From stories about career changes, finding confidence in motherhood, learning how to activate your activism, to facing cancer – our stories illustrate the breadth and depth of our confidence transformation.
Afsa Akbar
Lead Service Designer, Tribal Experience
Margaret Joy Mundy
Creative practitioner, author and poet
Absolutely loved Charity Bond 3 and Visibility Bond....I'm now starting to get my superpowers back so .thank you very much! I recommend Upfront Bond to everyone I meet...it's AMAZING!! 💐
Coco Chan
Senior Agile Business Analyst at Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
I feel incredibly lucky for the opportunities I've had through UPFRONT and being part of the Bond. It has impacted my work and my music. Now I'm using what I've learned here to create opportunities for other people. I knew I'd learn incredible strategies for work. I didn't expect to find such amazing friendships.
Alex Pengelley
Senior Knit Designer at Nike
Bond 5 gave me the confidence to overcome a creative block I had been struggling with for a number of years outside of my day to day work as a designer. Carving out a non judgmental space for my own personal work and setting boundaries with my partner to ensure I had space and time to pursue this passion was something I had really struggled with before. I have started sharing my work in its work in progress and learning journey state (something I would have found super challenging before) I am really excited to learn and grow more through the Global Bond and connect with the super inspiring group of women that are here. I am due to become a manager at work for the first time as well so am really wanting to bring an UPFRONT approach to this journey.
Manisha Mistry
Commissioning Project Officer
This is something I never imagined happening in my career…I feel extremely lucky to be an equal part of a brilliant team with a genuine seat at the table. Nearly all my career I have faced some kind of prejudice and very rarely felt equal. My new team listen to everything that I have to say, happy for me to challenge them and let me push my agenda on equality and diversity. I know I wouldn't be here in this role, without what I learned in the Bond. Thank you UPFRONT
Lisa Stidle
Head of Data & Insight, Hackney Council
Since graduating from the Bond I’ve felt less anxious about work (even my husband has noticed that I seem less stressed recently). I’m much more comfortable taking credit for my work. I’m already fairly visible at work but I’m often shining a light on the work of the team (and rightly so, they’re brilliant) rather than my own. I think this is tricky for managers, as we often don’t have tangible outputs we can point to and we don’t want to take credit for the outcomes when it was a team effort. I’m now more comfortable and better equipped at doing both!
Natalie Sutherland
Trusts and Grants Fundraiser - Held in Our Hearts
Do it! Do it! Do ittttt! Promise you won’t regret it
Dr. Meenal Viz
NHS Dr and activist
As a doctor, mother, and woman of South Asian heritage, I never knew I could find my voice and speak up to create positive change. Growing up, I never saw someone with my skin colour on TV, women like me were never celebrated. As I started out in the field of activism, I was always clouded with imposter syndrome because historically speaking, women like me have been silenced when speaking truth to power. But thanks to the Bond I've learned to find my voice and my confidence.
Gently, we will shake the world!
Nicky O'Malley
Director of Corporate Partnerships, Global Action Plan
I absolutely loved Bond 6. It was a game changer. The learnings are already impacting my team. The ripple effect of UPFRONT is exponential. I've got a new job with big pay rise - I wouldn't have gone for the job before the Bond.
Kathryn Grace
Head of Design, NHS England
Thank you UPFRONT for turning my engines and releasing the confidence that I needed to show to get my new job. Taking blocks from the wheels in front of my eyes. Showing me the injustice. And wrong doing. I thought I wasn't good enough but that was never the case. I'm still removing the barriers I have unconsciously accepted. But now I see them.
Carrie Bower
Associate Trainer for SafeLives
I did Bond 7 and have done some other courses to say it’s been life changing would be an understatement. First part of trying out the confidence muscle to ask your employer to fund your place and do the work. Engage engage engage.
Ilana Wisby
Chief Executive Officer, Oxford Quantum Circuits
Joining the UPFRONT Bond was one of the most impactful professional and personal experiences I've ever had. For a long time, I’ve operated in male-dominated spaces but didn’t feel like I was able to make the impact I wanted to. I had the 'position of power', the capability, and plenty to say. And, despite all that - I simply didn’t feel heard. I read the books, worked to learn - but I never quite found long-lasting strategies that worked. Until now.
At UPFRONT, I was surrounded by an incredible group of allies in a safe and motivating space where vulnerability was strength.
I found my cheerleaders, my confidence, and now I am heard.
UPFRONT was so powerful for me, that I now offer the course to every woman in our team, too.
Holly Taylor
People Director - Public Digital
I think about something I learned during Bond 7 every single day. It’s not just a course - it’s a shift in how I see myself, my confidence and my ability to take action.
Dr. Elizabeth Blakelock
Principle Policy Manager, Citizens Advice
When I’ve done confidence and public speaking training before someone arrived with a suit of armour to teach me how to help go out to fight. In UPFRONT you stand shoulder to shoulder with a community of women in front of a smudged mirror, learning to polish it bit by bit until you see yourself. You see everything clearly! All of the amazing important things you have to offer.. then you waltz out the door to join the party
Sofia Medina Andrade
Talent Acquisition, Bosch
I joined Bond 3 to find energy and motivation to overcome a particular challenge. I found much more than tools more than strategies. I found a community. I found an amazing support network that is Lauren and her UPFRONT team. My amazing buddy groups! Everything the Bond taught me is still helping me deconstruct some of my limiting beliefs. I hope that you'll join us.
Louisa Fisk
Strategic Finance Business Partner at Braintree District Council
Hi all, if you're reading this then you're curious which is a great start. Go for it! I did Local Government Bond 1 last year and I was amazed by the changes in my confidence both at work and home. Cheers to Lauren Currie OBE and the team at #weareupfront for some incredible learning points and fabulous Bond sessions. And the joy is, you can still join the sessions each week once your bond finishes. Definitely worth your time 😉
Sahbia Malik
Service Delivery Manager, ICT Applications at London Borough of Hackney
I wish I had done the Bond 20 years ago. To anyone thinking of joining the Bond; don't over think it, just do it. It is the best personal investment and what you learn can change your life.
Aparna Ashok
Digital Ethicist, IKEA
The Bond is one of the most authentic and open spaces on the internet. I've never been part of any other community like it - it's honest, it's open and it blew my expectation out of of the water. It's about so much more than getting a bigger job - it'll change how you see the world.
Valeria Grauso,
Fractional Product Design Leader - Roche
I was part of Bond 8 and other Upfront courses and I can only recommend it. It's actionable, it's kind, it's supporting. The Bond and the community around it, showed me different perspectives on where we are and where we could go. It's a reflect and restart process, unlearning patterns that no longer serve and building a confidence muscle to show up every day to a more confident you. If you're on the fence, make that investment, it's totally worth it!
Dr Yekemi Otaru
Charity CEO and Entrepreneur
Your Bonds are a MUST for every woman looking for connection, conviction and confidence. A crucial life-changing investment 🙌🏾
Annie Mbako
Inclusive Process Designer
Since day one, the Bond has been more than a course. It's a space where intersectional feminism is well and truly alive. As a Black woman, I didn't have to work extra to be 'seen'.
Katy Rutherford
Director of Programmes and Insight, Norfolk Community Foundation
I joined the Bond because I have three beautiful children and they learn from my feelings and actions. I don't want them to see me struggling with confidence, I want them to believe in themselves and their limitless potential. If I can role model this for them then we're starting in a good place. I'm turning 40 next year and this feels like the right moment to take up opportunities, show up and be visible. I want to make the next decade the best yet!
There is no finish line. Confidence is a journey, not a destination. We can always learn how to be confident in new ways and in different scenarios.There is so much power in being part of a community of kickass women. Every day I've been moved and inspired by Lauren and the other women in my Bond.
Fiona Brook
Lead Content Designer, Accenture
"Within the first week of Bond 1, I committed to changing the way I communicate with my colleagues and clients. Less “No worries if not”, no more “I’m not an expert, but...”, and definitely no belittling what I am going to say by starting my sentences with ”Just”. I ask myself, could it really be this simple? I came to find quite quickly that in using simple statements, keeping things short (where they can be), and getting straight to the point is often a win-win situation. Less time spent crafting and overthinking an email, and more time spent RISING to become a better version of me. I have no doubt this simple change will help me extend my professional reach."