Yasmine Arrington

Yasmine Arrington was born and grew up in Washington, DC. From the time of her infancy until she was a teenager Arrington’s father was often in prison. Arrington's mother died in her freshman year of high school. She attended Benjamin Banneker Academic High School in Northwest D.C., where she was in a program called LearnServe International, a DC non-profit that equips youth to be social changemakers. She studied Strategic Communications and History at Elon University in Elon, North Carolina. Arrington graduated in 2015. Arrington graduated with her Master of Divinity degree from Howard University School of Divinity in May 2018.

Arrington is also a radio personality. She launched her own radio show and podcast called Millennial Minds in September of 2017. She interviews Millennials (the generation after Gen X and before Gen Z) who have powerful stories and are changing and inspiring the world through their businesses, initiatives, ministries, stories, books, voices, and technology. The show airs on WERA 96.7 FM, a radio station based in Arlington, Virginia and on DC Radio, a radio station based in Washington, DC out of the Office of DC Cable Television. Millennial Minds is also on Soundcloud, iTunes and iHeart Radio.

Arrington is a professional plus-size, curvy fashion model and motivational speaker. Arrington has been featured in national campaigns and on runways for renowned fashion clients such as Ashley Stewart, The Avenue, Dia&Co, and Loft. Arrington was named CurvySpokesmodel for Curves Rock Fashion Weekend 2013 and was named October 2015 Curvy Girl of the Month for CurvyGirlChronicles.net, a blog dedicated to body confidence, healthy curves and inner beauty. She has been featured on the covers of Daily Venus Diva Magazine and Queen Size Magazine and featured in FabUPlus Magazine.

In 2010 Arrington founded ScholarCHIPS, a non-profit organization which provides high school graduates who are pursuing higher education with incarcerated parents college scholarships, mentoring, and a support network. The organization has given over $180,000 in scholarship funds to 61 scholars pursuing their college education. ScholarCHIPS also hosts an annual College Life Skills Conference which provides local youth with training on topics such as financial literacy, how to build credit, sexual health, healthy relationships, and professional development. ScholarCHIPS active works to break down the stigma and burden of shame that comes with having an incarcerated parent. Today there are over 2 million youth in the United States with a parent in prison. Through ScholarCHIPS work, the organization hopes to break cycles of intergenerational incarceration in poverty amongst the population they serve.

Yasmine Alexandra Arrington (born February 17, 1993) is the Founder and Executive Director of ScholarCHIPS, Inc. and a 2015 winner of the Peace First Prize, the JM Kaplan Innovation Prize and DC Social Innovation Prize. Yasmine was featured on Black Girls Rock and presented with the M.A.D. (Making a Difference) Girl Award in 2012, where Lala Anthony introduced her on stage. Black Girls Rock is an awards show dedicated to uplifting and recognizing "black girls who rock," created by celebrity DJ Beverly Bond, that airs on BET.