A languages graduate (French and Spanish), I then added Italian to the languages I spoke by living and working in Italy for a year. As the head of a languages-for-business training company in Paris in the early 90s, my policy was to include as many varied native-speaker profiles as possible among the teaching staff. I aimed to promote diversity as well as to represent it. Following that experience, as a trained teacher with a Master’s degree in education and formal training in NLP (etc.), I decided to move out of full-time management and back into hands-on training and consulting. In that role, I experienced a wide range of corporate and professional cultures while I worked as a trainer, facilitator, and coach in communication with large international companies. This was interpersonal, intercultural, and public speaking communication and my approach was inside-out; with no quick fixes or tricks. The challenge was always to facilitate the emergence of people’s authentic selves all the while meeting the requirements of objectives-led, very time-constrained environments.
That kind of environment led me to Mindfulness. Training in Mindfulness-based Values in Action was the first step in 2011 and I haven’t stopped since. My lifelong learning path in Mindfulness continued with MBSRs with Bangor and UMASS then through retreats and workshops further into the Mindfulness universe, all the time deepening my understanding and my practice. I began 2024 by following a 3-month daily programme of silent practice. I offer workshops and small-group practices here where I live with my husband in the beautiful Drôme department in northern Provence, France. Volunteering with the Mindfulness Network is a way for me to share with peers, contribute to the functioning of this universe, and give back.