Hi, we're
Culture Hero
Once upon a time...
It all started with play.
After years of coaching clients 1-on-1, our Founder, Dara, realised that there was something missing in many professionals' lives - a sense of wonder, adventure and curiosity that we have as kids, but slowly lose as we grow up.
So she decided to put together a summer camp for adults, Camp Kidinyou (check out the article in The Age), that was designed to help grown-ups unleash their inner kid. The idea just didn't get legs. The camp idea failed.
Instead of being discouraged, Dara repurposed the camp idea to be a place for professionals to unleash their inner creative. AHA! That worked.
And so Project Play was born in 2016. Three years later, Dara was ready to evolve the business into something more. She brought on a team to help her realise her dreams of making work a better place.
In 2019, she launched Culture Hero.
Now, as a team, we leverage our years of experience in the creative industries and intersect it with learning and development, coaching and facilitation - driving a true sense of belonging in your organisation.
We love creativity and play so much, it drives every aspect of what we do.
Dara Simkin
Founder &
Chief Play Officer
Dara is Culture Hero's founder and a true play pioneer. Her unique energy and enthusiasm for making this world a more playful place enables her to create safe, supportive and engaging learning environments for groups large and small. Dara is an accredited Executive Coach and has helped to unlock creative confidences across four continents for thousands of professionals — giving them space to follow their joy. Her mission is to bridge the gap between work and play making room for greater purpose and impact.
Danny Ginsberg
Chief Excellence Officer
Danny is a passionate people professional with a strong eye for organisational needs and workforce competencies. He has 20+ years of experience in the corporate world with organisations like IKEA, Bunning's and SpecSavers. Danny is constantly acknowledged for his innovation and creative solutions for L+D, winning several industry awards over the last few years. In his personal life, he's directed more than 20 musical theatre productions and has been dabbling in the theatre world for decades.
Merrilee McCoy
Director of Learning
A natural-born connector, Merrilee McCoy loves bringing that human touch to designing and facilitating learning spaces for organisations. She’s become known for her passionate, playful nature and her keen ability to bring diverse groups together through confidence, humour, and empathy. Merrilee’s wholly inclusive vibe brings out the best in others, allowing them to build the skill sets and mindsets needed to thrive in uncertainty.
Arseallie Bonilla
Head of Partner Excellence
Arseallie is a passionate creative with a flare for strategic problem solving and building connections. As a learning and organisational development professional with 10+ years experience in process and performance improvement, she has provided leadership and training across a range of industries from allied health, media, marketing, financial services, logistics and NFP’s. Arseallie is fascinated by research in organisational psychology and how workplace behaviour can shape human experiences; and is looking forward to publishing collaborative works that observe the changes in global workforce trends.
Rachel Botsis
Project Lead
Rachel is all about bringing ideas to life: as a Project Manager, she has a wealth of experience executing across a wide variety of concepts and campaigns for brands and projects across the globe. Much of her work has focused on youth, community and public engagement. She has a knack for synthesizing complexities, and thrives off human-centered projects which require creative solutions. Rachel’s ‘x factor’ is that she is a trained African Linguist – an illustration of her passion for communication and culturally complex spaces.
Josie Hardy
Head of Partner Engagement
Josie is someone who delights in diving into great projects with great people, taking every opportunity she can to do just that. With experience and hobbies spanning from writing and ceramics, to meticulous project delivery and system optimisation, Josie finds almost any challenge or task deliciously interesting. Josie has produced niche, youth-oriented brand activities, brought to life furniture and homeware ranges and high-end product designs, she has worked with logistics and developed and managed brands. She's grateful that her two loves, people and learning, are never in short supply.
Anne Pensalfini
Instructional Designer
Based in Brisbane, Anne is a facilitator of human transformation and learning. Using play and empathy to unlock deeper levels of trust, she develops cohesion in teams and connection between diverse individuals. Professional experience in Theatre, Improvisation and Early Childhood Education have given her a unique skillset. Ten years of training in Compassionate/Nonviolent Communication gives Anne a nuanced sense of empathetic and reflective listening, and the ability to understand both complex group dynamics and individual needs.
Nicole Biondi
Project Director
We're thrilled to have Nicole join the Culture Hero team... and her bio will be up real soon!
Maisie
The Wonder Dog
Maisie is a Golden Retriever and is the apple of Danny's eye. She loves belly rubs and long walks on the beach. She's passionate about diversity and inclusion, one of her best mate's is a cat. When she isn't hanging out at the Culture Hero headquarters, she's strolling down the street and making lots of people smile.