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Team

Alexandra Dorca Executive Director

^{Alexandra joined the Alliance Française de Seattle in 2014 and started
teaching French classes, with a special focus on contemporary society and culture, lifestyle, media, and cinema. Her involvement grew
over the years, to include the creation of specialized courses and workshops as well as the implementation of the e-learning platform.
She became the Alliance Française de Seattle’s executive director in September 2018. Her previous work experience includes teaching,
applied research, and consulting in nonprofit, public, and private settings, in the fields of intercultural communication, social
anthropology, and international cooperation—in Canada and various European countries. With a solid background in program management and
fundraising for nonprofit organizations in the USA and abroad, she brings to the Alliance a cosmopolitan outlook in promoting the French
language and francophone cultures. Alexandra holds a BA in French language and literature from the West University of Timisoara,
Romania, as well as an MA and a PhD in cultural anthropology from Laval University, Canada.}

Diane Le Lay Marketing & Cultural Program Coordinator

^{Originally from Paris, Diane moved to Seattle after living in
San Francisco, Berlin, and Geneva.

She has worked in film production, film festivals, and cultural events, specializing in planning and programming for independent
non-profits as well as international art organizations. Her professional experience includes the coordination and management of film shoots,
film screenings, workshops, and festivals in Europe and the United States. Diane got her BA in film production in San Francisco, California.}

Quentin Carriou Marketing & Cultural Program Intern

^{Quentin was born and raised in Brittany, before moving to Paris in 2015 to study management.

He worked as a marketing intern in a Kyoto firm for a few months and also worked for Hatier, a Parisian publishing company, in the
marketing department concerning textbooks and children’s books.

He is part of a drama club for which he co-wrote a play that was staged in 2018.

He got his BA in management in 2016 and is about to obtain his master’s degree in management from ESSEC Business School, France in 2020.}

Instructors

Preston Albertine Instructor

^{Preston earned his MA in French studies from the University of Washington in 2016, and his BAs in
French and business in 2013. He has spent significant time in Paris, Nantes, Romans-sur-Isère, and Amiens. Preston also works as a tour
guide in the Seattle area.}

Florence Bangue-Tandet Instructor, Immersion Trips

^{Florence Bangue-Tandet, a French native from Lille, holds a bachelor’s degree in education sciences
from the University of Toulouse II and a master’s degree in teaching English/French as a second language from Seattle Pacific University.
She has been teaching at AFSeattle since 2010 and at Seattle Pacific University since 2011.}

Janice Brown Instructor

^{Janice Brown was a language professor for many years in England. She has a bachelor’s degree in
French and Italian and a master’s in translation. She taught foreign languages during most of her career, as well as English as second
language to teens and adults. She regularly travels to France to visit her acquaintances.}

Hailey Burgess Instructor & Educational Coordinator

^{Hailey Burgess received her Ph.D. in French from the University of Washington in July 2018 and her
MA in French literature from the University of Illinois at Chicago (2011) and BA from Whitworth University in French, with minors in
German and Spanish (2009). She grew up speaking French after attending the French American International School in Portland, OR.}

Marie-Adèle Carli Instructor

^{Marie-Adele was born in Normandy and studied in Brussells, Belgium. Before moving to Seattle, she
worked in Guadeloupe and in Québec. She has worked at the Alliance Française since 2016. She likes reading, going to concerts, hiking,
snowboarding, biking and cooking.}

Pauline Chateau Instructor & Educational Coordinator

^{Pauline was born and raised in Normandy. She began teaching French in 2014 in Oklahoma City. She
received her master’s degree in French in 2017. In addition to teaching French, Pauline also served as program officer for three years
for a French culinary theater company, has a B.A. in art history and an M.A. in management of performing arts.}

Gabrielle Falardeau Instructor

^{Gabrielle is a Montrealer who graduated in 2013 with a film production B.A. in fine arts from
Concordia University. She worked in the film production industry as a set designer and project manager. In 2014 she cofounded Jarre, an
objects design company specializing in the reduction of food waste and healthy eating.}

Céline Fassetta Instructor (on leave)

^{Born in Aix-en-Provence, Céline received an M.A. in French in 2013 from the University of
Strasbourg. The same year, she travelled to China, where she worked as a French instructor for three years at Zhengzhou University. She
has been at the Alliance since 2016, when she first moved to Seattle with her husband.}

Isabelle Gouni Instructor

^{Isabelle received an M.A. in Engineering from Ecole des Hautes Etudes d’Ingénieur and an M.A. in
Chemistry from University of Lille. After moving to the USA, she began teaching French to teenagers and adults in the Bay Area and in
Seattle. She joined AFSeattle’s team in 2018.}

Aurélia Graf-Bosko Instructor

^{Born near Fribourg in Switzerland, Aurélia holds an M.A. in Francophonie, Multilingualism and
Intercultural Mediation from the University of Rennes 2. She taught French to adults and youth in New Zealand, Kyrgyzstan, Korea, France,
Switzerland, and the USA. She is currently teaching French at North Seattle French School and at AFSeattle.}

Danielle Jouët-Pastré Instructor

^{With a French and Italian background, Danielle was born and grew up in Brazil. She holds an M.A. in
French studies followed by a Ph.D. in Francophone Literature from State University of NY– Albany, after which she taught foreign
languages for many years at public and private universities. Danielle is enthusiastic about being part of AF Seattle.}

Michelle Kendall Instructor

^{Michelle Kendall has taught French for over ten years to students of all ages. She specializes in
the communicative approach to language teaching. She holds a PhD in French from UC-Santa Barbara.}

Cécile Kestenbaum Instructor

^{Cécile grew up in the Paris area and received her master’s degree in Spanish from the University of
Paris Ouest – Défense. She taught middle and high school students for about ten years. Cécile relocated to Seattle. Before joining
AFSeattle, she taught French at the US Department of Defense and various schools in the Seattle area.}

Camille Lainé-Poly Instructor

^{Born and raised in a small town near Paris, Camille graduated in Law and Economics and worked in
the tele-communications industry in France. She moved to USA with her husband in 2017. She recently decided to convert to teaching French
and is following an advanced FLE (French as a foreign language) teacher training.}

Brice Lantheaume Instructor

^{Brice grew up in the Auvergne - Rhône - Alpes region. Before teaching, he traveled around the world
training professionals in the biomedical industry. He received his B.A. in Biology from the University of Montpellier and his M.A. in
Microbiology from Claude Bernard University Lyon 1. He moved to Seattle in 2017, when he began teaching French at AF Seattle.}

Céline Maillard Instructor

^{Born and raised in Nantes, France, Céline Maillard received her PhD from the department of French
and Italian Studies at the University of Washington in June 2019. Since 2009, she has been teaching French from elementary to advanced
level, as well as classes in English on French literature, history, and cinema.}

Thea Mercer Teacher's Assistant

^{Coming soon}

Alina Ptak Instructor

^{Alina holds an M.A. in French from Paris - Sorbonne University and a second M.A. in French-Spanish
studies from the Complutense University of Madrid. She has taught both English and French and also worked in translation and
interpreting. She enjoys sharing her passion for French and teaching with the students at Alliance Française.}

Aimie Shaw Instructor

^{Originally from Canada’s east coast, Aimie holds a PhD in contemporary French literature from
McGill University and spent the next few years teaching French at various universities throughout Canada and the USA. She is excited to
be working at the Alliance Française as well as the University of Washington.}

Lusiné Shoukourian Instructor

^{Originally from Armenia, Lusine Shoukourian began studying French in bilingual Franco-Armenian
school. She completed her M.A. in Linguistics at University Paul Valéry in Montpellier and has been teaching French and Italian for over
ten years. She is also a literary translator, having translated authors like Marguerite Yourcenar, Umberto Eco, and Italo Calvino into
Armenian.}

Board of directors

Robert Baldino President

^{A long-time member and supporter of the Alliance Française de Seattle, Robert served on the board
as treasurer and more recently president. After obtaining an MBA in International Business from Pace University in New York, he worked
as a financial analyst and then financial director for GE Healthcare, Microsoft, and Amazon.}

Jean-Claude Beck Vice-president

^{Jean-Claude comes from several generations of French winemakers. His family has cultivated wine on a
small village south of Strasbourg on the eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains since the 1500′s. He has demonstrated expertise in the
cultivation of various grape varieties in California and Washington. Winemaker at the Woodhouse Wine Estates, he recently started a new
project born of experience and passion–Le Bec Fin by Chateau Beck.}

Thierry Rautureau Treasurer

^{Award-winning chef, owner of Loulay Kitchen & Bar and Luc restaurants in Seattle,
Thierry Rautureau is a long-standing member of AFSeattle. He apprenticed in France and at twenty moved to the United States, where he
worked in Chicago and Los Angeles before moving to Seattle.}

Olivier Fontana Secretary

^{Holder of a master’s in Engineering from ESIEE Paris and an MBA from Erasmus University,
Netherlands, Olivier's professional experience includes various positions from head business development and marketing for Philips
France to director of product strategy and marketing at Microsoft and Zipwhip. He is a founding member and the president of the
Seattle chapter of Union des Français à l’étranger—a worldwide French-speaking expatriate nonprofit organization.}

Barbara Greiner Officer

^{Barbara holds a master’s in American education history from Panthéon-Sorbonne,
Paris I, and is a certified history and geography teacher of the French Ministry of Education. She has worked for more than twenty
years in bilingual schools in Palo Alto and, more recently, Seattle. Since 2017, she is the Head of the French Immersion School of
Washington.}

Choir

Brian Fiehler Choir Director

^{Bryan Fiehler is a veteran teacher and choral artist who is thrilled to be joining Bellevue Youth
Choirs. He holds a BA in Music Education and an MM in Choral Conducting from Temple University in Philadelphia. Bryan has taught choir
at Renton High School and K-8 performing arts at Westside School. He is a fierce advocate for the arts and believes strongly in
creating confident, independent musicians by guiding students to self-assess and to make artistic choices. He remains a sought-after
choral artist, working with Opus7, Illumni Men's Chorus, and Epiphany Parish of Seattle.}

Steven Luksan Pianist

^{Steven Luksan is a composer and pianist based in Seattle.Steven received a Master’s Degree in
Music Composition from the University of British Columbia and Bachelor’s Degrees in Music and Norwegian Language from the University of
Washington. Steven Luksan is currently on the faculty of Music Center of the Northwest, where he serves as a piano instructor and the
staff accompanist. He is also the pianist for the French Chorale of the Alliance Française de Seattle, accompanies at Seattle Opera
and Shoreline Community College, and is a board member and outreach pianist for the Northwest Edvard Grieg Society.}