21 Lauren Dunne Astley had just graduated from Wayland High School in suburban Boston, Massachusetts, and was set to attend Elon University in the fall of 2011. The 18-year-old with a bright smile, sunny personality, and strong network of friends loved fashion, singing, and helping others.“She was brave,”remembers her father, Malcolm Astley.“She wanted to make things better.” That desire to improve the world brought her to New Orleans several times to volunteer in the rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Katrina, and to counter-demonstrate at an anti-Islam demonstration. Lauren cared also that her ex-boyfriend, a high school football star set to attend Trinity College, was having trouble getting over their recent breakup. After getting off work at a nearby mall on July 3, Lauren met her ex alone at his parents’home, where he brutally murdered her. To everyone around Lauren, her murder was shocking. The signs that something was potentially violent in their three-year relationship were so nuanced. In hindsight, Malcolm says, you think about those clues: Lauren’s friends didn’t like her boyfriend, the couple tried to break up several times before, and Lauren and her boyfriend spent most of their time at his home. “Breakups are one of the hardest things we deal with as humans,”says Malcolm, a retired principal with a doctorate in education.“To parents, the clues that a relationship or a breakup is dangerous can be subtle or undetectable, but kids tell other kids if something is wrong.” Withthehelpoffriendsandneighbors,MalcolmandLauren’smother,MaryDunne,alsoaneducator, set up the Lauren Dunne Astley Memorial Fund—a nonprofit with the mission to fund educational programs that promote healthy teen relationships and the arts and community service, two of Lauren’s interests. One of the nonprofit’s accomplishments is being part of successful efforts to fund pilot programs to teach dating violence prevention in schools throughout Massachusetts. One in three adolescent girls in the United States is a victim of physical, emotional, or verbal abuse by a dating partner, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s why it’s so important to Lauren’s father that kids and teens are taught healthy relationship and breakup skills as well as also how to help peers who may be in dangerous relationships. This educational goal is one of the primary focuses of the fund. “It was an honor to help Lauren’s father, Malcolm Astley, and the Lauren Dunne Astley Memorial Fund with strategic advice, including ensuring that legislators learn how important it is to educate children and teens on this issue,”says Mintz Levin attorney Sue Finegan, who along with attorney Helen Guyton, former project analyst Amarynth Sichel (now working with ML Strategies), summer associate Phil Chang, and Nancy Sterling and Julie Cox from ML Strategies assisted the nonprofit. “This work planted the seed for a pilot innovation fund, passed by the legislature this year, to develop the best curriculum on dating violence for children in Massachusetts,”Sue says. “Educating children and teens on healthy relationships and the tools to deal with breakups can help prevent the terrible harm that happened to my daughter.” Malcolm Astley Lauren Dunne Astley Memorial Fund Artwork: Designed by artist Josh Winer, this mosaic honoring the life of Lauren Dunne Astley hangs in the courtyard of her alma mater, Wayland High School. It was created with the help of current and former Wayland High students and teacher David Schmirer. Photo: Michelle Leinbach Breaking the Silence