When the Hockley family relocated from England to Connecticut in the winter of 2011 it was the realization of a family dream. Ian had visited the United States regularly since childhood, Nicole was from Rhode Island and Jake was born on the 4th of July; in many ways it was coming home.They moved to the idyllic town of Sandy Hook which Ian selected after touring the beautiful neighborhoods and meeting the staff at the elementary school, knowing Dylan especially would get a fantastic start as they made their new life. This bright beginning ran full force into the American nightmare on December 14th, 2012 when Dylan was shot and killed in his first-grade classroom alongside 19 of his fellow students and six educators in one of the worst mass shootings in recent U.S. history.

Ian and Nicole created Dylan’s Wings of Change, dedicated to his memory with a mission to inspire empathy, courage & hope. everywhere. Working with experts the foundation created Wingman, a program of experiential learning activities that foster deeper conversations, stronger teams and more connected communities. Wingman is effective for humans of all ages and works especially well as a peer-led social and emotional learning program both in and out of schools.Ian now works full time for the foundation, serving as Executive Director, and is dedicated to spreading the message of acceptance and inclusion for all. He warmly shares Dylan’s story with the world, the 6-year old boy who had his own way of communicating, who radiated pure love and described himself as “a beautiful butterfly” to his mother. Ian addresses the epidemic of social isolation and exclusion today and the need for social and emotional programming everywhere.

In this episode we explore:

More about Ian's story and the events that occurred on December 14, 2012
His road to healing
His motivation for spreading messages of love, kindness, and empathy after experiencing acts of hate and violence
Details about the Wingman Program and Dylans Wings of Change
How the Wingman Program promotes social and emotional learning, and positive leadership in schools
Why Ian views empathy as an antidote for our time
Why it is so important to focus on the things we have, as opposed to things we don't, in the face of adversity
And much more!

For more about Ian please visit Dylanswingsofchange.org

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Show notes can be found at joshuasteinfeldt.com/podcast

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