this world needs brave

The Law of Attraction

I have said this before and I am sure I’ll say it again. The law of attraction is nonsense. I say this because I’ve seen too many bad things to believe otherwise. Really amazing, optimistic positive people get screwed over […]

Home and Away

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| finding your brave, front

Before I came to Kyrgyzstan, I spent three months in Central New York, within a hundred miles of where I was born. It was the longest time I’d spent there since 1993 when I headed off to college, and I […]

What do I tell potential employers about leaving my terrible job?

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| brave people, careers

My job is terrible. My organization is unethical enough that I feel bad working there, but not so much I can gather evidence and expose them. All my colleagues are undermining back-biters and they take three hour lunches. My boss’s […]

me in other places, job links

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| careers

If you’ve ever wanted to see me screw up on stage, you’re in luck! A talk I gave on international development is now up in the TED YouTube archive. It was five years ago, but I remember being very pleased […]

TED 2018 – or, how to survive being surrounded by brillance

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| brave people, finding your brave, front

So, I’m at TED. Well, almost. I’m at the pre-conference for TED fellows. The big events start on Monday. Being in the presence of the TED fellows every year is an exercise in humility. I mean, I love what I […]

Me, in person and online

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| finding your brave, front

Things will be light around here for the next month. I am off to TED (TED), the Hero Round Table (state of the art information on being brave) in San Francisco, and SwitchPoint in North Carolina (the coolest international development […]

Two reasons to email me

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| coaching programs, finding your brave

The first reason: I am sending out my next set of postcards for my postcard project this week. If you’d like to receive one, email me – alanna@needsbrave.com – with your address and I’ll put you on the list. The […]

Photo I took of a San Francisco garbage barge in 2018 or so

Me, in other places

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| front, global health

Well, one other place. I’ve got an article in The Telegraph on infectious diseases today.

A photo looking up at ancient egyptian pillars

How to have a difficult conversation with someone you love

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| finding your brave, front

In six not so easy steps: Accept that it’s not going to be pleasant. Lots of things are difficult and unpleasant. Influenza. Traffic court. Surgery. Unlike influenza, a difficult conversation is never fatal. You are strong enough to survive 20-30 […]

Resources: Emerging Infectious Diseases

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| front, global health

A recent piece I wrote for UN Dispatch, on where our next pandemic may come from. (Spoiler: animals!) Exactly ten years ago, here’s what we were thinking about emerging infectious diseases. What is striking about this article is that it […]

“Alanna’s direct yet humane approach comforted me. Her knowledge helped me understand my behavior. Her concrete advice helped me develop actionable steps towards managing my emotions and becoming more assertive.”

“I approached Alanna to help me make a decision at a major professional crossroads. I was ready to leave the organization where I had spent all of my public health career, but I wasn’t completely sure what I wanted to do next, or frankly even how to make that decision…Alanna’s direct yet kind approach helped me discard some of my own deeply entrenched ideas about what the “right” move for me would be, and on a more tactical level helped me quickly eliminate some options that just wouldn’t be a right fit.

My sessions with her helped give me both the clarity to pursue a new professional opportunity, as well as some concrete tools to help me manage the difficulties I faced as I wrapped up my former role.”