Artie Varnado is a Baton Rouge native born and raised. She is the wife to Brandon Varnado and mom to 3, Jacob, Christian and Finley! Artie graduated from University Lab School then went on to earn her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science from LSU. After college, she went on to pursue her Doctorate of Physical Therapy and is now a Physical Therapist. In 2020 during the pandemic, Artie started an online business called Finley & Co. to help simplify moments through functional design by making thoughtful and unique products for parents. And in March of this year she founded a nonprofit called Conscious Moms with the mission to cultivate kindness and awareness for moms, focusing on maternal mental health. While at LSU she played women’s soccer alongside one of her friends and teammates since high school, Robyn Desormeaux or more affectionately known as “Deso”. At the end of our senior year of college Robyn had her exit physical performed and to our dismay they discovered a tumor on her spine the size of a golf ball. Robyn was then diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma. Although she kept her spirits up while undergoing chemo and treatment and even went into remission, the cancer came back and she eventually succumbed to the disease. And we now remember her by wearing the number 109 because the doctor’s gave her a 10% chance of living and she wore the number 99. Cancer is a very ugly disease and not only does it destroy the person it grows inside of but also their family; having to watch helplessly as their loved one suffers. So supporting St. Jude will always be a million times yes for me!