support wildlife, and engage children with nature, fostering a deeper appreciation for the environment and enhancing community well-being.

With a degree in architecture, a diploma in architectural technology, and international experience, I bring a passion for understanding how things are made and a keen eye for detail to every project. Inspired by nature and landscapes, I believe in the growing importance of reconnecting with the outdoors—a value I’ve cherished since childhood. At Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds, I am proud to align my skills with our shared vision of crafting thoughtfully designed outdoor play spaces that foster creativity and a deep connection with nature.

I am committed to creating user-centered designs that prioritize unique, meaningful experiences. I enjoy sketching, exploring innovative solutions through the latest design software, and contributing to designs that spark creativity and connect harmoniously with their surrounding context.

Kedar is an architect, educator and computational designer. Over the past seven years, he has worked across design and architecture practices, driven by a curiosity for geometric patterns and their relationship with nature. He holds a Masters in Advanced Architecture from IAAC, Barcelona where he explored urban beekeeping.

More recently, he has been collaborating with tech teams to make generative AI driven visualization more intuitive and accessible. At Bienenstock, this interest in patterns, systems, and exploration finds a natural home. In his free time, Kedar finds himself wandering in search of good food.

BLA, OALA (Intern), Growing up in rural Eastern Ontario, Cassidy developed a strong connection to the natural world and a love for design early on. These interests led her to pursue a degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Guelph, where she developed a strong foundation in environmental design principles, technical software proficiency, and collaborative project work.

Through her academic training and hands-on experience across various landscape architecture projects, Cassidy has remained focused on creating engaging natural spaces. Cassidy has always believed in the power of natural spaces, which is what drew her to Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds. It is a place that felt like the perfect fit for both her values and her professional goals.

Cassidy is eager and excited to grow within a team that shares her values and is excited to contribute to a team dedicated to reconnecting people with nature. Her lifelong connection to the outdoors, combined with a continuous desire to learn from industry leaders, developed her commitment and excitement to helping to create creative and sustainable play spaces.

Darren has an MEd in Curriculum & Instruction with a focus on Early Elementary Pedagogy, and a BA in Public Policy and Social Research, both from St.F.X. University and has been an RECE for 8 years. He has spent the last 18 years teaching, advocating and managing early years and education programs, and is currently an outdoor educational consultant with Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds. Darren is part of an exciting team that designs and creates natural playgrounds, which connect children to nature.

Growing up on the East Coast, Darren brings a vast appreciation and understanding of the outdoors, which he uses to connect children & educators with nature and all its affordances. He is motivated by the endless potential that nature provides a child’s overall development and is a passionate advocate for connecting children to the natural world through play.

With a BA (Hons) in Psychology and a specialization in Infant and Early Child Mental Health, Erika is deeply passionate about child development and fascinated by the benefits nature offers to a growing mind. After spending over 2 years working closely with children at a childcare centre, Erika’s drive to impact communities of children only grew stronger. She believes there is no better way to do this than through nature play!

When she’s not indoors baking or painting, Erika immerses herself in nature whenever possible, whether by hiking in a forest, reading a book by the lake, or simply sipping tea while listening to the birds. She has reaped the benefits of nature immersion her whole life and wants children to be able to have those same experiences.

With a degree in Architecture and a gentle, creative spirit, Emmily believes the natural world is a canvas for imagination. She is delighted to be part of the Bienenstock team, helping to create spaces where curiosity thrives and kids are free to be their authentic selves. Emmily is dedicated to making the client journey simple, and the world a happier place. A lover of all things green, she spends her downtime caring for her plants or exploring a new artistic craft.