By bernheim
Bernheim is excited to welcome Kristin Faurest as the director of its robust Education Department. Faurest will work alongside the education team in planning Bernheim’s informative, fun, and diverse nature-based education programs.
“Early on in my career, I knew I wanted to pursue a career that involved creativity and helped connect people to nature,” Faurest said. “Coming on board as the Education Director at Bernheim continues that dream.”
Bernheim’s Education programs include Every Child Outside (ECO) Kids Discovery Days, Pollywog Play Parties, Bernheim At Night, Lunch & Learn, guided hikes and more.
Bernheim Executive Director Dr. Mark Wourms said Faurest will help refine existing programming and work hand in hand with the Education team to develop new ideas.
“Along with conservation, education is one of the crucial cornerstones at Bernheim,” Wourms said. “Kristin’s background includes experiences from around the globe, and we are excited for her to incorporate that diversity and international perspective in our programs here at Bernheim.”
Faurest grew up in Jeffersonville, Indiana. While majoring in art history and literature at the University of Louisville, she also began a reporting career at the Courier-Journal. She left Louisville to join the Peace Corps in 1993, serving two years in l Hungary where she taught English and environmental education. Following the Peace Corps, she obtained a master’s degree in European History from Central European University and co-ran her own art and antique export firm. She also acquired a Ph.D. in Landscape Architecture from Budapest’s Corvinus University, completed an internship at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England, and visited school garden programs in Cape Town, South Africa.
Faurest spent almost 15 years living in Budapest, teaching landscape architecture. While teaching, she also ran her own design firm, creating small-scale collaborative outdoor spaces for schools, a homeless shelter, an institute for people living with autism and many private residences. She has served as editor, co-author or sole author for several books, most recently Community Built: Art, Construction, Preservation and Place (Routledge, 2017).
In 2016, Faurest relocated to Portland, Ore., where she served for four years as the first director of Portland Japanese Garden’s training center. She also served on the American Community Gardening Association board of directors, and in 2018 the training center won the APGA (American Public Gardens Association) award for program excellence.