IRENE GREAVES

Lovescaper
Author & Founder

“Lovescaping® has been a process of turning practice into theory and then back into practice. I looked at my experiences to uncover the components that made love possible. That is how the fifteen pillars revealed themselves, and I aim to embody them in all my daily actions. But in order for me to share my love with the world, I had to go beyond embodying it to explaining and teaching it in a very intentional way. This is how the Lovescaping® classes came to be- creating a curriculum based on teaching the fifteen pillars in order for us to practice love in action. Writing my Lovescaping® book was another way to turn practice into theory, leave a legacy and in some way immortalize the philosophy. Ultimately it all translates into practice, into action, and that is my goal: for human beings to intentionally practice the pillars of Lovescaping®.”

The first lens through which I choose to define myself is that of a human being. We often forget this most obvious fact because we spend too much time placing each other in categories that set us apart. If we stripped ourselves of all the constructs we have created we would realize that we are all part of one race: the human race, and that is an incredibly powerful binding force. Planet Earth is my home and I envision our world as one huge global community where we practice Lovescaping® as a way of life (what does this mean? Explore this website to find out more!) Above all things, I believe in love- love as a force for positive change in the world, love as panacea for the problems that plague the world: I dream of a world where love is planted, nurtured and grown collectively.

It has been a pleasure to work in the field of education. After receiving my Bachelor’s degree in Art History from the The American University of Rome I continued my studies at the University of Pennsylvania where I earned my Master’s degree in Education. I am originally from Venezuela and have had the great privilege of living and working in Italy, Mozambique, China, Guatemala and the United States. These work opportunities include teaching, developing curricula, preparing educational materials and workshops and organizing and managing community projects. Now in Houston, Texas, I am collaborating with schools and non-profit organizations, continuing my work in educational and community development.

I developed Lovescaping® in response to a need that I observed throughout my career and personal experiences. I saw a gap in life lessons needed in order for individuals of any age to enjoy meaningful relationships, share ideas, culture, histories and knowledge in a respectful and humble manner, and with a loving attitude. I saw too often people being disengaged and disassociated by no fault of their own. This led me to create Lovescaping®, a way of life-based on practicing love in action. I believe we can learn how to love by practicing the fifteen pillars of Lovescaping®. Through a series of classes that include activities such as reflections, role-plays, games, dialogues, mindfulness exercises, among others, we explore each pillar in order to develop the ability to cultivate self-love and love for others.

DEBBIE LANDAU

Lovescaper

“Thinking outside the box. Nah, it would be better not to have a box. We need to transform, not reform; we don’t need a box.” Deborah Landau Silber

Who am I? I’m a Hispanic immigrant, Jewish gay woman, daughter, sister, wife, mother, educator, and a Lovescaper.

Growing up in Caracas, Venezuela, I attended a private Jewish school. My grandparents on my father’s side moved from Poland to flee the Holocaust. My grandparents lost many of their family members in the Holocaust. My mother’s side of the family immigrated from Russia to New Jersey.

I have a bachelor’s in Psychology and a Master’s in business administration. As someone who grew up hating school, not having friends, and having very low self-esteem, I believe socio-emotional learning is essential. After I had my two children, I started teaching, and that changed the trajectory of my life.

I have been in education for 23 years, most of that time as an administrator. When I started teaching, I realized that we focused too much on testing and content and not building the child. SEL is not a new concept for me. I have always known it’s the foundation of teaching and learning. We brought different “programs” into our schools to try to address our children’s socio-emotional needs. But nothing compares with the experience I have had with Lovescaping. How to teach love in action. We implemented Lovescaping with a group of 7th-grade girls, our entire staff, and 6th-graders during summer school. After seeing and experiencing what Lovescaping is, we decided to incorporate Lovescaping not as another “program” but as our framework, core values, and the basis for our students’ character education and socio-emotional learning. We aligned our school’s comprehensive behavior/discipline system to Lovescaping. The results were terrific!

I am joining Lovescaping because I believe in the mission of teaching how to practice love in action. After all, I have seen the difference and the results, and I want to help implement it globally in every school; our world would be much better.

ADRIANA SANCHEZ

Lovescaper

I have had major turning points in my career that have molded me into the person I am today and forged my path into being part of something as unique and life changing as Lovescaping.

I am a firm believer that all things in our lives have a purpose: that is what allows us to become contributors in the world and this plays a large part in what defines us as humans. I am from Guatemala, and love has been a thread that has bound my life with the people I have met along the way. I have a bachelor of science in Nutrition, and for 8 years, I have been working in the rural areas of Guatemala to promote interventions aimed at children and women to address health and nutrition issues, but I have also gained experience in international development for the past 4 years –multi-tasking and assisting with fundraising, donor development, communication and marketing strategies for projects related to another major issue that affects children living in remote rural areas, such as lack of access to education.

A beautiful thing is being able to witness how pulling the threads, all the essential lovescaping pillars, into the work that I do on a daily basis can change people’s mindset for the better. I am currently working for an organization whose mission is dedicated to eliminating not only external poverty by teaching people how to grow their own food, but also internal poverty by showing them that they have the power to improve their own life. That power comes from within, teaching them how important it is to cultivate self-love and love for others. It’s a seed of love that is planted to fight internal poverty where people blossom and solid relationships are nurtured.

This new role in my career showed me how interconnected we are as human beings and the vivid need in our world to teach people how to apply all the necessary pillars in our day-to-day interactions, and that is what Lovescaping does through a systematic approach and in which I am honored and thrilled to be part of. As a cultivator of love, I am using my artistic and creative side to support the mission of Lovescaping through communications, research, marketing, social media and branding.