Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is the governing body of the Federation. Its primary concerns are:
Elections to the Board are held annually in the fall, at which time approximately one-third of the positions are filled.
Officers and Members of the 2007-2008 Board.
For more information on a given individual Board members, consult Meet the Board.
Honorary Board Members
His Excellency Pierre VIMONT,
Ambassador of France to the United States.
The Honorable Craig R. STAPLETON,
Ambassador of the United States to France
Mr. John H. BRYAN
M. Pierre CARDIN
M. André COINTREAU
Mrs. Hedwige COINTREAU de BOUTEVILLE
Mr. Frank GEHRY
Mr. Robert GOELET
Mrs. Eleanor MORSE
Comte Gilbert de PUSY LA FAYETTE
Ms. Diana ROSS
Officers and Members of the 2007-2008 Board
Officers
M. Bernie Duhaime, Vice President
AF d'Omaha, NB
M. Keith MAILLARD, Vice President
AF de San Francisco, CA
M. Claude SCHLESINGER,Vice President
AF de New Orleans, LA
Mme Becca BRODARICK,Corporate Secretary
AF de Louisville, KY
M. David THOMS,Treasurer
AF de Grosse Pointe, MI
Mme. Jane BERNBACH
AF de New Haven, CT
Mme. Misa BOURDOISEAU
AF de Seattle, WA
Mme. Daniele Thomas EASTON,
AF de Philadelphie, PA
Mme. Mary B. EMORY,
AF de Milwaukee, WI
M. J. Wesley GREEN
AF de Nashville, TN
Mme. Mimi GREGORY
AF de Bonita Springs, FL
Mme. Catherine HAMELIN
AF de Kansas City, MO
Mme. Julie LINDQUIST
AF de Hartford, CT
M. John G. W. McCORD
AF de Chicago, IL
M. Bernard METAIS
AF de Berkeley, CA
M. Christopher P. PINET
AF de Bozeman, MT
M. Joe RIVLIN
AF de Portland, OR
Mme. Alexandra STAFFORD,
AF de Nouvelle Orléans, LA
Mme Marie-Monique STECKEL
FIAF de NY, NY
Meet the Board
President: Jane Bernbach
Board Member of the Alliance Française de New Haven, CT, Former Executive Director of French Heritage Society (formerly Friends of Vieilles Maisons Françaises) National Headquarters in New York, NY. She led the group in raising millions of dollars for historic preservations in France and the United States. Fundraising, grant initiatives and travel programs are her main concerns. She is a member of several charitable organizations. Jane has lived in several European countries where she worked in tourism, antiques and fashion. She studied Law at University and speaks French, Spanish, a little German and English of course..
Vice President: Bernie Duhaime
President AF de Omaha, NE. In 2004, the AF Omaha will begin its first French classes in twenty years. Bernie has been very active in his firm to help bridge the culture differences between French and Americans. As a CFP, CLU, and ChFC, Bernie has been very active in his financial service industry. He has won several National Awards. He is former Executive Vice President of AXA Advisors in Omaha, NE. He is Past President of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors of Omaha.
Vice President: Keith Maillard
Keith is an advisor on strategic matters to companies and non-profits. He also serves on a number of other philanthropic boards in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Vice President: Claude Schlesinger
President, AF de New Orleans, LA. Claude and his family have always been devotees of France and the French culture. He believes in promoting the French culture and language in the United States, particularly since it played such a prominent role in our Nation's history and in Louisiana's development in particular. He also believes in promoting the exchange of the French culture and history with the American people who oftentimes (especially recently) have a somewhat isolationist perspective. The New Orleans Alliance Française plays a significant role in an active French community and Claude brings those experiences, qualifications and motivation to the Federation Board.
Corporate Secretary: Becca Brodarick:
In 1996, Becca joined the Board of the AF de Louisville, KY. She served successively as recording secretary, vice president and president. For the three years before joining the Federation board, she was the Executive Director of the AFL. Degrees in business and education (teaching major in French) combined with a brief stint of teaching high school French proved to be the perfect segue into managing the day-to-day operations of the AFL language center. Becca is convinced of the benefits that each Alliance can reap through the sharing of ideas and experiences with other Alliance colleagues. AFL was pleased to hold the first regional meeting for the Coeur des Alliances in 2004.
Directors
Marie-Laure Arnaud
As a long-serving President of the AF Charleston, SC and a former board member of the Federation, Marie-Laure offers both the experience of the life and problems of the smaller AFs as well as an historic overview of the Federation and its challenges. The promotion of French culture is, and has always been, one of her primary preoccupations. She is on the Board of Lowcountry AIDS Services campaign and also serves on several committees whose aim is to promote the Symphony Orchestra of Charleston.
Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques
Misa Bourdoiseau
Founding member and former President of the AF de Seattle, she started its school program for adults in 1987 and its children's program in 1996. Misa has been involved in international education since the 70's as a French teacher, teacher trainer and administrator. She directed ACE Language School in Seattle for 10 years and was co-founder and vice-president of the French American School of Puget Sound. Misa has served on several boards including Seattle-Nantes Sister City Association and Ethnic Heritage Council, and is still serving on the AATF Northwest chapter as a liaison for the AF, thus maintaining and reinforcing the cooperation for the teaching and promotion of French language and culture between the two associations. In 1998, she received the Leadership Award from the Washington Association For Language Teaching (WAFLT).
Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques
Danielle Thomas-Easton
Danièle L. Thomas Easton is the Director of France-Philadelphie which provides consulting for French-American business and cultural projects. She was appointed Consul of France in Philadelphia in 1996 and served 2 terms until September 2005. She had worked previously as Projects Director of Greater Philadelphia First (GPF), a regional organization of chief executives providing leadership primarily on issues concerning economic development. She joined Greater Philadelphia International Network (now GPF) after leaving France in 1980. Co-founder and officer of the French-American Chamber of Commerce, Philadelphia Chapter, she is also co-founder and board director of the French International School of Philadelphia, chairman of the Alliance Française and president of the French American Association of Greater Philadelphia, an umbrella organization coordinating activities among all regional French-American groups. She also serves on various boards of American business, cultural and historic organizations.
After earning her degrees from the University of Lille, Faculté de Lettres et de Sciences Humaines, Mrs. Thomas Easton taught in France for several years. She then attended an Ecole de Préparation aux Affaires in Lille and joined the private sector where she held a number of marketing positions prior to her departure for the United States. In recognition of her work in Philadelphia, the French government (Ministry of Industry) made Mrs. Thomas Easton Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite in 1994. She was awarded theChevalier de la legion d honneur in 2007
Mary Emory
Past President AF de Milwaukee, WI. In recognition of AF Milwaukee's growth under her leadership into a dynamic chapter with a school and variety of courses, programs and fund-raisers, she was named Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques. Involved in the performing arts since the early seventies, Mary has served as President of the Skylight Opera Theatre, Friends of the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, the Woman's Club of Wisconsin, and Fox Point Foundation. She co-chaired the United Performing Arts Fund Drive, the Silver Renaissance Campaign to renovate the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, and the Viennese Ball for the UWM Peck School of the Arts. She has received the Stiemke Award for Service to the Performing Arts and the Todd Wehr Volunteer of the Year Award for her many volunteer activities.
Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques
Wes Green
Past President AF Nashville, TN. Director of Champs-Elysées – Audio Magazine which, in about 20 years, has created an audience of over 10,000 subscribers in over 70 countries. The international headquarters are based in Nashville, TN. Wes lived in Switzerland and later studied French at Vanderbilt. He started his career producing radio commercials and programs. He produced a series of concerts for Radio Luxembourg. Wes produces audio magazines in French, German, Spanish and Italian.
Mimi Gregory
Mimi Gregory is President of the Alliance Francaise of Bonita Springs, Florida, a chapter she founded in 2000, and is Past President of the Alliance Francaise of Boston. She has a 25 year history with the Alliances-Francaises and served on the National Board for a previous six year term. She was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by Jack Lang in 1990. She is also President of the Naples, Florida Council on World Affairs and serves as National Secretary of the World Affairs Councils of America. Working with the late Pierre Hudelot, she created the affiliation of the Delegation of Alliances Francaises with the World Affairs Councils of America. In 2005 she was named the Florida Council for Social Studies' Outstanding Citizen and in March 2007 a Woman of Achievement by the American Association of University Women.
Catherine Hamelin
Studying French language, culture, history and traveling in French-speaking countries have been a joyous passion in Catherine's life for a long time. As a former Program Chair of the AF de Kansas City AF Kansas City, MO ,she had the chance to use her experience in organization, fundraising, and networking to plan a cultural/social calendar which explored celebratory events observed in France and the Francophone world. Of particular interest to her were events that could have potential economic import if adopted by the general business community.
Julie Lindquist
Past President, AF de Hartford, CT. A Francophile since age 20, Julie worked for two years in Paris after college as a bi-lingual secretary. Her subsequent professional and volunteer work has focused on Human Resources, Marketing, and Public Relations, especially within the cultural arts. She served on the Board of the Alliance Française de Hartford for ten years, six of which were as its president, retiring in May 2005. These experiences have given her an in-depth perspective on today's competitive world of 501(c)3 not-for-profit organizations, where attracting other people's time and resources is essential for survival and success.
John G. W. McCord
Jack McCord is the Executive Director of the Alliance Française de Chicago since 2003. Having been a member of the AF de Chicago for twenty some years prior to that, he pursued a career in retailing and advertising before joining the University of Illinois -Chicago where he became Director of the MBA Program, recruiting internationally and managing the international exchange programs as well as the relaunch of the French for Business program at UIC. He holds a bachelor's degree from Indiana University and a joint MBA/Mastère from the University of Illinois/Ecole de Management de Normandie. He was decorated with the Ordre National du Mérite in 2007. His interests include cooking and wine, Southern foodways and culture, music and Southwestern art and pottery.
Bernard Metais
Bernard has been a member of the AF de Berkeley AF de Berkeley, CA for the past 25 years, member of its Board of Directors for the past 6 years (3 years as President) and has helped several AFs on the West Coast. His education was both European (Ecole Centrale de Paris, Ph.D. from the Technische Universität of Karlsruhe) and American (lecturer at the University of Minnesota, the University of California, and the Project Management Institute). His international industrial experience encompasses the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa and Middle East. Bernard is also involved in the "Millennium project 2020" and the report on "The 15 Challenges Facing Humanity" (2002, 2004, 2006) of the United Nations University.
Christopher P. Pinet
Editor in Chief of The French Review and Member of the AF de Bozeman, MT. Currently in his eighth year as Editor in Chief of the French Review, Christopher has devoted his entire career to teaching, research, and the promotion of French language, literature, and civilization. He has written articles on contemporary French civilization and editorials advocating the study of French and criticizing French-bashing. Over the past thirty years he has given presentations at Alliance Française chapters in Milwaukee, WI and Bozeman, MT and participated in a Table Ronde at the national meeting of the Federation in Washington in 2004. He recently contributed an article to Le Magazine. He started a Junior Year Abroad Program in Montpellier and was a past Chair of the Montana Committee for the Humanities. As a long-time member of the Executive Council of the AATF he is eager to promote further ties between the two organizations.
Joe Rivlin
Joe was born and raised in New York City, has degrees in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering and retired from the High Tech world in 2000 after 43 years. He has been a Francophile for almost as long as he can remember although he never studied French until his retirement six years ago. He has been a Board Member of the Alliance de Portland (OR) for five years and was President from 2003-2007, during which time AFP's focus was on rebuilding school and membership enrollment. Joe is the head of the Publications/Website Committee of the Federation.
Alexandra Stafford
Alexandra was born in New York City and raised in Paris. She majored in Art History from Smith College. She has worked in museums, publishing, film, television and marketing. Presently, she is vice president of the board of the AF of New Orleans. Following her passion for art and all things French, she is also on the board of the Historic New Orleans Collection, the Advisory Board of the New Orleans Museum of Art and her son’s bilingual school, Ecole Bilingue. To top it off, she owns a miniature poodle.
Marie-Monique Steckel
President, French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) de New York (NY).
Since May 2004, Marie-Monique Steckel has been President of the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) of New York. She is credited with propelling this century-old organization into the largest renovation and reorganization project in its history, aiming at strengthening FIAF's position as premiere French cultural and educational center in the United States. In 1969, she founded the French Industrial Development Agency to assist American industry in establishing plants in France. In 1976, she acted as principal marketing and communication advisor to Jacques Chirac's newly formed political party, the Rassemblement pour la République (RPR). From 1979 to 1999, as President of France Telecom North America, Mrs Steckel successfully established the company in the United States. She then worked as Senior Advisor at RSL Management, a multinational company with interests in the United States, Western and Eastern Europe
David Thoms: Treasurer
Board Member, AF de Grosse Pointe (MI) Alliance Française de Grosse Pointe (MI). David Thoms has been active in Alliance Francaise Chapter activites for over 25 years, in the Detroit, Michigan, area. He is a tax attorney and brings his financial expertise to the Board. He is a past-president of the Federation and the 1999 recipient of the Prix Charbonnier.
Elections
Eligibility and Nomination Procedures