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Jennifer Saltzgiver Levi

@jennlevi2016

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Founder, Live Like Braun Foundation, Author, “The Braunicles”, MADD CA Leg Board, Advocative for DUI Awareness and CA DUI Law Reform, Mom/Wife

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IT HAPPENED. WE DID IT.

SB 907 — including Braun’s Law — was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom. After a year of meetings, hearings, phone calls, trips to Sacramento, setbacks, tears and refusing to give up, we got it across the finish line. Thank you to our @cagovernor and First Partner @jennifersiebelnewsom for understanding the gravity and need for swift change.

I hate the reason I spent this past year fighting to change California law. I would trade every meeting, every accomplishment and every moment of this journey to have Braun back.

Thank you to @senatorbobarchuleta , who I now consider family forever, and to Ben Edelstein for championing this bill. Thank you to the LA County District Attorney’s Office and @nathanhochmanda for their unwavering support and partnership from beginning to end.

Thank you to @councilwomantracipark for setting an example of tenacity and integrity.

There were so many moments when I felt defeated. So many moments when I wondered whether one mom, one voice and one unimaginable loss could actually change the law.

It did.

California will now be safer because we refused to stop fighting.

And perhaps the part that takes my breath away most of all: Braun’s name and legacy are now written into California history. The last photo shows the moment I learned that the bill would be signed into law and when these emotions came flooding in.

Thank you to @indietrent and @susannahgillphotography 📸

Forever proud. Forever heartbroken. Forever fighting. 🇺🇸💛 taken in Pacific Palisades by @jennlevi2016

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12 days ago

On World Smile Day, it’s impossible not to think about Braun’s smile.

Braun could light up a room with that grin and those sparkly blue eyes. He would smile because he was genuinely happy to see you. Sometimes he would smile because he had something mischievous planned. And sometimes, honestly, a really good steak made him beam.

His smile made you feel loved, seen. Like the room had just gotten a little brighter.

Some of my favorite smiles were after tennis matches. He would win, throw off his cap and walk to the net smiling as he shook hands. And funny enough, even when he lost, he would still walk to the net with a smile.

That smile was magic.

We would do anything to see it one more time. So the best we can do now is make sure Braun’s legacy gives other people a reason to smile.

Smile at someone today. Make them feel seen. Bring a little light into a room – it can go a very long way.

We miss you, Braun.
We miss your smile.
We love you forever. by @jennlevi2016

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5 days ago

What happens when grief becomes something you build with?

I sat down with fellow bereaved mom Jennifer Levi, whose son Braun died at 18, to talk about grief, purpose, and what it means to keep mothering our children after they die.

We talked about the things we’ve built in our sons’ names, and whether leaning into a larger purpose can actually help us carry our grief.

But we also talked about the other side of it: purpose isn’t a requirement. Grief doesn’t have to become a nonprofit, a movement, a book, or anything at all to be meaningful.

Sometimes purpose simply gives all that love somewhere to go.

For Jennifer, that has become Live Like Braun. For me, it has become William’s Be Yourself Challenge, The Green House, and so much of the work I do today.

Two moms. Two boys we desperately miss. Two very different stories.

And a conversation about what it means to keep loving them forward.

I’d love to know: Has grief given you a sense of purpose, big or small? Or has your experience been completely different? by @jennlevi2016

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16 days ago

“What is the cost of doing nothing at all?”

For us, the answer was simple: too much.

After losing Braun to a repeat alleged drunk driver, we felt an undeniable pull to connect with young people, to reach them before one decision results in a lifetime of consequences.

That is how our one-hour DUI awareness workshop was born.

We bring this workshop to students at every stage—from elementary school through high school. We talk honestly about choices, impaired driving, responsibility, courage, and the reality that the decisions you make don’t just affect you; they ripple outward to your friends, family, classmates, and entire community.

There is incredible power in reaching young people before the worst happens.

We love walking into these schools. We love sharing who Braun was, how he lived, and how deeply he loved life. And we love watching students listen, question, absorb, and leave the room seeing their own choices a little differently.

Because if we reach one student at every school, one person who decides not to get in the car, takes the keys, calls for a ride, or speaks up for a friend, then we have done something that matters.

One hour can change a decision.

One decision can change a life.

And one life saved is everything.

This is one hour we believe every school needs.

We can’t wait to visit yours!

🎬 @indietrent by @jennlevi2016

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2 months ago

So grateful to @kithoover and @accesshollywood for welcoming me and giving me the opportunity to talk about Braun and the heart and power behind the Live Like Braun Foundation. @livelikebraunfoundation

It is always an honor and a privilege to say Braun’s name, share who he was, and talk about the tremendous work we are doing in his honor, turning love, loss, and memory into action.

And it was especially meaningful to announce the forthcoming “The Braunicles!” Writing has become one of the most powerful ways for me to channel emotion, preserve memories, and continue sharing pieces of our life with the world.

Thank you, Kit, for your friendship, your heart, and for helping me keep Braun’s story moving forward and helping @livelikebraunfoundation have impact!

Link to show in Bio taken in Los Angeles, California by @jennlevi2016

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2 months ago

When @jennlevi2016 lost her 18-year-old son suddenly and tragically to an alleged drunk driver in 2025, she took her pain and found purpose. For the past year, she has worked on SB 907, a bill that proposes to reform California’s DUI laws and other driving offenses. On June 30, the bill passed the Public Safety Committee unanimously. This past week, on August 6, the California legislature voted to move the bill forward, to (hopefully) a final vote on August 13 to fund the initiative before heading to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk. Jenn shares more about her experience working on this law, why it matters, and why choosing to show up is half the battle. Head up to our link in bio to read her piece now. #abovethenoise by @jennlevi2016

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2 months ago

The day after the Live Like Braun Memorial Tournament and it’s Braun’s 20th birthday, we’re exhausted, emotional, and maybe a little sore? Most of all, we’re so grateful to everyone who showed up and made the day unforgettable.

It felt like the best kind of family reunion, bringing together old friends, new friends, and people we hadn’t seen in years. Through tennis and through Braun, everyone belonged. It was a beautiful way to celebrate his legacy and his birthday.

There was competition, laughter, hugs, and maybe a few questionable line calls. But above all, there was love.
That’s Live Like Braun: bringing people together, having fun, lifting each other up, and keeping Braun’s spirit at the center of it all.

We can’t wait for next year.

Thank you to the Arrillaga Foundation, Peninsula Racquet Club, USTA, Santa Monica Tennis Collective, Urban Plates, Essentia Water, GU Energy, 33 Threads, and all of our incredible volunteers.

🎬 @indietrent taken in Peninsula Racquet Club by @jennlevi2016

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2 months ago

Happy Birthday, Braun.

Every year that passes somehow gets harder. We miss your laugh, your energy, your hugs, your endless optimism, and the way you made everyone around you feel like they mattered. But today, more than anything, we celebrate you.

One of my favorite birthdays was when you turned 12. You were absolutely determined that your birthday present would be rescuing a dog. Not a puppy. Not the cutest one. Not the easiest one. You wanted the dog that wasn’t too big, wasn’t too small, wasn’t “perfect”… you wanted the dog that needed you.

We walked into the rescue, and within minutes you had chosen the most anxious, loudest barking dog there. 😂 Of course you did.

Burrito became part of our family that day, but more importantly, you became his whole world. He rarely left your side. You took him everywhere. You loved him exactly as he was, even when he struggled to show that same love to everyone else. (And yes… we’re still sorry to everyone Burrito decided to take a little bite out of. 😅)

Looking back, that day said everything about who you were. You didn’t see flaws. You saw hearts worth loving. You instinctively found the people—and dogs—who needed someone to believe in them.

I love you, Braun. We all love you. We all miss you. Your entire family.

Happy Birthday to the boy who continues to teach us how to live, with kindness, courage, compassion, and love. We will never stop celebrating you. Your legacy lives on every single day.

OUR SON AND BROTHER . WE LOVE YOU FOREVER by @jennlevi2016

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2 months ago

Please read (link in bio) and share my journey as SB 907 reaches one of its final and most critical stops: the Appropriations Suspense File hearing.

This journey has been about turning unimaginable loss into action, finding my voice in rooms I never expected to enter, and refusing to stop fighting for change.

I especially want to say thank you to Maria Shriver and The Sunday Paper for giving me a home for that voice, a place to express my journey, my grief, my feelings, and the purpose I continue to find within all of it.

There is something incredibly powerful about being given the space to tell your story and even more powerful when someone believes that story deserves to be heard.

Thank you, Maria and The Sunday Paper, for continuing to give me that space. 🤍

One mom. One voice. Lots of noise.
And we’re not done yet. taken in Sacramento, California by @jennlevi2016

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2 months ago

I’m back in Sacramento, meeting with members of the Appropriations Committee—the final critical step for SB 907.

They will sit in a room and calculate what this bill could cost the State of California. But I need them to ask a far more important question: What has Braun’s death cost our family? What is the cost to every California family that has lost someone they love to an impaired driver?

SB 907 is about preventing future crimes, protecting innocent lives, and ensuring that fewer families are forced to endure this unimaginable loss.

Please hear me. Please stand with victims. Please be an architect of change for California.

“What is the cost of doing nothing?”

@asmcaloza @asmmaggykrell @asmblancapacheco @asmlisacalderon @asmgailpellerin @joshhooverca @trita4ca @asmtangipa @asmjeffgonzalez @asmsolache @senatorbobarchuleta @cagovernor @gavinnewsom taken in Sacramento, California by @jennlevi2016

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2 months ago

Friends and energy were everything to Braun!

Here are a few of our favorite moments from the LLB Memorial Tournament from last year! We are back again on August 8th at the Peninsula Racquet Club, but don’t wait… registration closes in one week and spots are almost full!

Grab your partner and come be part of something bigger than a fun day of live ball with your community!

🔗 Link in bio to register! by @jennlevi2016

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3 months ago

No one should lose a child to a drunk driver.

A DUI reform bill co-sponsored by LADA, @maddcalifornia, @maddnational, @orangecountydistrictattorney and CA Safe Roads Coalition to strengthen California’s drunk driving laws is one step closer to becoming law after it passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee last week.

The bill includes Braun’s Law in honor of Braun Levi, an 18-year-old Loyola High School student who was tragically killed by a recidivist drunk driver in Manhattan Beach last year.

Braun’s Law would ensure that drivers whose DUI charges are pled down to a lesser or different charge are advised with a Watson Warning of the serious consequences of driving while impaired, which include being charged with second-degree murder if they drive while intoxicated and kill someone.

SB 907 was introduced by @senatorbobarchuleta (D-Los Angeles) and unanimously passed the state Senate with bipartisan support in May.

This #AlcoholAwarenessWeek, we call on the California Assembly to pass SB 907 and for Governor Newsom to sign the bill into law.

🔗 Click the link in our bio to read the full press release.

#LADAOffice #danathanhochman taken in Sacramento Capitol Building by @jennlevi2016

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3 months ago