Strider Team Bios
Ryan McFarland, Founder & CEO
The first Strider Bike was created in Ryan’s garage, but his passion for two wheels started well before then in a small town in Indiana, where Ryan spent his early years with his father who owned a motorcycle dealership and his grandfather who built race cars. This early exposure to cars, motorcycles, and racing fueled Ryan’s love for dirt bikes, mountain bikes, and racing– he drove his first motorcycle at age five.
In High School, he designed an all-terrain wheelchair able to climb stairs and won first place at the International Science and Engineering Fair in Puerto Rico.
In his 20’s, Ryan got into mountain biking more seriously, and designed the U.S. Patented Thudbuster suspension seat-post for bicycles. After selling Thudbuster, Ryan took a break from designing mobility machines, met the love of his life, and had two sons– Bode and Jesse. When Bode turned two, Ryan was eager to have his son join him on adventure in the great outdoors but couldn’t find a toy light and simple enough for his son to use comfortably. Desperate for a solution, he modified a pedal bike into what would be the prototype for the Strider Balance Bike.
Nowadays, Strider Sports International spans across 75 countries, has sold more than 4 million bikes, and supports the Strider Education Foundation 501(c)(3) non profit organization. In 2013 Ryan committed to annually giving 1% of gross revenue from every Strider Bike sold to charity and the Strider Fund has since surpassed $2M raised in cash and products.
These efforts sparked the creation of All Kids Bike, a nationwide campaign funded by the Strider Education Foundation with a mission to teach every child in America how to ride a bike in kindergarten P.E. class. Ryan’s passion for riding and giving children the opportunity for a healthy future inspired donors and community leaders from all walks of life to support the All Kids Bike mission. In just 6 years, the program has grown to run in all 50 states with over 1,000 schools enrolled and over 100,000 kids learning to ride every year.
Even with the success of Strider Bikes, Ryan stayed true to his South Dakota roots and kept Strider’s headquarters in the Black Hills where the company currently supports nearly 40 employees and their families.
In 2014, the South Dakota Small Business Association recognized Strider Sports International’s impact and named Ryan the South Dakota Small Business-Person of the Year.
In 2016, Governor Dennis Daugaard recognized Ryan and the Strider team with the Distinguished Service Award for their contributions to the rehabilitation and employment of South Dakotans with disabilities. Ryan has always been an advocate for individuals with disabilities and has provided employment opportunities at Strider and developed bikes designed specifically for the special needs community.
In 2021, Ryan was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame.
When Ryan isn’t brainstorming ways to get more kids on bikes, he enjoys touring different regions on his adventure motorcycle.
Dona Nesselhuf, Chief Operations Officer
Dona Nesselhuf has been employed by Strider since 2013 and has held many positions over the past 11 years. She has worked as an Education Specialist and has held positions in Marketing, Customer Service, and band Product Design. However, she quickly achieved the role of Chief Operations Officer in 2017.
Dona helps design Strider products to be safe and fun for kids of all ages and has spoken at the following conferences: NRPA (National Recreations and Parks Association) SHAPE, NDSC (National Down Syndrome Congress). She has authored a five lesson “Train the Trainer” STRIDER Camp™ instructional curriculum focused around balance, safety, and biking activities that teaches young children how to develop balance skills, and learn to ride bikes. Her favorite thing about working for the global bike brand is seeing the awesome results! Nothing is better than smiling, active kids and happy parents! Dona’s own Strider graduate, Jaysiah, started on his Strider Bike when he was 1 and graduated to a pedal bike and motorcycle when he was 4 years old!
Prior to joining Strider, she worked in the educational and sports industries. Her vast experience working with programming and education includes design, writing and implementation of corporate employee training programs as well as writing operations manuals and college recruitment. Her love of sports and the outdoors led to 20-plus years of work in the retail sporting goods world. At the same time, she served on the boards of several different cycling organizations, clubs and mountain bike groups to help bring competitions to her local area. Dona is passionate about promoting healthy habits in toddlers and young children, so that it leads to a lifelong love of activity for those children, their families and their communities. She has worked in leadership roles with Special Olympics, early child development programs, and national nonprofit groups for children with special needs.
Hannah Peterson, Public Relations Specialist
Hannah Peterson has provided marketing support to the Strider Bikes team for the past 2.5 years as a Social Media and Public Relations Specialist. In 2019, Hannah received a BS in Public Relations from Black Hills State University and achieved minors in Marketing and Business Administration. She also earned certificates in Social Media and Journalism.
Since she began working for the company in 2021, Hannah has helped grow Strider’s overall social media following by 70k. She has assisted in brainstorming campaign ideas and worked with major media outlets such as Parents and Bicycling Magazine to share the Strider story. Hannah also enjoys content creation and will assist with writing and graphic design projects.
One aspect of her role that brings Hannah immense joy is witnessing the achievements of young riders. She loves sharing Strider graduate success stories and watching the kiddos who learn to ride on a Strider Bike turn into confident and independent individuals.
Hannah’s enthusiasm for the brand’s mission and dedication to the company’s vision continues to contribute to the success and growth of Strider in the global market.
Dr. Andrew Shim, Program Director & Professor – Dept. of Kinesiology & Exercise Science at College of Saint Mary
Andrew Shim has been teaching motor behavior and conducting balance research for more than 20 years. He has a B.S. degree in Kinesiology & Health Promotion from Cal Poly Pomona, a Master of Arts in Exercise Science from Cal State Los Angeles, and a Doctorate in Health Education from United States International University in San Diego, CA. Andrew has published in Sport Performance, Educational Theories, and Physical Therapy peer-reviewed international journals.
Besides being nominated several times for teaching awards, he has earned several research awards at two different universities and from 1 Sports Medicine organization. Andrew is certified with the American College of Sports Medicine as an Exercise Physiologist, the National Strength & Conditioning Association as a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist with Distinction, and Dr. Kenneth Cooper’s Institute of Aerobic Research as an Exercise Specialist.
He is currently the founding program director of Kinesiology & Exercise Science at the College of Saint Mary for both undergraduate and graduate programs. His research is focused on fall prevention, especially with the elderly population.