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Revision as of 16:08, 23 June 2022 by Stravensky (talk | contribs) (Creating a new page for Scarlett Lewis instead of a relative redirect)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| Scarlett Lewis | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 19, 1968 Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Education | B.A. Boston University |
| Occupation | Founder Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement |
| Family | JT Lewis (son), Jesse Lewis (son) |
Scarlett Lewis is an American activist, educator, and author best known for her work to teach compassion, forgiveness, gratitude, and courage to school age children through free programs offered by the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement, a non-profit she founded after her son Jesse Lewis was murdered during the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
Family and early life
Scarlett Lewis was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas on June 19, 1968. In 1990, Scarlett received her bachelor’s degree from Boston University in Communication and Media Studies.
On May 18, 2000, Lewis had her first child, JT Lewis, and on June 30, 2006, she had her second child, Jesse McCord Lewis. She raised them both as a single mother in Newtown, Connecticut. On December 14, 2012, Jesse was murdered during the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and Lewis then became an advocate for Character Social-Emotional Development (CSED) programs. On January 29, 2013, she founded the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement to provide Character Social Emotional Development programs to schools and other organizations free of cost.
Activism
Lewis explained her motivation for founding the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement in a 2018 interview with The Atlantic, saying, “I think the reason that we haven’t been able to solve the school-safety crisis is because we are not thinking in terms of actual solutions. The vast majority of solutions being discussed are not addressing the cause; they’re addressing the effect. The cause of what we’re seeing is anger, disconnection, isolation, lack of resilience, lack of ability to manage emotions.”
Lewis has helped develop and promote her non-profit’s programming to be provided for free to parents and educators. Their programs are now taught in over 10,000 schools, in all 50 states and in over 120 countries, serving over 3 million children annually. Scarlett has explained that the fundamental basis for their programming spawned from a message Jesse had left on a chalkboard at their home that phonetically spelled out the words of: Nurturing, Healing, Love. The Choose Love for Schools Program is now the most taught program in some states.
Lewis’s non-profit provides programming that can help educators and students “to choose love, handle adversity, and manage their emotions.” Their programming is also extended into homes, communities, athletics, and the workplace. Lewis is often asked by press to weigh in on topics of school shootings and their root causes, and she is a regular public speaker. Lewis was the keynote speaker at the 2018 and 2019 National Forum on Character presented by Character.org, in 2020 she was the keynote speaker for the New England Head Start (program), and she has presented at the South by Southwest EDU conference, and multiple statewide Counselor Association Conferences.
Lewis is the author of Nurturing Healing Love: A Mother’s Journey of Hope & Forgiveness, a memoir of her journey toward choosing love and forgiveness; From Sandy Hook to the World: How the Choose Love Movement Transforms Lives, an in-depth explanation at how Scarlett founded the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement and its impact around the world today; and Rose’s Foal, a children’s book that tells the story of a horse and her newborn foal.
Lewis is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, including the 2021 Forbes 50 Over 50 Impact honorees.
Published works
- “Rose’s Foal” (BookSurge, 2009)
- Nurturing Healing Love: A Mother’s Journey of Hope and Forgiveness (Hay House, 2014)
- From Sandy Hook to the World: How the Choose Love Movement Transforms Lives: Stories from Around the Globe (Independent, 2021)
References
- https://www.bu.edu/articles/2022/sandy-hook-mother-says-guns-not-root-cause-of-mass-shootings/
- https://thehill.com/changing-america/opinion/585565-how-many-more-kids-will-we-allow-to-be-murdered-before-we-start/
- https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/25/nyregion/parents-school-shooting-risk.html
- https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/9-years-later-news-8-spends-the-day-with-mother-of-sandy-hook-victim-gets-a-look-at-what-shes-doing-in-sons-memory/
- https://www.fox61.com/article/news/local/mother-sandy-hook-9th-anniversary/520-12bcf5d2-3d54-41c7-8e86-41f12cda7c6e
- https://www.wtnh.com/news/mother-of-sandy-hook-victim-made-it-her-mission-to-be-part-of-the-solution/
- https://people.com/crime/rolling-with-lifes-ups-and-downs-can-stop-bullying-school-shootings/
- https://www.graydc.com/2022/01/03/preventing-next-school-tragedy-with-programs-combat-mental-health-issues/
- https://www.lx.com/health/mental-health/mom-of-sandy-hook-victim-heres-what-we-need-to-prevent-violence/46319/
- https://magazine.thestriveproject.com/issue/jan-mar-2020/from-tragedy-to-hope/
- https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/03/scarlett-lewis/556385/
- https://fortune.com/2017/12/16/jesse-lewis-choose-love-sandy-hook/
- https://www.bu.edu/articles/2021/mother-of-sandy-hook-victim-forgives-alex-jones/
- https://hechingerreport.org/opinion-mom-who-lost-her-son-in-sandy-hook-says-answer-to-this-senseless-violence-lies-in-our-classrooms/
- https://www.clickondetroit.com/flashpoint/2021/12/12/flashpoint-interview-mother-of-sandy-hook-victim-talks-path-forward-after-school-shootings/
- https://www.adammendler.com/blog/scarlett-lewis-founder-jesse-lewis-choose-love-movement
- https://www.fox61.com/article/news/local/newtown-connecticut-neighbors-texas-shooting-close-to-home/520-70251c0b-f8d8-4275-9e0f-4308e3beeeca
- https://www.wmur.com/article/mother-sandy-hook-shooting-new-hampshire/40109332
- https://www.ctinsider.com/connecticutmagazine/arts-events/article/Sandy-Hook-s-Scarlett-Lewis-on-spreading-17046457.php
- https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/mom-honoring-sandy-hook-victims-legacy-through-jesse-lewis-choose-love-movement/
- https://www.theatlantic.com/books/archive/2022/06/uvalde-texas-shooting-sandy-hook-lessons-book/661171/
- https://www.insider.com/parents-of-kids-killed-school-shootings-offer-uvalde-parents-hope-2022-6
- https://character.org/board/
- https://www.wamc.org/2022-05-24/the-shooting-in-uvalde-conjures-memories-of-sandy-hook-school-shooting
- https://www.cbsnews.com/video/sandy-hook-mother-works-to-help-kids-and-prevent-violence-with-emotional-education-effort/
- https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2022/0527/Shared-lessons-from-mass-shootings
- https://www.jejunemagazine.com/home/scarlett-lewis
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2021/07/07/how-scarlett-lewis-and-mothers-of-mass-shooting-victims-turn-their-anguish-into-action-and-save-lives/?sh=366811907a8f
- https://www.forbes.com/profile/scarlett-lewis/?list=50over50-impact/&sh=2d4850eb169b