The Carsey School of Public Policy hosted Shannon Desilets, the Governor-appointed director of the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement for New Hampshire. We were also joined by Scarlett Lewis, founder of the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement, to talk about children's behavioral health, social emotional learning for youth and adults, and how to build coalitions to tackle the challenges that lie at the root of so many policy debates.
About the Speakers
Shannon Desilets serves as the Governor-appointed director of the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement for New Hampshire. In this role, she travels the state promoting and increasing awareness of the Choose Love social and emotional enrichment program and works with schools, parents/caregivers, community businesses and organizations, police departments, and many other organizations. She is responsible for growing the outreach of the Choose Love Program even further for the safety and well-being of NH’s citizens, measuring the implementation of the program, and serving to increase connections between people and agencies across the state.
Scarlett Lewis is the mother of Jesse Lewis who was killed in his first grade classroom during the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012 along with 19 classmates and 6 teachers and administrators in one of the worst school shootings in US history. She founded of The Jesse Lewis Choose Love Foundation in honor of Jesse and to spread a message he left on their kitchen chalkboard shortly before he died, Nurturing Healing Love, the formula for choosing love, and to promote social and emotional education in schools as well as a consistent message of compassion in our communities. Scarlett is the recipient of the International Forgiveness Award, the Live Your Legacy Award and the Common Ground Award for her advocacy work for peace and forgiveness. When she became a parent for the first time, Scarlett wrote and published a children’s book, Rose’s Foal.
Watch the Recording
