Letter from the Board of Directors

Dear Friends, Partners, and Community Members of the Alliance Française de Seattle:

The Alliance Française de Seattle Board of Directors announces, with a bittersweet mix of sadness and gratitude, that Alexandra Dorca will be leaving her position as Executive Director on May 31, 2022. Alexandra will be relocating from Seattle to follow her family’s move to Europe.

Alexandra joined AFSeattle as a French as a foreign language instructor in 2014 and was appointed by the board as our new executive director in 2018, following Marie-Ange Wood’s retirement. Since then, she has worked tirelessly to lead our organization’s growth and change. In particular, she designed and executed new strategic development plans, built new partnerships, and helped strengthen operational processes and human resources, leading AFSeattle to its current outstanding position in the industry. She notably spearheaded our Alliance's smooth and incredibly quick transition to a 100% online format at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. AFSeattle was the first one to do so in North and South America. This enabled us to continue offering classes and keep a direct connection with our learners during unprecedented times. AFSeattle saw a 20% student increase in 2020 and experienced 44% more enrollments than in the pre-COVID year of 2019. Our Alliance is still online almost two years later, and its community of French learners is stronger and more motivated than ever.

Alexandra leaves AFSeattle in a very solid position for continued growth. We cannot thank her enough for her contributions, accomplishments, and inspiring leadership during her time here. Her dedication, passion, and enthusiasm for AFSeattle’s mission have been an inspiration for the board, for her team, and for the members of our community. We wish her the best of luck and opportunities in her future endeavors. Whatever organization she decides to join is a lucky one, and she will be dearly missed at AFSeattle.

Over the next few months, the Board of Directors will be conducting a search for the new Alliance Française de Seattle Executive Director. It is our priority to find the best individual to lead, while still maintaining a stable and effective organization during the transition period. We will share the job opening announcement soon, and we are confident that Alexandra and the Alliance staff will make this a smooth and successful transition for our learners, partners, and supporters.

As we progress, we will keep our community informed. 

You can get in touch with us for any further questions about the transition process at employment@afseattle.org  

Robert Baldino, President 
Lauren Ransford, Vice president 
Thierry Rautureau, Vice president 
Olivier Fontana, Secretary 
Raj Mathew, Treasurer 
Barbara Greiner, Member 

Letter from the Executive Director

Dear all:

My family recently had a difficult decision to make, when my husband was offered a career opportunity requiring our relocation to Europe. After reviewing the pros and cons, we decided to accept this offer and to leave Seattle in June 2022. Moving to Europe will also allow us to reconnect with our family, whom we last saw during the summer of 2019.  

My years at the Alliance Française de Seattle have been fantastic, and I will always remember the passion for the French language and Francophone cultures of our instructors, board members, and students. I learned a lot from every one of you. We innovated, we took up challenges, we were rigorous and set the bar very high, but we also had lots of fun and enjoyed being part of this extraordinary community. 

Thank you for making me discover the beautiful Pacific Northwest and its spirit. As I have always said, one can find the most interesting people from the region at the Alliance Française de Seattle. Thank you for your trust and unconditional support particularly important these past two years, for your friendship, for your curiosity, empathy, and willingness to discover Otherness – during classes, events, and encounters.  

This will be my fourth country of residence and my seventh city. It has been a great honor and pleasure to serve you in Seattle, WA, USA. 

With warm regards and lots of gratitude, 

Alexandra Dorca, Executive Director