Born and raised in the mountains of Northern California, Arin experienced first hand how the outdoors could be a positive tool for struggling youth. As a teen, she volunteered her time at a local outdoor school where her love of the outdoors turned into a passion to foster connections between other youth and the power the outdoors can have on mental health. From there, she headed to Oregon where she received her BS in Outdoor Adventure Leadership from Southern Oregon University with minors in both Child Psychology and Earth Sciences. After graduating, Arin traveled to various environmental schools and outdoor programs in Oregon, California, New York, and Alabama. They taught everything from state based science curriculum to guiding backpacking, rock climbing and kayaking trips. She eventually settled in New Orleans, where she started part-time at LOOP, helping to create our Wetlands Ecology Program and develop our high school Outdoor Adventure Club. During Covid, Arin made the decision to take a full-time position with New Orleans Boulder Lounge as their Program Director. This is where they were able to grow their leadership skills, overseeing and managing a diverse staff while creating and developing programming for both indoor and outdoor climbing.
When LOOP’s Program Director position opened up, Arin could not pass up the opportunity to work back outside. Now, with over 12 years of experience leading in the outdoors, Arin is excited to bring her skills and passions to help further LOOP NOLA’s mission; creating positive outdoor experiences for youth in and around New Orleans.