NINA PIENAAR

DIrector of Bicycle Advocacy

I grew up alongside a greenbelt, following a series of dams in Cape Town, South Africa. My parents encouraged my two younger siblings and I to spend our days outside, building treehouses and exploring. Needless to say, we got pretty good at DIY construction. Our treehouses were equipped with pulley systems and complex secret passwords. We also spent a ton of time riding our bikes along that greenbelt, or anywhere really, always with our dogs (Gemma and Stix) in tow.

My love for bicycles grew from an early age. The ability to hop on our bikes and visit friends or get to the video store on Friday nights were always such happy free moments. But as I grew older, I began to realize that our streets weren’t designed for the bicycle. Road design in Cape Town is very similar to the US, so I went off to University to learn how to improve safety for bicycle users. At the University of Cape Town, I developed a Bikeability Index to evaluate our cycling infrastructure. I had an American classmate that shared many of my views on city design, and where we went wrong - we are now married! And after a few years together in Cape Town, we decided to move to the US.

I found BBP within my first week of being in Boise, and I knew it was an organization I wanted to be a part of. And eight months later, I was appointed as BBP’s first Director of Bicycle Advocacy! I am very excited to be a part of BBP’s mission and I look forward to big things!

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