“I was a little bit apprehensive about going on the Transformational course. I think I just thought I had all the answers from the number books I had read about relationships and I thought I knew what I needed to know. On talking to Dr Val I realised I needed to know more.

I remember going to one of her seminars called ‘Drawing Moses from the water’. It awakened my interest more. I thought that ‘it's good to know something about relationship issues as it impacts women from the African diaspora’.The course is written by a woman whose ancestors also came through the middle passage. Who shares the same DNA as a lot of us. She too, has been impacted by post-colonial and western influences and understands the struggles of a Black women.

What did I get out of this course? I think the essence of what I got out of this course is that I am a beautiful child of God and that He loves me dearly and I'm a miracle in his liking. I also rediscovered the truth that he has given me time to live on this earth and he wants me to work in allegiance with him. So, the course taught me that I must be intentional and very mindful of my actions.

I was taught that the influence of the Western way of thinking can sometimes impede my desire to find love and that I should also be mindful of my words and my thoughts.

I have now found someone who I really imagined, someone I respect and love very much dearly. He is a humble man, an intelligent man and a kind man. This course helped showed me the importance of the discipline of imagining. I fully appreciate now how it is that African-descended women must rely on God's working with regards to matters of love.

So, I am very grateful for the Black women's ' Transformational course and very grateful for the knowledge that's been imparted.

So, my charge to Dr Val is to keep on dreaming and keep on believing. Keep sharing those deep spiritual thoughts that are revealed, asking the Holy Spirit to guide you.

I appreciate Dr Val's knowledge, depth and energy. She has created an excellent course. I now feel that I must stay focus on dreaming as I move into the next phase of my life.”

“I participated in Dr Val's transformational course in 2021 and got married later that year. Going through the course was an emotional break- through for me. Part of much needed healing. The experiences on the course put language and order to the chaos of my many thoughts and experiences.

What I learned on the course help transformed my thinking. My improved thinking helped me to understand how I needed to improve my story, identity and boundaries.

I am so much freer in my spirit now. I have been able to 'see' what no longer was working for me to make time and create energy for what does.”

“I have known Valerie Bernard-Allan for over 20 years in a personal and professional capacity. She is an excellent and effective lecturer, motivational speaker and academic. She has presented and run inspirational workshops and seminars to various community groups in London and the Home Counties. Drawing on her research and extensive sociological knowledge she has demonstrated significant impact through empowering women, especially Black women, addressing the issue of masculinities within the Black community and mentored and motivated Black young people. She is passionate about the development of individuals and communities and is skilled in making research and theoretical concepts accessible to wider audiences.”

“I recall sitting in a room at Aston University Birmingham, filled with academics and researchers listening to a highly condensed version of a talk I had witnessed a few weeks earlier delivered by Valerie Bernard Allan to a very different audience made up of non-specialist but enthusiastic black women. Then as now, the members of the audience were deeply interested, keen to hear every word and equally motivated to engage, question and share.

Valerie Bernard Allan my friend and colleague for over 20 years was sharing and making accessible the findings of her PhD research on Black single Seventh-day Adventist women. Sharing is a big part of what Valerie does. As a sociologist, educator and excellent communicator she can and frequently will, make sociology exciting and accessible to diverse audiences. Add to this her commitment to working with the black community and a passion for women; it becomes easy to understand why she has been involved in several initiatives. We have collaborated to create and deliver workshops and run ‘Black Women in Conversation’ sessions. I have benefitted from her knowledge and professionalism while being inspired by her rich mix of humility, compassion and drive.
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“I met Dr. Valerie Bernard-Allan over a decade ago not realizing that she would go on to forever change my life. Her tutelage, analytical perceptions, intellect and willingness to be God-led make her in my eyes, hands down the most renowned and esteemed intellectual I have had the privilege of to work with.

Dr. Valerie Bernard-Allan’s lectures and seminars are thought provoking, well researched, well presented and always left me seeking more from myself and from the world. She sheds light in the areas, very light bearers would never go. Ralf Waldo Emerson once said that a mind once stretched by an original idea never returns to its original dimensions. Dr. Valerie Bernard-Allan will forever be an academic I regard as having the masterful skill to stretch minds, leaving them forever transformed.

Dr. Valerie Bernard-Allan was pivotal in shaping and guiding me, in my undergraduate degree and dissertation. However her pedigree as an esteemed academic was distinctively evident when I approached her for help with my Masters dissertation, with a very small window of time to work with, she challenged, shaped and inspired my thinking in my dissertation on Third Culture Kids, in which I was awarded a distinction. I share this accolade with her as time and time again she has invested in me, pouring her time, knowledge and expertise.

Dr. Bernard-Allan facilitated a plethora of roles in my life; personal tutor, mentor, lecturer, head of department and supervisor but the roles appropriately paramount in my mind are that of revered visionary and legendary leader.”