Owsley Brown III
Chair, Compassionate Schools Project
Owsley Brown is devoted to sustaining healthy communities by enhancing cultural, spiritual, and civic life. He is a documentary filmmaker, a director of foundations and nonprofit boards, a student of theology and the spiritual path, and the leader of exploratory projects in community wellbeing. Owsley is also an active fifth-generation shareholder of Brown-Forman, his family’s international spirits and wine company, founded in 1870. Owsley’s films include Night Waltz: The Music of Paul Bowles, Music Makes a City, and Serenade for Haiti. His most recent film, River City Drumbeat, is a timely look at the important power of arts and culture through music in West Louisville.
In his native city and beloved hometown of Louisville, Owsley is known as host and producer of the Festival of Faiths, a founding board member of the Kentucky School of Art and Design, and Chair of the Compassionate Schools Project. Owsley also serves on the boards of the University of Virginia’s Contemplative Sciences Center, Mind and Life Institute, Sustainable Food Alliance, Center for Interfaith Relations, Roxie Theater, and the Tsoknyi Humanitarian Foundation. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia.
TEAM ASSOCIATES
- Rhoades Alderson – Public Relations
- Stefanie Baker – Project Coordination
Greg Fischer
Former Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky
As mayor from 2010-2022, Greg Fischer pursued three top goals for his hometown: making Louisville a city of lifelong learning and great jobs, a much healthier city, and an even more compassionate community. Both a businessman and entrepreneur, he brought a data-driven approach to city government with a goal of making it more efficient and accessible—and making sure that every taxpayer dollar was wisely spent.
Alexis Harris, Ph.D.
Youth-Nex Center and School of Education and Human Development, University of Virginia
Alexis Harris is a Research Assistant Professor with Youth-Nex and the School of Education and Human Development.
Alexis’ research is centered on strategies to promote social-emotional competence and wellbeing and to prevent the negative consequences of stress. She has implemented and evaluated school-based social-emotional learning interventions and professional development for educators, integrating mindfulness, compassion, and yoga-based approaches. She is interested in promoting more healthy, just, and equitable developmental settings for youth.
In addition to her research experience, Alexis has developed and taught prevention and wellness-promotion curricula for children, families, and educators in school and community settings. Alexis developed CALM, a wellness-promotion program for school staff that promotes emotional and body awareness, stress management, physical wellbeing, and professional efficacy through accessible and practical contemplative practices. Alexis is located in Louisville, KY, as the local project director for the Compassionate Schools Project.
Patricia (Tish) Jennings, M.Ed., Ph.D.
School of Education and Human Development and Contemplative Sciences Center, University of Virginia
Tish Jennings is a Professor of Education at the School of Education and Human Development and a member of the Directing Circle of the Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia. She is an internationally recognized leader in the field of social and emotional learning with a specific emphasis on mindfulness-based interventions for both students and teachers to promote social and emotional competence, well-being, and resilience leading to improvements in performance. She has lead several federally funded studies to test a mindfulness-based intervention for teachers.
In addition to her research experience, Tish has over 22 years of classroom teaching experience. She founded and directed an experimental school where she developed and field-tested curriculum for children from infancy through 5th grade, applying a variety of contemplative approaches including mindfulness-based and compassion-based practices.
Patrick H. Tolan, Ph.D.
Youth-Nex Center and School of Education and Human Development, University of Virginia
Patrick Tolan is Director Emeritus of Youth-Nex, the UVA Center to Promote Effective Youth Development, and Charles S. Robb Professor in the School of Education and Human Development and in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Science in the College of Medicine. Patrick is the Principal Investigator for the Compassionate Schools Project, serving as its overall director. He is an internationally respected and renowned leader in the field of sound scientific evaluation of youth development and prevention of health problems.
Patrick has influenced his field to focus on how education and health are related and can be simultaneously promoted. He has lead several large randomized control research studies of school and community based programs that have shown important effects for youth behavior, school completion, and family functioning. He led one of the largest school intervention studies of the past twenty years, a $25 million effort over 7 years. He also regularly consults with and speaks to agencies, foundations, and governments on use of evidence-based practices to guide programming. He has published 8 books and over 200 plus scientific articles about promoting successful youth development.
Velma Murry, Ph.D.
