Choose Love Movement

Tricia Maciejewski shares her story with Scarlett about her beautiful son, Levi, and what she has learned through tremendous hardship and gut-wrenching loss. We need to teach our children about following the Golden Rule, learning about digital citizenship and prevention education.  Levi’s death was preventable and the 'evil' is not going to stop so we have to prepare and protect ourselves, and our children with information, awareness and education so that we are not left vulnerable to the highly sophisticated and wiley snares of those that are ever present and prey on our children online. Levi's mom, Tricia, wants us to "Live Like Levi" courageously and treat other people the way we want to be treated!

https://www.wgal.com/article/shippensburg-sextortion-victim-mother-speaks/64089169

Scarlett’s guests are David and Bonnie Murphy, Alex Jones listeners who did not believe the tragedy at Sandy Hook happened. They met Scarlett when Bonnie was working at one of the first schools to embrace the Choose Love program and Scarlett came in to present to the educators. David and Bonnie did not tell Scarlett that they thought she was a crisis actor for years. Now they sit down and have an unthinkable  conversation about their thought process, the importance of truth and model courage and vulnerability needed to bridge divides and forge friendships across the aisles.

Bonnie Lee Murphy is a successful educator of 32 years with Early Childhood, K-8 and Special Education certifications in public and private schools, endorsed in Reading, Health, Language Arts, Social Studies, Gifted and Psychology. A high school drop-out, she is currently a special education preschool teacher, after spending 28 years reversing generational cycles of ACEs and trauma, having her own education advocacy business as an education trainer and advocate including being New Mexico’s first teacher and State Ambassador for Choose Love.

David Murphy is a business partner with Core-Visual in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is a professional photographer / videographer / editor and has been working in the creative industry for more than 35 years. David’s hobbies include playing bass guitar, making personal videos on his YouTube channel (covering topics ranging from theology to DIY home improvement projects), and he also writes and performs original standup comedy (occasionally).

Scarlett Lewis’ guest is Lorraine Connell, the founder of Peers Not Fears. Scarlett discusses Lorraine's background in education and teen empowerment, as well as her book and workbook on leadership skills for teens. They also highlight the importance of choosing love over fear and the effectiveness of peer-to-peer groups in middle and high schools, particularly in facilitating trust and friendships. They discuss the upcoming peer-to-peer program in Rochester, New Hampshire  which aims to address feelings of isolation and promote collective growth.

Lorraine talks about her journey from being a chemistry teacher to embracing leadership roles. Initially, she struggled with the idea of being an expert in social and emotional learning, feeling that she couldn't lead in advisory roles due to her own lack of skills. However, she eventually transitioned into the work, recognizing the importance of leadership in her role as a mom, teacher, coach, and advisor. She emphasized the need to redefine what leadership means and how it can be stepped into, even by those who feel they lack the necessary skills. https://www.peers-not-fears.com/

Scarlett’s guest is Donna Marston, author of "Healing Without Shame Journal", "Just for Today", "Peeling The Onion" and "Sharing Without Shame". Scarlett and Donna discuss their personal experiences with addiction and recovery, with Donna sharing her role as a certified recovery support worker and her involvement in various organizations related to addiction and recovery. They also discussed the challenges of parenting a child with addiction, the importance of self-care and seeking help for oneself, and the complexities of family relationships and forgiveness. They discuss the need for alternative approaches to drug education, the importance of authenticity and self-awareness in conversations, and advice for parents struggling with children who have addiction issues.

Donna Marston is a Certified Recovery Support Worker, author, and parent support coach specializing in supporting families impacted by addiction. She is the founder of Sharing With Out Shame, an organization dedicated to empowering parents and family members by providing workshops, support groups, and coaching to help them navigate their loved one’s addiction with unconditional love, courage and clarity.

Through her lived experience as a mother who walked the difficult path of loving a child in active addiction, Donna has developed compassionate, practical approaches to help families reclaim their lives, set healthy boundaries, and shift their mindsets. She is the author of Peeling The Onion, Just For Today, Sharing Without Shame, and Healing Without Shame Journal, offering insight and guidance to those on the journey of acceptance and healing.

Scarlett’s guest is Jeffrey J. Schutz, Founder and Executive Director of The Neurovation Center in Newtown, CT. The Neurovation Center was started by Jeff to “change the way we do mental health.” Scarlett and Jeff discuss the limitations of diagnosing mental health issues, the benefits of neurofeedback therapy, and the potential of neurofeedback in addressing anxiety and depression. Scarlett and Jeffrey agree that It’s important for us to use our suffering as an opportunity for growth and learning. 

Jeff is the Founder and Executive Director of The Neurovation Center. He has pioneered integrative techniques for assessing and integrating neuroanalysis and neurofeedback into mental healthcare. Jeff is also the CEO of NeuroInnovation Consulting Services, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Psychology, doing research on the integration of neurofeedback into mental healthcare.

Jeff’s goal is to bring about change – real, deep and meaningful. Fun and engaging, he finds a way to get to the heart of relational problems and then “unstuckify” the nasty patterns of reactivity, resentment and poor communication that seem to grow faster than weeds in any relationship.

https://www.theneurovationcenter.com

The most important thing is the safety and well-being of our children and educators. In this podcast, Dr. Ryan Carlson talks about a revolutionary system for identifying and managing aggressive behavior called critical aggression prevention system or CAPS. He discusses why CAPS is better than the current systems in place such as ‘see something say something’, conflict resolution, active shooter drills and others because it is important to identify and manage aggressive behavior before it escalates into an issue. Utilizing Dr. Carlson‘s military background, the program seeks to engage, diffuse and redirect, aggressive behavior through developing and ongoing relationship, relationships, and trust. In its early phases, behavior issues can be seen as opportunities for connection. This is an engaging and productive conversation about an issue that continues to plague not only our schools, but every aspect of our lives. We know that hurt people hurt people, and there is a way to be part of the solution. 

We need to address rising aggression. A global study found 31% of Gen Z respondents believe that violence to persons or to property can be an appropriate way to bring about change. And 55% of 18-34-year-olds said they approve of violence, property damage or misinformation as tools for change. (2025 Edelman Trust Barometer, https://www.edelman.com/trust/2025/trust-barometer)

https://www.aggressionmanagement.com/

As a bestselling author, wellness innovator and entrepreneur, David Romanelli brings a unique, seasoned and entertaining approach to today’s pressing challenges of work-life balance, stress, information overload and the overall desire to live a happier, healthier life.He fuses ancient wellness practices with modern passions that give people accessible tools to overcome stress, focus their mind and improve their relationships at work and home.David has spoken at Nationwide, Prudential, PWC, GRID Stockholm, Cigna Insurance, Guardian Insurance, American Express, and Veuve Clicquot among many others.His works has been featured in The New York Times, Newsweek, O Magazine, Newsweek, Food + Wine, and Wall Street Journal.

Scarlett’s guest is Gia Lacqua, a widely-regarded trauma-informed empowerment coach, international motivational speaker, women's leadership expert, children's book author, board officer, podcast host, and girl-mom. Gia empowers high-achieving women to break free from the relentless “never enough” cycle and redefine success on their own terms. Through her signature framework, Radical Prioritization, Gia guides women toward authentic alignment, helping them focus on what truly matters to create impactful, fulfilling lives. Gia is a catalyst for change, inspiring women to redefine what it means to lead, live, and thrive.

Scarlett and Gia talked about allostatic load which is when we build up stress chemicals in the nervous system and get stuck in freeze, fight or flight. They also discussed the top regret of people who are dying, which is ‘I wasn't my authentic self.’ In Gia's research 69% of people said they felt like they were never enough and 75% of people went through life by grinning and bearing it! With over 70% of Americans lacking self-esteem, and our innate negative bias that has our brains buying the fear that is sold through media and messaging, no wonder we're feeling anxious and overwhelmed! Gia offers some tips and hints on how we honor ourselves and gain perspective and prioritize. 

https://gialacqua.com/

Scarlett’s guest is Dr. James Gordon, author of the book Transforming Trauma. Scarlett and Dr. Gordon discuss transformative trauma and how people don’t realize that trauma helps us to learn and grow. Dr. Gordon says, “Suffering  is the soil in which wisdom and compassion grow; it is the school from which we graduate, committed to healing others’ hurt.” 

Dr. James S. Gordon is the Founder and CEO of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine. A Harvard-educated psychiatrist, Dr. Gordon founded the Center for Mind Body Medicine in 1991 to make self-awareness, self-care, and group support central to all healthcare and education systems. Dr. Gordon leads a global faculty who have spread its therapeutic and educational programs to hundreds of thousands of traumatized and stressed people confronting the challenges of anxiety, depression, and chronic and life-threatening illnesses. Dr. Gordon believes that, regardless of age or education level, everyone has a great and largely untapped capacity to help and heal ourselves and one another.

https://cmbm.org/communities/

In today's episode, Scarlett interviews Dr. Wes Center, PhD, LPC-S, NCC, BCN Fellow, President & Clinic Director of Brain & Behavior Associates and Chief Science And Technology Officer for OCAT Neurotech, LLC. A former Major in the US Marines,  Wes specializes in optimizing brain health and reducing symptoms using the latest qEEG technology and neurofeedback. "Why are psychiatrists the only doctors that don't image the organ they work on?" Having seen many misdiagnoses and correlated medication, Dr. Center has found many of the diagnosed issues that come to him are from lack of sleep or other brain based issues. Working with ADHD, autism, PTSD and more, Dr. Center has many success stories of patients being restored to health using his methods and neurofeedback!

https://brainandbehaviorassociates.com/dr-center/