Leadership | Busy Bees North America

Darla Kestle joined Busy Bees in September 2025 to lead our work in North America, bringing with her extensive leadership experience across multiple industries. Previously, she served for six years as Chief Operating Officer of Impact Fitness, a Planet Fitness franchisee, where she led operations across both the U.S. and Canada. Prior to that, she was Vice President of Operations at Holiday Retirement, a senior living company with more than 230 communities across the U.S. and Canada. Her career includes 13 years with KinderCare Learning Centers, where she advanced through progressive leadership roles, including Region Vice President and Senior Director of Operations. Motivated by her passion for education and childcare, Darla is driving our mission and business as we expand across the continent.

With more than 25 years of experience in Finance, Tanveer has built a successful career across various sectors. His leadership was pivotal in the development of senior housing at Revera and with the automotive manufacturing company Magna. His professional journey also highlights managerial stints at Second Cup Coffee, a proprietary petrochemical producer, and auditing roles with PwC. Tanveer is a CPA, CA and a proud alumnus of the University of Waterloo with a Masters in Accounting.

Now serving as the CFO at Busy Bees North America, he leads a dedicated team offering robust financial and administrative aid to our centers. Together, they're deeply committed to upholding Busy Bees' esteemed operational standards and ambitious growth trajectories.

Away from the hustle, Tanveer cherishes moments with his three kids and enjoys traveling and reading.

Wael was thrilled by the effect of Montessori education on his kids when they were young. He is an advocate of the effect of high-quality early learning on children in shaping their personalities and learning abilities. He holds an Executive MBA and carries a wide variety of professional development certifications.

His expertise is rich with international flavors, having worked for more than 20 years on franchising systems, operations, development, and strategy of various brands. Driven by a passion for excellence, he enjoys upholding BusyBees' operating standards and growth plans.

Nancy Walsh brings a rich educational background and a wealth of experience to her role as Chief Growth Officer, having graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies from the prestigious University of Connecticut. Since joining our team in 2001, Nancy has proven to be an indispensable asset. Her strategic vision focuses on seamlessly integrating newly acquired schools and nurturing new sites to operational excellence. Under her guidance, institutions will be meticulously integrated or brought to steady operational stability, ensuring that each school's journey toward excellence is smooth and successful.

Samaya has a love of all things academic and an inextinguishable passion for early learning and development. She believes in the power of education and empowering teachers through training, and continues to deliver the highest-quality programming for our Busy Bees families.

When she's not working, you can find Samaya volunteering as a translator and writer for academic curriculums for international programs, involved in philanthropy, painting, hiking, traveling the world, or spending time with her husband and two children.

Nina has over 20 years of experience across multiple industries in international and North American Human Resources. Nina’s experience includes being a CHRO at CareRx Corporation, Vice President of Human Resources at Sienna Senior Living, and an HR leader at ADP, North America. Nina is well prepared to lead us through rapid growth and support our mandate of being the best early years education and care company and the employer of choice in our field.

Amber has been a dedicated professional in Early Childhood Education since 2002, starting as a toddler teacher and joining BrightPath in 2012. She has thrived in various roles, from Education Specialist to Senior Area Director. Holding a Master of Education and a Montessori certificate, Amber is committed to enhancing educational quality and building strong relationships within the community. Outside of work, she is a proud mom of three BrightPath alumni, an avid Buffalo Bills and Sabres fan, and enjoys cooking, reading, and supporting her children’s sports activities.

Joe has over 30 years of operational management experience in the hospitality industry across Canada, working in seniors housing, university and childcare environments.

As Director of Operations, Joe oversees our operations in Western Canada. He and his team are responsible for delivering our programs, quality assurance, and supporting centre staff and directors to provide the best experience for children and their families.

Jenna has been in the field of Early Childhood Education since 2003 and started her career as an infant teacher. She has been an administrator in the field since 2004. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Stony Brook University and is a proud member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Jenna truly enjoys supporting our Directors in ensuring that we are providing a high-quality experience for the children, families, and teachers in our schools.

Mike has over 30 years of leadership and team development experience in a variety of industries, including over 7 years in Early Childhood Education. He is a husband and father of 3 terrific children, with a passion for seeing children be happy, and healthy and develop a lifetime love of learning and discovery. As a Director of Operations with Busy Bees, Mike is excited by the wonderful opportunity to guide the team toward its true north star, which is doing everything possible to deliver to the children we are blessed to serve. Mike is an avid sports fan and, when not working, loves to spend time with his family.

Kelli brings over 18 years of experience to Early Childhood Education, with 15 years in leadership roles. Passionate about providing high-quality education from infancy, she's an active advocate for the sector in Arizona, sitting on multiple boards. Kelli holds a Master’s in Education, specializing in Instructional Leadership. She aspires for early childhood educators to be valued as much as K-12 teachers. Outside work, Kelli enjoys cheering on her son Colin at basketball games and spending quality time with her daughter Kyleigh.

Marzi Masroori - Vice President - Marketing

Teri Davies has more than 20 years of leadership experience in multi-unit early childhood education operations, business development, and strategic growth which includes overseeing large-scale expansions, leading successful acquisitions, and driving operational excellence. In her role as vice president of market expansion she will drive the successful opening and early operating period of our new schools to ensure that each location delivers on family satisfaction, employee experience, program quality, enrollment and financial metrics.

Teri is passionate about people and doing all she can to help them achieve their goals and dreams and wherever that may take them. This includes the children in our centers, ensuring they are given the best care and education to set them on their path in life.

In her personal time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Kurt, and daughter, Ella. As a family, they enjoy traveling, attending live theater and sporting events, spending time with friends, and their dog, Olive.

Our Team

Executive Team

Darla Kestle

Tanveer Malik

Nancy Walsh

Samaya Khattak

Nina Freier

Marzi Masroori

Teri Davies

Management Team

Joe Williams

Jenna Minton

Amber Lumsden

Helpful Links

Get in Touch

Our Team

Executive Team

Darla Kestle

Tanveer Malik

Nancy Walsh

Samaya Khattak

Nina Freier

Marzi Masroori

Teri Davies

Management Team

Joe Williams

Jenna Minton

Amber Lumsden

Helpful Links

Get in Touch

Darla Kestle

Tanveer Malik

Wael Chehade

Nancy Walsh

Samaya Khattak

Nina Freier

Amber Lumsden

Joe Williams

Jenna Minton

Michael Willis

Kelli McCalley

Teri Davies