“I want to be in the arena. I want to be brave with my life. And when we make the choice to dare greatly, we sign up to get our asses kicked. We can choose courage or we can choose comfort, but we can’t have both. Not at the same time. Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage"― Brené Brown
Nadine Ferris France
Self-inquiry - Coaching - Creativity & leadership development -
Team building & communication - Strategic planning & values
Stress management, wellbeing & self-worth - Global health
Self-inquiry - Coaching - Creativity & leadership development -
Team building & communication - Strategic planning & values
Stress management, wellbeing & self-worth - Global health
We are all leaders
In the world of health & development, lives matter. Sound decisions and plans can mean the difference in people getting access to life-saving medications, living long and healthy lives free from stigma and discrimination or getting a good education. Sound decisions and plans come from leaders, teams and groups of people who have a clear and shared vision, teams who work well together based on trust, who communicate well, who respect each other and who have tools to help them challenge limiting beliefs.
I work with individuals, groups, organisations and networks to help them achieve their goals and be the best leaders they can be. I provide support in many areas of health and education - health management, HIV, TB, gender, mental health, human rights, gender-based violence and more
I work with individuals, groups, organisations and networks to help them achieve their goals and be the best leaders they can be. I provide support in many areas of health and education - health management, HIV, TB, gender, mental health, human rights, gender-based violence and more
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A practical conversation about developing resilience and coping skills within the context of COVID-19 for AWARE. I joined Dr Keith Gaynor and Dr Claire Hayes for one of the most interesting conversations I've had all year! A chance to reflect on all that I have learned from the amazing people I have interviewed to all over the world, and to learn about Keith's fantastic work and approach to life. December 2020 |
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In the article, published in April 2020, I share how I discovered the importance of finding my own voice following my divorce, my experience of self-stigma, in particularly feeling I was not good enough, and how self-inquiry helped me deeply question that and grow as a person. Written by the talented Leonie Corcoran, she draws on wisdom from some amazing women - Amelia Earhart, Michelle Obama and our own inspirational Sinead Burke. She talks about how women often feel the 'imposter syndrome' and stresses the importance of:
1) feeling the fear and doing it anyway, 2) exercising your mind and; 3) stretching yourself out of your comfort zone. With the current challenges for all of us with COVID-19, this advice is even more important than ever...... |
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Had the honour of sharing my own personal and then professional journey from self-stigma to self-worth & self-love. I talk about my experience of self-stigma related to divorce, HIV, sex-work, gender-based violence and being human. Also offer a step-by-step experience to question your own thinking using Inquiry-based Stress Reduction (The Work of Bryon Katie) |
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Postcard - The World As We Know It
November 2022 
This week has been a rollarcoaster and I feel that I have understood something more of the world that we live in, and compelled to share.
After much planning and preparation, we were all set to travel to Zimbabwe this week and work with our amazing friends there in Africaid Zvandiri and a group of phenomenal young people living with HIV - we have been working together for the past eight months delivering a programme half online and half in-person on self-stigma and shame - I would never have believed that it was possible to work like this online. This makes me excited as I see that the future of develoment looks very different to the past. When we talk about building capacity, empowerment and sustainability - COVID-19 has forced us to meet these three head on and find innovative, creative and feasible solutions that work - amazing right! So as we prepare for travelling this week two things happen that make it impossible. Read the whole article here |
Postcard from Pakistan
June 2019 What an incredible life this is! That is how I feel most of the time. When I was in my late teens, I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I grew up. All I knew was that it had to be something with people, travel and languages. Little did I know that nearly 30 years later, I would be still living my dream, but not in any way I could have imagined back then.
This week I have been travelling the length and breath of Pakistan working on gender-based violence. Read the whole article here |
Self-stigma and shameGiving it back
Doing what I love - see the amazing work we do with leaders in the HIV movement in Zimbabwe and Vietnam. Get in touch if you would like to help!
www.beyondstigma.org 
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Do you ever want to ‘Press Pause’ on your life? If so, this seven-day retreat is for you. Carefully crafted for those who are working hard and find little time to look after themselves, this retreat offers an opportunity to focus deeply on mind, body and spirit and come away feeling not only rejuvenated, but also taking tools with you for ongoing self-care.
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Postcard from Vietnam
November 2019 
Privilege of working in Vietnam for one week developing a new approach to working on self-stigma and shame with the most vulnerable groups in society – sex workers, people living with HIV, transgender people, drug users and men who have sex with men - often called 'social evils'. Putting our creative minds and hearts together, we have a plan to produce a series of videos, a toolkit and a measurement scale during 2020.
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“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain