Q: What is Boldly Me about and what do you all do?
Alanna: Boldly Me helps people who struggle with feeling different by teaching them self compassion, physical wellness, and financial stability. I struggled with Alopecia Universalis (total baldness) since I was two years old. I had difficulties of loving and accepting myself as a bald person for most of my life. My dream was to teach children and their families how to overcome the ineffective thoughts of feeling different, so they could realize their true power and move forward to make their lives and this world a better place. Boldly Me is the organization I needed when I was a little girl.

Q: What do you love most about Boldly Me and the work you all do?
Alanna: I love that Boldly Me is helping children and their families who are silently suffering and releasing them from the feelings of fears, isolation, and unworthiness that are hurting them. I’ve had come up to me, or write me letters, saying things like, “You saved my life and I’m happy now. I was planning to commit suicide when I met you, and you showed me that I am loved and worthy of living a full life. I can choose my path.” We continually see evidence that we’re changing lives for the better and that is so rewarding. And by partnering with school districts, such as Fremont Unified, we are able to reach out and help so many young people.

Q: How has Boldly Me made a difference and what impact do you still wish to see Boldly Me make?
Alanna: Boldly Me has made a difference in communities by unveiling people’s vulnerabilities so that they seek the help they need and learn effective tools to keep them healthy physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. We have made differences in thousands of children and their families lives since 2012 in the San Francisco Bay area. My vision and long term wish is to make Boldly Me a national organization that can help our country overcome the high rates of violence and self-injury. We are excited that in January 2016, we have started to build presence in Washington D.C.

Q: What is so special about Boldly Me and how can people make a difference?
Alanna: Boldly Me is comprised of leading professionals within the community who want to fix problems in a very manageable, pragmatic way. Some of our volunteers and leaders come influential places such as Stanford Medicine, Kaiser Permanente Medical Foundation, Yahoo!, Samuel Merritt University, Hollywood, GWEN network, Fremont Unified School District, Discovery Counseling, and Apple Computer. With the wealth of expertise and array of diversity, we are able to continuously invent ways to deploy bleeding edge therapeutic tools to communities in creative, fun ways.