“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
Who We Are
Audacious Inner Works (AIW) Institute is a personal development and capacity building service organization with a focus on women’s wellness and power. Our brand of development is “audacious” because we lead with love and push boundaries to empower, heal, connect, and transform.
We exist to be a powerful development partner. Whether in your personal or professional life, our mission is to equip you to lead from the strength of who you are through our educational resources, life coaching programs, and capacity building offerings.
What We Do
AIW & Black Women
We take seriously our mission to be in service of your self-agency. We are particularly passionate about the empowerment of Black women who have been historically burdened by intersecting oppressions.
Black women share a long, rich history of being extraordinarily formidable in holding up their families and communities whilst also fighting on the frontlines for social change. Indeed, to be self-determined and resilient while your very humanity is under relentless assault is a radical self-loving, audacious act!
And yet, it is also true that living on the societal margins and waging a ceaseless battle against discrimination and microaggressions can take a heavy toll and contribute to the deleterious “weathering” of your health.
At AIW, we understand these contexts and their debilitating impacts. Therefore, we are fiercely committed to partnering with Black women to unpack the pain, rewrite the scripts, and thrive as the architects of their lives—and of the world!
Video: Checking in with client at the start of the coaching session
“Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.”
– Excerpt from Maya’s “Still I Rise” poem
Teaching and Learning Together
We utilize multiple frameworks such as coaching, spirituality, and education learning theory to engage you as a whole being and inform our curricula. Our multimodality approaches not only appeal to diverse learning styles, but equip you to do the inner work necessary to:
- ✓ grow your confidence and take up space
- ✓ build your personal foundation (or clean up a messy one!)
- ✓ figure out who you are and want to be
- ✓ achieve life clarity and direction
- ✓ develop group and leadership competence
Since yours will be a journey of self-discovery, a growth mindset will be paramount to achieving the breakthroughs and transformations you seek. So, too, will your willingness to take risks and commit to new ways of being.
We are your development partner and here to support your growth and forward movement. As we teach, we also learn and are committed to adjusting as appropriate and learning alongside you in the process. It’s a wonderful privilege to serve in your development, which also cultivates our own ongoing development. We welcome the opportunity to partner with you!
A Note about AIW’s Logo, the Lotus:
The lotus flower is the subject of many sacred texts and considered pure and scared because of its daily “resurrection” life cycle. Each night, the lotus submerges into the murky rivers where its roots are based, only to bloom the next morning perfectly immaculate, without any trace of its muddy environment on its petals! Thus, many believe the flower represents spiritual enlightenment. Apart from its incredible daily rebirth, the lotus can survive thousands of years without water and is able to germinate many centuries later! By design, through its own genetic blueprint, this flower not only merely survives, but thrives, and does so beautifully! Human beings, like all living things, have a spiritual blueprint and when we align with it, we too, thrive beautifully!
About AIW’s Founder
Glenda M. Francis is a constructivist educator, professional life coach, and organizational development consultant specializing in facilitation, professional development, and curriculum and program development. Over the span of a 25-year career in education, her masterful teaching practices have profoundly impacted a wide diversity of students, teachers, and school communities. In 2019, she expanded her portfolio into professional coaching and founded Audacious Inner Works (AIW) Institute for personal development. Whether teaching young minds, coaching educators, facilitating workshops and institutes, or partnering with clients, Glenda has thrived in a sustained mission to cultivate greatness in the human potential. She engages you with love, deep listening, and a fierce commitment to your learning and transformation. An “inspirational powerhouse,” you can experience Glenda’s magnetic presence and warmth through coaching conversations, collaborations, and AIW’s programs and institutes. She resides in Brooklyn, New York.
