We’re pleased to welcome two new team members to the Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation, Anika Binnendijk as our new Development Director and Kari Siceloff as Community Programs Manager.  

Anika Binnendijk’s professional path has included presidential campaign experience, appointments at the U.S. Department of Defense, State Department, and White House, and research at the RAND Corporation nonprofit. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a PhD from Tufts University. Anika serves as a volunteer coach for the Bainbridge Island Park and Recreation youth soccer program. 

Anika loves to find adventure in the parks and trails of Bainbridge Island. Recent training as a forest therapy guide and Maryland master naturalist have given her new ways to engage with the island’s natural spaces, but she mostly delights in the spontaneous wonder of an outdoor stroll with her husband and four children. 

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The Bainbridge Island Parks Foundation urges islanders to Vote Yes for Parks, to restore the operations levy for the Bainbridge Island Metro Park & Recreation District. This is an all-mail vote, and ballots must be returned by Aug. 3. 

At the Parks Foundation, we raise private funds for specific capital projects and stewardship programs for parks and trails. But supporting the Bainbridge Metro Park District’s day to day operations – facilities, maintenance, programming and management of 1,500 acres of public parkland – falls to island taxpayers, to all of us. 

Working so closely with the Park District, we see firsthand their dedication, skill and efficiency in providing a first-class park system for all residents. Islanders enjoy more park services every year, even as the District contends with limited resources.

Consider: Since the last Park District levy lift in 2008, nearly 40 new park facilities, active […]