Federation of Alliances Françaises USA’s most prestigious award, was created in 1991 to recognize M. Daniel Charbonnier of San Francisco, a past President of the Federation of AF USA, who exemplified all of the best qualities of this organization.
The purpose of the Prix Charbonnier, to be given from time to time as appropriate at the Federation’s Annual Meeting and Convention, is to recognize persons of national stature and reputation whose vocation or avocation has promoted French language and culture in a manner consistent with the goals and purpose of the Federation.
The recipient need not be a member of an Alliance Française. A committee established by the Board of Directors of the Federation nominates the candidate for the Prix Charbonnier. In its early years, from 1991-1995, the prize was called le Prix de la Fédération. Since 1995, it’s been called le Prix Charbonnier, in honor of Daniel Charbonnier.
Gloria Groom is Chair and Winton Green Curator, Painting and Sculpture of Europe, and Executive Director of Initiatives in France at the
Art Institute of Chicago. Since joining the museum in 1985, she has been involved in numerous major monographic exhibitions and their
accompanying catalogues, including Gustave Caillebotte: Painting His World (2025), the full-career retrospective Cezanne (2022), Monet and
Chicago (2020–21), Manet and Modern Beauty (2019), Gauguin: Artist as Alchemist (2017), Van Gogh’s Bedrooms (2016), Impressionism, Fashion,
and Modernity (2012–13), and Seurat and the Making of “La Grande Jatte” (2004).
Gloria continues to oversee monographic online scholarly catalogues on the museum’s Impressionist collection involving an international team of scholars, conservators, and scientists. To date, she has written for and edited volumes on Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Caillebotte, Gauguin, Manet, and Cezanne. Her contributions to French art and culture have been recognized by the French Republic, which named her Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2012. In 2016, she was further recognized by the French, receiving a medal as Chevalier (Knight) in the Legion of Honor.
Mitchell Kaplan
President of Books and Books
Mark Pigott
Executive Chairman of PACCAR Inc.
Carolyn Cook
Founder and first artistic director of Théâtre du Rêve
Alan Darr
Senior Curator at the at the Detroit Institute of Arts
Martin Walker
Journalist and novelist
Leonard Slatkin
Conductor, composer and author
François Truffart & Anouchka van Riel
COLCOA French Film Festival
Dr. Matthew Naylor
President & CEO National WWI Museum and Memorial
Mitch Landrieu
Mayor of New Orleans
Hubert Joly
Chairman & CEO of Best Buy
Jacques Pépin
Chef & Cookbook Author
Stephen Breyer
Associate Justice
Patricia Wells
Cookbook Author
David McCullough
Author
Patrice Courtaban
Chief Operating Officer TV5MONDE USA
Comte Gilbert de Pusy de La Fayette
Remi (Ratatouille) - Brad Bird, Pixar Pictures
Louis Kyle
France Today & France-Amérique
Jane Robert
Past President Federation of Alliances Françaises
Ambassador Jean-David Levitte
French Ambassador to the United States
M. Howard Leach
American Ambassador to France (2001-2005)
M. Pierre Cardin
Groupe Pierre Cardin
M. André Cointreau · Président Le Cordon Bleu
Mme Hedwige Cointreau de Bouteville
President of Pierre Deux
Mr. John H. F. Haskell, Jr.
President of French Institute/Alliance Française of New York
M. Jean-Louis Turlin
President of French Press · France Amérique
Mme Anne Prah-Perochon
Editor in Chief of French Press · France Today
Mme Marie Galanti
Directrice de la Publication · French Press · Journal Français
Mr. David M. Thoms
Past President of the Federation & French Community Philanthropist
M. Pierre Howard
French Cultural Promotion
Mr. Malcolm Wiseheart
French Cultural Philanthropist
Mrs. Eleanor Reynolds Morse
Past President of the Federation
Founder, Salvador Dali Art Museum
Mr. John H. Bryan
President, Sara Lee Inc.
Mrs. Eleanor Wood-Prince
French Community Philanthropist
Mrs. Julia Child
International Chef & Cookbook Author
