Scarlett Lewis founded the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement™ after her six-year-old son, Jesse, was murdered during the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy in December 2012. After his death, Scarlett became part of the solution to the issues we’re seeing in our society — and that also caused the tragedy, taking a proactive approach to addressing mental health issues and helping children across the world. She created the Movement and became an advocate for social and emotional learning (SEL) and character development to teach children essential life skills to help them manage their emotions, become resilient, feel connected, and have healthy relationships. Scarlett has dedicated her life to helping children around the world thrive mentally, socially, emotionally, and academically, and has been instrumental in changing legislation to incorporate SEL into schools.
The Choose Love for Schools Program is a no-cost, comprehensive, lifespan, next generation SEL and character development program that teaches children and adults how to thoughtfully respond with love in any situation, handle adversity, and have courageous conversations by using the Choose Love Formula of: Courage + Gratitude + Forgiveness + Compassion-in-Action. Choose Love has been extended into homes, communities, athletics, and the workplace. The programs have been accessed in all 50 states and 111 countries, reaching over 2 million children. Scarlett is on a mission to cultivate safer classrooms and school climates, offer mental health initiatives to cope with the stress of COVID and life’s other challenges, and to create a more peaceful world by educating the whole child and teaching children to Choose Love.
Scarlett is a graduate of Boston University with a B.S. in Communications. She has worked in the finance industry as a bond trader and an investment trader, and was also a licensed real estate agent. An accomplished artist and avid horsewoman, Scarlett resides on a farm in Connecticut with her son, JT, and her beloved animals.