LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Judy Bremner

Position: STOP Violence Grant Facilitator
School: Broward County Public Schools
School District: Broward County Public Schools
City, State: Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Judy Bremner was nominated by David Rosenthal, a member of the community.

Ms. Bremner has been - and continues to be - a trailblazer in the field of education. She taught science for the first seven years of her career at Northampton High School in Pennsylvania. While there, she served on the Student Assistance Program, which was a team that has been professionally trained to identify barriers to a student's learning and school success. The SAP process provides early identification, intervention, and support to address students' needs. While serving on this committee, Ms. Bremner found her passion in student health and wellness (both mental and physical), which would point her down a path that would eventually lead her to a leadership role many years later at the district level.

In 2005, Ms. Bremner moved to Florida and began teaching at the middle school level. It was during this year that she attended her first grant writing workshop. After the workshop, she applied for and received the AFCEA Science Teacher Tools grant to purchase lab equipment for her students. Soon, the economy began to take a turn for the worse, and there was talk about elective classes being dropped from schools. Ms. Bremner sprung into action and applied for and received the NFL's "Keep Gym In Schools" grant. After that came many more grants, including the Let's Move Active Schools and Action for Healthy Kids grants. When word had gotten out about Ms. Bremner's success in student health and wellness, Brandon Knight, a basketball player for the NBA, reached out to her and asked if he could come to Sawgrass Springs Middle School, where Ms. Bremner worked, and sign basketballs for the students.

A few years later, Ms. Bremner had learned that a movement in education called social-emotional learning (SEL) seemed to compliment what she was already doing in the classroom. Therefore, she attended a SEL training and brought new techniques back to her school, where she served on the newly formed SEL team. This lead to her being chosen as the Florida winner of Sanford Harmony's Educator of the Year program.

Ms. Bremner's teaching career was on a great trajectory when one day, on February 14th, 2018, there was a tragedy that would change her life and the lives of those in her community. On this day, there was a mass shooting in Broward County Public Schools, where Ms. Bremner worked. She had learned that one of the victims was Peter Wang, one of her students from the previous year. Ms. Bremner decided to take this tragic incident and change it to a moment of transformation when she applied for the STOP Violence Grant through the Department of Justice. She was awarded the grant and has since served in the role of STOP Violence Grant Facilitator in Broward County Public Schools. While it was bittersweet for her to leave the classroom, Ms. Bremner realized that she could touch many more lives by working in a leadership Role at the district level.

Since then, Ms. Bremner has continued to apply for and receive many grants for the district, including Safe Fleet's United Against Bullying grant and several other grants dealing with mental health and wellness. She now serves on the district's social-emotional learning team, the district's Behavioral Intervention Committee, and is currently being considered for a position on the board of the National Coalition for Safe Schools.

"Judy Bremner has a reputation in this community for helping others," said Rosenthal. "She is the person people go to when they need to get something done, because they know she will find a way to help. She is one of those people who has had success because she has developed deep-rooted relationships with those around her. Judy holds herself to very high standards, and because of her character, people are always willing to team up with her to get things done."

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Comments (10)

James Cady Posted over a year ago

Judy works endlessly to bring grants to broward county so that many can take advantage of so many things needed.A true go getter and so many followers. An inspiration to many including me. She is a true life changer.

Dawn Valli Posted over a year ago

My son, Blake Valli, was a student at Stoneman Douglas High School and was in the first room during the shooting that took place there. Since that time, Judy has done a myriad of things to prevent violence. For example, she wrote and received a grant called "Safe Fleet/United Against Bullying" last year. In the two years that she has worked in her new position, violence has gone down in 12 out of the 16 schools that she worked with during year one and 12 out of the 17 schools that she worked with during year two. However, what is most important to me is how Judy has taken a tragedy and transformed the tragic event into actionable opportunities to create change. She has worked with my son to advertise the T.A.L.K. app for Students in Broward County. T.A.L.K. stands for "Tell Another; Listening is Key". This is an app that students can use to request mental health assistance. My son has worked closely with Judy for many hours in this and other initiatives that are aimed at reducing violence through providing assistance earlier on, BEFORE children would get to the point that they feel they need to resort to violence. On November 20th, Judy was voted to sit on the Board for the National Coalition for Safe Schools. She is making so much progress in the area of preventing violence. She is definitely a "Life Changer"!

Natalie Smith Posted over a year ago

I have had the pleasure of knowing Judy professionally and personally for almost 20 years. Judy is an amazing person. She is a stellar educator who seeks to help students learn, be physical active, and encourage mental health. She is collaborative, caring, and outgoing. As a friend, she is one of a kind; someone who deeply cares about others. She goes out of her way to help others. She is genuine, empathetic, and compassionate.

Megan Regnier, PhD Posted over a year ago

Prior to joining her district’s administration, Judy was an inspiring classroom teacher for nearly two decades, finding innovative and creative methods of learning to engage her students. For instance, I remember her spending weeks at the end of one summer hand-crafting a realistic Jeopardy game to welcome back her middle-school science students. Additionally, on her own time after her classroom responsibilities were met, Judy would write grants to fund fitness programs for her students. She planned, organized, and taught an after-school fitness program at her middle school for many years. It is with similar dedication and energy that she now faces violence in schools in her current role with the district. In a geographic area that has mourned the loss of loved ones to gun violence numerous times over, the need for her programming is strong and welcomed. Judy’s programs have positively enriched the lives of students, teachers, and parents alike, and her outreach has shown major contributions to the communities she serves.

Elsa Roberts Posted over a year ago

I have known Judy for over 15 years through her teaching at local fitness facilities. She is an inspirational leader who motivates her students through her humor, sincerity and sense of caring about others. Judy makes every effort to be creative in her teaching and manages to demonstrate in each and every class how much she cares about all her students. I consider myself fortunate to be one of them.

Ana Gabriela Joseph Posted over a year ago

I would like to formally and sincerely recognize Ms. Judy Bremner for the amazing work she has accomplished by serving students and staff as the STOP grant facilitator for Broward County Public Schools. I have had the opportunity to work closely with Ms. Bremner and had witnessed firsthand how her skillful experience and personal qualities have directly impacted the wellbeing of the students she serves. Ms. Bremner is extremely welcoming and takes the necessary time to support the staff involved with the STOP initiative. She shows exceptional discipline and dedication to her current role and responsibilities. Therefore, It is with great pleasure that I write this note to support Ms. Bremner’s nomination for the Life Changer of the Year award because her work is invaluable. Ms. Bremner is greatly appreciated by her colleagues, students, and families.

Kristin Chevez Posted over a year ago

I had the pleasure of working with Judy and can say she is an intelligent, super caring, generous, and tremendously hard-working woman. She is very innovative. She always had creative hands on lesson plans, making her subject matter more understandable and fun for the students to learn! She always cared deeply about her students well being and their academic success. She continues to have a positive impact on so many students via the program she runs, made possible by a grant she was awarded. She has taken the initiative to write many grants over the years. She is a remarkable educator and leader!

linda peterson Posted over a year ago

It is my great pleasure to write this endorsement in support of Judy Bremner's nomination as Lifechanger of the Year . Judy is in charge of overseeing the "Start with Hello" and "Say Something" programs for the District. The "Start with Hello" program teaches students about social isolation and how sometimes, at its worst, social isolation could lead to violence to self or to others. in the "Start with Hello" curriculum, students are taught how to make connections to one another so that no one is left out. "Say Something" is a program where students are taught how to recognize the signs and signals of potential violence., (especially in social media), and how to take the information and report it to a trusted adult. Ms. Bremner is also on the District Behavioral Intervention Committee, the District's Mental Health Leadership Team, and the District's Social Emotional Learning Committee. She currently works with 61 Middle and High Schools in Broward County in an effort to reduce violence in schools. On a personal note, Judy has been my own personal lifesaver during the corona virus pandemic. Any time I had any questions regarding our district's CANVAS Learning Management Platform, all I had to do was to reach out to Judy and she was there right away providing me with assistance. Her advice on ways to use this interface and manage classes virtually were invaluable. In addition, Judy gave me many suggestions on how to make my Science classes more interactive - from using virtual labs and adding creativity in my lessons.

Debbie Diaz Posted over a year ago

Judy Bremner is the kind of person who is caring, genuine and special. She is the type of person that does simple acts of kindness for someone who needs help and never expects anything in return. She shows compassion and empathy towards people. She truly is a wonderful person and she can and makes a difference in people’s lives.

Carole Mitchell Posted over a year ago

I unequivocally support the nomination of Ms. Judy Bremner for the Life Changer of the Year award! As the District Liaison for BCPS Homeless Education, Ms. Bremner and I both work under the auspices of the Student Support Initiatives and Recovery Division within the Student Services Department. Time and time again, I have personally witnessed Ms. Bremner readily locate, or direct her colleagues to services or resources to benefit the children, youth, and families of Broward County. Ms. Bremner has the biggest heart filled with compassion and a calling to serve the needs of others. In fact, she got her hair salon to donate $7,000 worth of shampoo and other toiletries to families identified by our Homeless Education Program as experiencing homelessness. Being recognized as the Life Changer of the Year would be totally fitting for an amazing, unassuming person who has, through her 'quiet' deeds, made a tremendous, positive impact upon countless lives.