Jessica Lawrence

Welcoming the participants for the day. Yesterday, LMAS held it's first-ever LMAS PAL training at a national conference. Judy LoBianco and I facilitated the full-day event and had the opportunity to work with 40 fabulous new PALs from around the country and even the world! The goal of the training is to bring participants through a process in which they gain knowledge and skills to go home and implement a Comprehensive School Physical Read ▸ about Let’s Move Active Schools Physical Activity Leader Training

How can those of us in the school, community, public, business health field walk the talk? If we encourage schools to send consistent messages, I think we should model that as well. That does not mean we all have to complete an Iron Man, or bike across the country ;) or go on 5-day non-verbal meditation once a year (although, wouldn't that be great??). But, as ambassadors of health, it does mean we should all be working on our mental, emotional, physical and social health Read ▸ about Walk the Talk

Formerly the KY Teen Pregnancy Coalition, the KY Youth Health Network has decided to expand their scope of work to all areas of preventative youth health behaviors. This organization, currently a 501c3, is going through a planning process to develop a new mission, purpose and strategic plan. This past Monday, I was fortunate enough to facilitate a strategic planning session with this passionate Board including representation from the Kentucky Department of Education, Kentucky Cabinet for Health Read ▸ about Kentucky Youth Health Network

Surprisingly, the most difficult, heated, complicated, divisive discussions in school health right now do not have to do with sex education, but celebrations and competitive foods (vending/fundraisers). I recently saw a friend post on Facebook that she brought cupcakes to her son's pre-school birthday party. I texted her that she was killing me! Her response? It's the last year he gets them. Well, I didn't respond, but I don't think she got it. I'm not against cupcakes or sugar. But, here's the Read ▸ about “It’s Just One Cupcake… What’s the Big Deal?”

Who REALLY loves webinars? I don't. But, living in a virtual world and working nationally, I have to stay current. And, one inexpensive, easy way to gain more knowledge, connect with new people and stay current is to participate in webinars. SPARK asked me to do a webinar  and I was flattered. The topic was comprehensive school health programs. Sure! I knew that topic. I could do it in my sleep. The bigger challenge? Keeping people interested and engaged throughout the 45-55 minutes. So, I Read ▸ about Who REALLY Loves Webinars?

As a business owner and someone completely immersed in the school health field, I find myself straddling two incredibly different worlds. K-12 schools are a completely different beast as compared to the business community, but both are incredibly important to the work I do.  Read ▸ about Leadership Lou; Best of Leadership Summit Reflections

This afternoon I have the privilege of speaking at Leadership Louisville's Best of Leadership Summit on my bicycle journey across the US this past summer, lessons learned and how those lessons relate to being a leader in your field, a champion in your work, a family member at home. More to come, but I hope you are able to attend and listen to stories from my 4,197 mile solo journey and learn how to balance work and play, consider who's on your team, use humor, how to be vulnerable, how to Read ▸ about Do Something Extraordinary

I am asked often, how, eleven years ago, at 27 years old, I came to oversee K-12 Health Education at the Oregon Department of Education. And now at age 38, I am a national school health consultant with current/pending Department of Education clients in Alaska, Missouri, Connecticut, Maine and organizations such as Clinton Foundation's Health Matters Initiative, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Colorado Legacy Foundation, Kentucky Youth Health Network and Let's Move Active Schools.I Read ▸ about Who’s on My Team?