Malenka Luckett was raised a native Ohioan and began making yearly trips to Virginia Beach in 1999 to attend the annual A.R.E. Member Congress at A.R.E.’s headquarters. She began working with the Virginia Beach A.R.E. Youth Programs and the A.R.E. Camp intermittently for the next ten years before becoming A.R.E. Camp Manager in 2011.  In 2010, she relocated to Charlottesville, Va., (conveniently located between A.R.E.’s headquarters and A.R.E. Camp’s location in Rural Retreat, Va.), after receiving her MFA from The Ohio State University. When not spending time at A.R.E. Camp, Malenka is most often cooking delicious meals for friends and planning the next travel adventure with her husband, Will, whom she met at Camp.