YRCC Staff

Josh Lainfiesta

Josh is a newcomer to Northwest Arkansas and the City of Fayetteville. Him and his family moved to the area in the fall of 2020, and he began his position as the Director of the YRCC in August of 2021. He graduated Cum Laude from the University of California State Long Beach with a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in Recreation with a concentration in community recreation. He is a Certified Park and Recreation Professional with the National Recreation and Park Association and has over 13 years of work experience in the local government recreation field. He has a variety of experience in the field including volunteer management, after-school programming, youth and adult sports, special events and managing multiple recreation centers.

In his free time, Josh loves spending time with his wife and his two children, going to beach, listening to music and playing board games and sports. He is very grateful to be the Director of the YRCC and is very excited for the future of the center.

Jeff Poole

Jeff Poole is a University of Arkansas alumni and graduate of The Second City Training Center’s writing, conservatory, and directing program. Previously Jeff worked as the director of The SCTC Kid and Teen program where he ran programming for over 1000 students a year. He has directed, performed, or taught workshops at The Second City, iO, The Playground, Loyola University, The Alliance Theater in Atlanta, and countless schools and universities across America.

Emilie Stagoski

Emilie, a St. Louis, Missouri native, made her way to Fayetteville and the YRCC in the fall of 2020. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Missouri State University in Global Studies. Throughout college Emilie found herself working in Texas at a summer camp. While at camp, Emilie realized her passion for relationship building and youth development. After graduation Emilie worked with international high schoolers in a boarding school program and went on to be a summer camp director herself before coming to the YRCC.

Emilie loves the outdoors and being active in all kinds of sports and activities. She is excited to work with the YRCC and the Fayetteville community. She hopes to foster discussions and relationships amongst members of the community and encourage cultural learning while providing opportunities to create life-long memories.

Erin Lowrey

In the summer of 2019, Erin became the Recreation Program Assistant at the YRCC. A Fort Smith native, she moved to Fayetteville in 2010. Erin holds an Associate of Applied Science in Graphic Design (2006) from the University of Arkansas, Fort Smith. In 2019, she completed a double Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art and Art History from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Prior to working at the YRCC, Erin worked in customer service for an airline. During that time, she gained unique insight by interacting with people from all over the world, and by visiting a broad range of cultures.

Because of her academic and professional experiences, Erin loves talking with kids about the arts and cultural diversity. She also enjoys helping kids learn to express themselves creatively, and offers private art lessons in her free time. In the future, Erin hopes to further serve her community by teaching children creativity in public schools, or in a therapeutic setting.