Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Irene Greaves. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Irene, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?

I believe our educational system needs to be transformed – not reformed. Our current model is far from meeting the needs of our children and our world as a whole. The first thing I would do to transform the educational system would be to humanize it by making Lovescaping a core component of the school curriculum and culture. Lovescaping’s mission is to transform schools into places where we systematically learn to practice love in action through the intentional engagement of 15 pillars: humility, empathy, respect, care, compassion, communication, patience, honesty, trust, vulnerability, solidarity, liberation, gratitude, forgiveness and hope. In an ever-increasing globalized and polarized world, a need for an education that nurtures and teaches how to cultivate love, humility, solidarity, respect, and that helps develop critical thinking, empathy, perspective taking, passion and compassion, can be a force for collaboration instead of conflict, and a force for peace. It is the only source of hope we have left as we embark upon the challenge of dealing with conflict and the de-humanization of the world. If we can prioritize love and make it a core component of our education systems, we would be equipping the humanity of tomorrow with the tools to practice love in action, and this will change the world!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Irene Greaves and I am a Lovescaper – a practitioner of love in action, and my mission is to make love a distinctive quality and an intrinsic component of our education systems. I am the author and founder of Lovescaping, the work of my life, and my educational philosophy based on practicing love in action through the intentional engagement of 15 pillars that include social and emotional skills such as empathy and communication.

I am from Venezuela, and left home 17 years ago. In those years I’ve had the great privilege and opportunity to live, work, study and volunteer in Europe, Africa, Asia, Central America and North America, dedicating my life to service, education and community development. All those experiences taught me that love transcends all differences and that we can in fact learn to love.

I have created an educational framework and curriculum to teach students, teachers and families the skills needed to develop self love and love for others, and to create a culture of love at school.

In the past 4 years, I’ve published my book on Lovescaping and have been teaching Lovescaping classes at elementary, middle and high schools, starting at 1 school in 2018 and reaching 13 schools to date, impacting over 1000 students, the majority of whom are students of color and half, Newcomer students. My schools are located in underserved areas of Houston where most students are economically disadvantages and at risk of dropping out.

I believe that educating the mind is not sufficient. If we want to live in a fair, just and peaceful world, we need to educate and nurture our children’s hearts. We need to systematically and intentionally teach love in action. This is how we rescue our humanity, and this is how we change the world.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

I met Debbie Landau in 2019 through a mutual friend who upon learning about Lovescaping immediately said to me: “You must meet Debbie.” At the time, Debbie was Principal at Discovery Middle School, and she opened the doors to her school for me to implement a Lovescaping program with her 7th grade girls. Debbie has been a visionary leader throughout her 23-year career in education, swimming against the current and committed to humanizing education and educating the whole child. Upon witnessing the results of the Lovescaping program with her middle schoolers, she understood the potential and need for Lovescaping at a school-wide level, and thanks to her insightful leadership, we implemented the first school-wide model of Lovescaping during the 2020-2021 school year at her middle school. This meant that the entire staff was learning Lovescaping, and going through the process themselves in order to teach it to their students. Students had Lovescaping class every day in the morning. The families were also learning Lovescaping, and we came up with the motto: “It takes a Lovescaping Village to Raise a Child!” When we met, Debbie said to me: “when I retire, I want to come work with you.” And luckily for me, she retired in July 2021 to take on the mission of Lovescaping and together transform our educational system through love. I am honored and grateful to have her as a business partner in this journey.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I believe that what has allowed me to build my reputation is being authentic and embodying the values that I am teaching. I am a Lovescaper, and I intentionally try to live according to those values, and people can see and feel that. The work speaks for itself when you practice what you preach and when others who have been touched, inspired and transformed by the work share their stories and recommend our system.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lovescaping.org 
• Email:  [email protected]
• Instagram: @lovescaping