Hey everyone! My name is Arin. I was born and raised in Saint Petersburg, Florida. I began working with kids in my high school years as a volunteer at a children’s science exploration museum. Since then I studied at Florida State University. During my time at FSU I worked many different jobs ranging from barista to day care teacher to stage manager at a club for live music! I spent my summers working as a camp counselor in Maine, the job that solidified my passion for working with kids and introduced me to a love for the outdoors. After graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology, I took a job as an outdoor educator at Nature’s Classroom in Mentone, Alabama. This position led me to continue exploring the world of outdoor education. I have worked for the past year in the mountains of California, leading kids on hikes and teaching everything from forest ecology to archery. I am now thrilled to come work, live, and teach at Camp McDowell Farm School!

Hi Y'all, my name is Becca. I was born and raised in Anniston, AL. My formal education involves graduating from Jacksonville High School, getting my Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Furman University in Greenville, SC, and pursuing an MBA at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, AL. My informal education started as a child when I was taught by fellow red headed characters like Ms. Frizzle and Strawberry Shortcake to love learning, science, a good song, nature, food, and fun outfits. In preschool I told my teacher that my favorite community worker is the farmer! Ever since college I have been admiring, working, and volunteering on farms all across the country. From small gardens in North Carolina to pistachio farms in Arizona. I can't wait to share this passion with you! I have learned that at every stage, from planting a seed to eating a meal, our food system is filled with endless examples of how to live in harmony with the earth and with each other. I'm also passionate about crafting, watching movies, running, dancing, and talking about current events with my three cats - Norman, Oliver, and Socks.

With a degree in Environmental Studies from Bemidji State University in Northern Minnesota, Devin is deeply passionate about sustainable farming, food, and the health of our communities. She has taught at two outdoor education centers, inspiring students of all ages to engage with the environment and understand its connection to their daily lives. While earning her degree, Devin worked on a small organic vegetable farm, gaining practical knowledge of sustainable agriculture. Driven by a strong desire to teach the next generation, she is committed to showing kids the vital link between farming and their food, emphasizing the importance of healthy, sustainable practices for both the environment and community well-being.

Hey Y'all, I'm Graham, Jasper High School graduate, 5 time Environmental instructor at McDowell, and spent this last summer in LA Honda California working for a YMCA summer camp. I'm very excited to grow with everyone here at McDowell getting to know the food and plant systems that bring nourishment to our mind and body's. This season will be filled with new growth, change, and fall fun. You can find me wearing one of my many McDowell t-shirts and or with my very special Bob Ross name tag.

Jill is a native New Yorker and begrudging suburbanite. Her fondest childhood memories are of her time upstate at her grandparents’ peach orchard, and playing at the beach with her dad. She spent 5 years as a theater camp counselor, and most of her professional career has been spent working with children in elementary schools. After the height of the pandemic, she was inspired to return to camp life as a counselor at a Methodist sleep-away camp, and shortly after discovered the world of seasonal work. She worked a few seasons in Texas as an outdoor educator, and there formed a core belief that humans are meant to live and learn outdoors. In her free time, she enjoys playing piano, writing, making art, and playing with slime.

Joseph spent most of his childhood and adolescence growing and playing in the hills of southeast Tennessee. Then he kept on learning and playing in Tennessee at Sewanee: the University of the South where he studied Environmental Arts and Humanities and developed a passion for outdoor and environmental education. He has been teaching and learning with a variety of different experiential education programs including the McDowell Environmental Center, a farm and wilderness expedition school in New Hampshire, and most recently an organic dairy farm in Ecuador. On top of teaching, Joseph is also super stoked on promoting connections with our Earth through the food that we eat. So he is really happy to be back at Camp McDowell to help foster play and meaningful place based relationships through farming!

Katie grew up in Charleston, SC, and is super thrilled to share her love of all plants and creatures at the teaching farm. In college, Katie lived in southern Oregon (The Oregon Extension), and Iowa (Luther College) where she got to practice permaculture farming in small communities. She rediscovered her passion for the body's connection to the earth. She studied religion and dance, researching dance as a spiritual practice. As a place-based artist, Katie uses the natural world as inspiration. For Katie, farming is much like dance, a way to connect to the place around us. At Luther, Katie worked in outdoor education, Endeavor Together taking first-year students on week-long camping trips. Her experience in trip planning, safety training, and hiring peer leaders will apply greatly to her work at Camp McDowell. This past year since graduating, Katie worked for a school lunch program but is ready for something more purpose-driven. Outside of all things outdoors, Katie will be re-reading Percy Jackson, cooking with the farm fresh veg, or talking about her love of goats, snow, or peanut butter!

Katie grew up on a small farm nestled in the magnificent, rolling hills and hollows of Virginia's Appalachian mountains. During her childhood, she got to experience the many wonders of rural farm life from helping baby ducklings hatch to participating in the family garden as soon as she could walk. Having had the privilege to grow up this way created in her a deep sense of connection and reverence for the land, as well as a feeling of responsibility to be an advocate and steward of it.She attended James Madison University where she majored in Psychology, with a focus in Ecopsychology. The summer before her senior year she interned at an equine-assisted therapy farm. In this position, she got to combine her passion for animals with her interests in alternative therapy and working with kids in a uniquely challenging, rewarding modality. She has also enjoyed the many years she has spent providing hands-on, outdoors-based childcare to local families. After graduating from JMU, Katie was fortunate to get the opportunity to spend a few months in Bolivia, South America, where she gained a lot of insight and appreciation for other ways of being in this world, and existing more simply and harmoniously with the land. Following her time across the equator, she arrived home to Virginia where she felt called back to her roots (literally!) She began working at a local farm where she got to dive hands-first into the world of regenerative agriculture.

Prior to arriving at Camp McDowell, Katie spent time as a forest technician. She enjoyed collaborating with fellow tree huggers and going on wild expeditions in the woods, gathering data on these vital members of our ecosystem.

She is passionate about fostering a spark of curiosity in our natural world and food systems in people who may not have grown up with a relationship to the land. She believes the youngest generation plays a critical role in a societal shift back to interconnectedness with the Earth and is SO excited to join McDowell Farm School. She is ready to take on this new challenge and looks forward to having a lot of fun and laughter doing so!