Good News - November 2018

Live the Life, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening family life with re- sources to help couples invest in their marriages, has announced that Rob Siedlecki will lead the expansion of its programs and partnerships into northern Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast. Live the Life is seeking to replicate its divorce-rate-reduc- tion success in Duval County (Jacksonville) throughout Florida. As the Director of Commu- nity Marriage Initiative Refine- ment and Replication, Siedlecki is overseeing fundraising in his territories and recruiting churches to offer Live the Life’s programs. The expansion is part of a statewide initiative to cut Florida’s divorce rate in half by 2029. Siedlecki will focus on work- ing with northern Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie and IndianRiver County residents, specifically those in Port St. Lucie, where he lives; Jupiter; Palm Beach Gar- dens; and West Palm Beach. Live the Life plans to repli- cate the success it has had in Jacksonville, Florida. Between 2015 and 2017, Live the Life suc- cessfully influenced the divorce rate inDuval County/Jacksonville – witnessing a decline from 4.07 people per thousand in 2015 to 2.95 people per thousand in 2017 – a 28 percent decrease. Live the Life was able to achieve this success using a three- pronged approach. First, Live theLifeoffersmar- riage skills programs to couples who are seriously dating or en- gaged, couples who want to strengthen an existing marriage, and couples in troubled mar- riages. Second, Live the Life col- laborateswith local churches and community organizations to cre- ate or strengthen existing mar- riage ministries and/or to offer Live the Life programs to their members. Third, Live the Life works with local media to share the benefits of marriage and to announce community, marriage- strengthening classes. Siedlecki has been involved with the Live the Life since 2015, serving on its board of directors as amember and vice chairman. He has a varied professional background in politics, law, man- agement/consulting, andgovern- ment that includes serving as Secretary for theKansasDepart- ment of Social andRehabilitation Services inTopeka and asAssis- tant Secretary at the Florida De- partment of Children and Families in Tallahassee. He also has served as Chief of Staff for the Florida Depart- ment of Health in Tallahassee, Special Assistant to Assistant Secretary for Children and Fam- ilies at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, DC, and asAssoci- ate Director at Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Palm Beach. Siedlecki earned his Juris Doctor from Cornell Law School in Ithaca, N.Y. in 1995. He earned his bachelor’s de- gree, graduating magna cum laude, from Harvard College in Cambridge, M.A. in 1991. He attended Pine Crest High School in Fort Lauderdale and studied abroad at the Catholic University of Lublin in Poland and at Kuusiluoto High School in Finland, as a 10th grade exchange student. He lives in Port St. Lucie with his wife, Tamara, and their four children. Live the Life Announces Expansion to North Palm Beach Rob Siedlecki Palm Beach County