Can you introduce yourself?

Danish mother, self-taught father. I mention this because I am still inspired by both of their journeys today. My mother left Denmark for France for love when she was 20. I loved hearing her speak Danish. I don't speak it but I can recognize it immediately when I hear a conversation in Danish next to me. She passed on her culture to us. My father comes from a very modest background. The path he has taken is admirable.

I was raised in the provinces, educated in a very small, brilliant country school – there were 2 of us in my class! – baccalaureate, then Paris and prep school. Hypokhâgne. Branching out into law, working for major French and Anglo-Saxon firms for over 15 years. At the same time, I became a mother, with 3 boys who are now 13, 15 and 17 years old. I am passionate about education, what do we learn in school today, how, how do we do it elsewhere? The question of what 'intelligence' covers has always been of great interest to me. The idea of ​​creating an extraordinary school for children gradually took hold of me.

Union School, a bilingual preschool and elementary school, and much more, will open its doors in the 16th arrondissement of Paris in 2022. It will welcome 20 students per grade, from the very first year to the fifth grade. Registration opens in September.

A different way to introduce myself would have been to say that I love reading, drinking a glass of good wine, swimming in the sea, humming while listening to music – I'm terrible at remembering the words – that I like long conversations for two, langoustines mayonnaise, the Paris-Brest that my uncle made so wonderfully, colors, pruning rose bushes, fashion, large summer dinners, my sons and my sons' friends, being alone too, the smell of freshly mown grass, warm light, fire, running, sweating during exercise, that I like learning something new every day, understanding, discovering, that I really like difference, mint and tarragon, admiring, freedom, my friends, love stories, exploits, kindness, my electric scooter, childhood and its world, History.

How would you define yourself in 3 words?

Passionate, dynamic, maternal.

It seems to me necessary to add impatient, demanding and therefore sometimes too obviously, not a fan of the grain of sand.

What makes you feel like a woman?

The attentions of men.

What does a day in your life look like?

A super-quick breakfast with my sons before going for a run alone or with a dear friend. A quick shower too, and I go up to my office in the attic of the building where we live. Then it's the phone and face-to-face meetings that follow one after the other for Union School. I'm extremely lucky to be surrounded by 4 extraordinary women. Each has a specific mission: recruitment, education in sustainable development and solidarity, the composition of our College of Experts, the layout and material organization of the school. We communicate very regularly and make decisions. I also take care of the legal, real estate, financial, and communication aspects. I'm also in almost daily contact with our ultra-experienced and extremely friendly Director. We're introducing so many great activities into the educational program that we're going to offer that the timetables have become a headache. A piece of cake, he told me! I think he's tearing his hair out.

I stop by at lunchtime to say hello to the many teenagers who eat lunch at home every day. We live next to their school.

I go downstairs or come home around 7:30/8:00 PM to prepare dinner, which we all share together. A little reading, a good movie or series, and then off to bed! During the week, I also systematically introduce moments of well-being/beauty/culture.

What are you most proud of?

I have two. My sons and the relationship I have with them. Of infinite trust.

Union School. I came up with the idea while running and immediately knew I would see it through. I started with a blank slate and stepped out of all my comfort zones.

Today, I am immensely proud of the work accomplished, of the team of fantastic women with whom I work every day. We have added men, who are also fantastic! I am impressed by the strength of this group. I am proud of our ambition and the energy we are putting into creating an exceptional educational path for children. This is in particular the first time that one of the two most prestigious French laboratories in cognitive science of education – LaPsyDé – CNRS La Sorbonne – has agreed to work with a private school. We will also have a vegetable garden in which our students will participate in sustainable development education workshops. Each teacher will be able to teach there if they wish, of course. Our students will learn to sing, dance, code, do philosophy, and so on. They will devote a weekly time to the major solidarity project that will involve the entire school. Beyond becoming truly bilingual, since they will speak English 17.5 hours per week!

And then, we will also welcome 150 children from Grande Section and CP, from disadvantaged backgrounds and who have difficulty learning to read, free of charge every July, as reading is predictive of academic success. Again, this is unprecedented and we hope to be imitated.

We still have many projects that are kept secret.

An anecdote from your life that helped you move forward?

When it came time to submit my application to enter the hypokhâgne, and although I had naturally applied for admission to Le Mans, the nearest large city, a friend of my mother's told me that I absolutely had to apply for the Parisian exams. It was thanks to her that I did it. I was ultimately admitted to Henri IV.

Coming to Paris radically changed my life. I often thought about this woman, telling myself that I owed her a lot. It was during the lockdown that I picked up my pen to write to her and thank her.

I also hope that I have contributed to some of the young women I have worked with, who seemed to me to be below their potential due to a lack of confidence, developing more and better.

What is your relationship with your body and mind?

My life led me at a very young age to question the relationship between emotions and the body. What emotion? Which organ is affected?

Psychology has always interested me. Over time, I've also become fascinated by psychogenealogy and epigenetics. Since I deeply love life, want to live to be 100 years old while dancing, and am rather intense in terms of emotions, I'm committed to prevention.

So I regularly see a few precious people who make sure I don't make any nasty blocking knots.

What boosts you on a daily basis when you don't feel well?

I absolutely need exercise. I love running. I have for a long time. I put on my sneakers—it's so simple—and listen to a philosophy podcast on a topic that interests me, an interview with someone I'm interested in or someone I don't know at all, or some music at full volume. I hate it when Apple tells me I've been playing the volume too loud for too long.

What are the beauty and wellness rituals that you couldn't live without or that you practice every day? / Do you keep any beauty rituals passed down to you by your loved ones during your childhood?

I scrupulously cleanse my skin every night with a foaming, water-based makeup remover. I'm not a fan of cleansing lotions at all. I wear very little makeup, but I absolutely love having manicured hands and polished nails.

From my mother, I learned that to invigorate dry hair, nothing beats olive oil with a little egg yolk. A towel over your head all day and that's it.

If you had to keep only one beauty product in your vanity case? (cream, serum, oil, eye cream, etc.)

My Hydranorme cream from La Roche-Posay. I have several tubes of it everywhere, in my desk drawers, my bag, my coat pockets. I usually buy the pharmacy's stock. I've been doing this for 30 years.

Your favorite Aime product and why?

Omega Glow because it's an oil and you can cook with it! I also really like the Sleep and Glow Sleep Mist. The smell is very pleasant and so calming. I add the Matcha Glow, which I take with hot water in the morning. For collagen.

Do you have any reading recommendations?

A lot! Among the recent books that have left a lasting impression on me, the first that comes to mind is Camille de Toledo's 'Thésée, sa vie nouvelle'. Beautiful literature and a story of incredible depth. A book for life, as far as I'm concerned.

This summer, I loved reading the 2020 Goncourt winner, 'The Anomaly' by Hervé Le Tellier. So unexpected for a Goncourt, almost a thriller. The alliance between the linguist in him and the mathematician in him also produces this astonishing and delightful result!

'The Cost of Living' by Déborah Lévy. An excerpt? 'To tear off the wallpaper from the fairy tale family home where the comfort and happiness of men and children have been prioritized is to find underneath an exhausted woman, who receives neither thanks nor love and is neglected. It takes skill, time, devotion, and empathy to build a home that works and in which everyone feels good. Above all, it is an act of immense generosity to be the architect of everyone else's well-being. Many people still think that this task falls to women.'

Finally, I think of 'Loving Frank' by Nancy Horan, which I also really liked. A dramatic part of the life of Frank Lloyd Wright, to whom we owe the architecture of the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Any food/sports/lifestyle addresses?

Septime, a must-have. Still as good as ever.

Shabour, I'm crazy about Israeli food! I just read in Elle that the trio at its helm is opening Tekes soon. I'm going to rush there!

I haven't tried Mory Sacko's cooking yet. That should be fixed very soon.

What is your guilty pleasure?

No guilt when it comes to pleasure.

What is your Proust madeleine?

Candles. Every morning of my childhood, I saw a lit candle on the breakfast and dinner table. I light mine every day when I'm home. At a restaurant, woe betide anyone who forgets to light the one on my table.

My mother's perfume, let's say my mother's two perfumes. Calèche and Shalimar. Which I don't wear.

ABBA, Beethoven's Symphonies, and Carmina Burana. We often listened to them in the car when we came home from school.

How would you define your vision of the world today?

Optimistic. I understand the ecological, societal, and political challenges we face, yet I can't be pessimistic about my/our children. I have confidence in their ability to invent, to adapt, and in their energy. I'm lucky enough to work with a number of thirty-somethings, and I'm amazed by their values ​​and work ethic. I'm also lucky enough to work with a number of teenagers. I find them joyful, concerned, interested, and interesting.

What would you say to yourself from 20 years ago?

Have confidence in yourself. Dare, go for it! Don't be afraid.

What is your mantra?

Freedom, freedom, freedom.

Your plans for the future?

Open more Union Schools! Rank 15/3 in tennis.