Au Courant
Fall 2009
Created 2009-12-15
George F. Theriault (‘62)
George Theriault
George is currently President & CEO of the New Hampshire Association for the Blind, a leading non-profit, statewide rehabilitation training program, providing services for people who are blind and visually impaired. He spent 28 years working for the Association followed by a varied career that included work in independent schools, the skiing industry, the early years (60’s) of sport parachuting, marketing, PR, and music.
Arthur Gardner (‘64)
Arthur has a career in computer software development and is currently working for EMC. He has nine children and two grandchildren. His two eldest got their PhD's this year, and the next two are getting close. “I feel a bit like Banquo: ‘thou shalt get academics, though thou be none.’” Arthur converted to the Roman Catholic Church in Washington in 1967. A bit later, when he happened to pass through Paris he noticed that “it was a different place, as all those churches now meant something to me.” Arthur was profoundly struck by how much the mass is the same in Paris as it is in America, while still being thoroughly French.
[up] Bob Hertzka and [down] his wife
Linda Lokhart
Bob Hertzka (‘68)
Bob currently lives between New York and Paris. In addition to his full time job, a few years ago Bob and his wife Linda Lockhart started a project helping disadvantaged girls in Kenya transition from high school to college, called the Global Give Back Circle (GGBC). They were aided in this by another ACP Alumnus and Bob’s college roommate in 1966-67, Jim Harrell. Last year, by some miracle, they were invited to attend the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in New York where they secured funding for the first 35 girls who graduated and entered the GGBC program in May. The CGI was so impressed by what had come out of last year’s meeting that this year the GGBC were invited back as a progress report. Out of the 1400 projects of last year, two were selected by the CGI to participate in the opening ceremony. GGBC was one; Matt Damon and his Haitian water project was the other. As Bob describes, “We brought over three of the girls from the program who, along with my wife, were the hit of the Opening Plenary Session and were then included in the Closing where the girls found out that they had received the William Jefferson Clinton Scholarship to the American University in Dubai for four years”. You can watch the CGI opening and closing as well as other web casts and a more detailed explanation of GGBC from their web site. If anyone would like to get in touch, please email Bob at: https://webmail.aup.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.globalgivebackcircle.org/
Carol Dabbs (‘68)
Carol Dabbs continues to work on international health issues at the U.S. Agency for International Development. She's currently the Senior Coordinator for Investing in People (health, education, and welfare) in the Office of the Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance at the State Department. This follows stints as the Division Chief for Strategic Planning and Budgeting and the Division Chief for Maternal and Child Health in the Global Health Bureau. She spent 16 years in the Bureau for Latin America and Caribbean, where she was the project leader for the U.S. contribution to the eradication of polio in the Americas, and coordinator of U.S. response to the 1991 cholera epidemic. She is on the Advisory Board for a program offering transitional housing to homeless women, and served 12 years on the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, DC. A resident of Arlington, Virginia's historic Fairlington community, she dabbles in real estate and initiated a singles' group almost two decades ago that still meets regularly for dinner.
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Valerie (Honey) Johnson Lofland (‘70)
Valerie earned a Harvard University post doctoral research fellowship at The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs from 2003 to 2004. She then retired as a career officer from the U.S. Air Force in 2003. Currently she is the Department Chair of the Air Force Junior ROTC program at the Naugatuck High School in Connecticut. Valerie spends summers in Paris at her flat near AUP and hopes to eventually live full time in Paris.
Liam Purdon (‘70)
This year, Liam published his translation in English of Armando Zegri's 1947 La Gran Experiencia del Pacifico. The translation, The Great Pacific Adventure, details Mr. Zegri's experience in Japan following the unconditional surrender when he accompanied General Douglas MacArthur to Tokyo as an NBC correspondent to South America. The book is an instructive eyewitness account of the Japanese people and their culture, which includes discussion of such subjects as the Tokubetu Koto Keisatu (the Thought Police) and the Zaibatsu (the four ruling families of the country).
Carol Capalbi DeLaney (‘74)
Carol is in her third year (of five) for her Ph.D. in Psychology at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, California. ”It's wonderful to be a student yet again! I highly recommend it to tout le monde!”
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Karen Albright
Karen Albright Lin (‘84)
Karen is editor, speaker, writing coach, and author in many genres: national magazines, novels (including ghost writing), screenplays (one short produced), and cookbooks. Married 22 years to a “wonderful man from Taiwan,” she now has two boys. Read more.
Kim Roberts (‘85)
After AUP, Kim completed an MA Psychology from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, where she also discovered yoga. In 2001, Kim returned to Paris to pursue doctoral studies, and was offered an internship at UNESCO in the Inter-Religious Dialogue Department. During this time, her dreams of saving the world through religious dialogue were shattered, and instead Kim ended up teaching yoga to UNESCO officials in the basement gym. Subsequently she gave up the doctorate and began a career as a full time yoga instructor, teaching mostly private lessons in the 16th arrondissement. Since 2004 she has been teaching yoga at various places in Asia and now leads yoga and meditation retreats in the kingdom of Bhutan, “the most beautiful country in the world”. Please join!!
Bruce Flanagan
Bruce Flanagan (‘86)
Bruce lives just outside of Washington, DC and will be running the JFK 50 mile endurance race this November in an effort to support the Melanoma Research foundation. To learn more or make a donation, visit this address.
Peter Malmström (‘86)
Nowadays Peter lives in Stockholm, Sweden together with his wife Hanna and three children, aged 5, 3 and 1. He is self-employed and is doing business related to corporate finance and the stock market. Since graduating in 1986 with a BA degree, Peter has lived five years in Asia, Brunei, and South Korea, followed by one year in Cape Town, South Africa.
Gregg Tate (‘87)
For any of you from the '80s, Gregg ran the ACP Cafeteria when it was located behind the church on rue de Grenelle. He and his wife, Susan celebrated their 10th anniversary last year and they are very happy. The photo is of them celebrating in Jamaica! Gregg currently works in DC for Marine Barracks Washington running their IT department. He has two stepdaughters in college and one stepdaughter is a senior in high school. Next year, all three will be in college, so “there is light at the end of the tunnel!” In addition to three kids, they have six cats - Venus, SpongeBob, Patrick, Madonna, Larry Tate, and Endora. They are not going to college. “All my best to the entire AUP (and ACP, as it was when I was there) community worldwide!”
Gregg Tate
Elizabeth Vigil (‘89)
Elizabeth just got married on October 11th to “the most wonderful man” named Kenneth Walker. They were married on a beach on St. George Island, Florida. The reception was held in a small fishing town Apalachicola, Florida. They are planning a family in the next year!
Martine Melloul (‘89)
Martine graduated from AUP in 1989 with a degree in IBA. She is French and has lived in Los Angeles for 10 years. She has a 16 years old son “who is amazing.” She is the Executive Vice President at the clothing company BCBGMAXAZRIA. Martine’s company recently had an intern from AUP and hopes they can hire her. “I love my life in the States….”
Elizabeth Tobias Campos (‘89)
Elizabeth is exhibiting a new series of large-scale photos derived from her brain signals as part of a collective project called AFTERIMAGE, intersecting art and neuroscience. Her photos debuted October 17 in Los Angeles at L2 Kontemporary. The project paired Tobias with Caltech Professor Shinsuke Shimojo and designer Shana Mabari to explore consciousness and perception.
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Michael J. Varhola (‘90)
Michael and his wife Diane recently relocated from the hectic Washington, DC area to a more relaxed existence in Spring Branch, Texas, about 40 miles north of San Antonio. He is a freelance writer, editor, and lecturer who, among other things, serves as the assistant editor for The Hilltop Reporter, a weekly newspaper. He also writes reviews and short fiction for Brutarian magazine; runs his own game company, Skirmisher Publishing LLC, and writes books for the America’s Haunted Road Trip series of travel guides. Michael just completed the book tour for his latest title in the series, Ghosthunting Maryland, which was released in October 2009 and is the seventh non-fiction book he has authored or co-authored. Varhola was part of the European Cultural Studies program at AUP for three semesters from 1989-90, during which he was a reporter for The Planet, and graduated from the University of Maryland College Park with a B.S. in Journalism in 1993. He can be reached through the sites affiliated with his various ventures or via email at varhola@varhola.com.
Joanne Kelly-Couderc (’92)
Joanne and her husband have been married since 1996 and they have a 9-year old daughter. She continues to work as an English teacher for both a private adult language school and the CIEP (Centre International dÉtudes Pédagogiques) in Sèvres where she runs the English language training courses for the personnel there. Language-learning is a topic not only of interest to her professionally, but also at home where raising a bilingual child is a career in and of itself!
Jena Starkes (‘94)
Jena Starkes lives in New York City’s West Village and is the owner and Pixel Mistress of Peniferella Creative, a tiny but tough interactive media agency. The company lives at www.peniferella.com. She is still directing films, taking photos, and doing all manner of creative whatnot.
Roxanne Vanderbilt (‘95)
Roxanne and her husband, Hugh, have a very active and happy two-year old son, William, who attends nursery school. When Roxanne isn't busy chasing William, she works as a contractual lecturer for The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. This autumn, her time is variously spent between picking apples from her trees, independently researching the life and work of portrait painter Dorothy E. Vicaji, attending ballet classes, and volunteering for her local historical society.
Adrian Benjamin Burke
Adrian Benjamin Burke (‘96)
For the last several years Adrian has been working at a large law firm involved in international litigation. He specializes in attorney-translating for French, Italian, and Spanish companies. Adrian shot a short film entitled, 'A Soldier's Choice' which showed at film festivals across the US, UK, South Africa, and Mexico. It won an award in South Africa and was licensed by Hollywood Independent Films. ‘A Soldiers Choice’ is available worldwide on DVD. Adrian also published several genealogical articles in scholarly journals in the US and England; which focuses on colonial New England families and their medieval English ancestry.
Ian Fischler (’96)
Ian attended AUP in the spring of '96 as a visiting student from the University of Michigan. He joined J.P. Morgan in the firm's private bank in Los Angeles.
Nao Ushima Bompard / Camden McDaris
Nao Ueshima Bombard (‘99)
After graduating from AUP, Nao returned to Japan to work in the import/export business in Tokyo. In April 2007 she married Jeffrey Bombard who is originally from Vermont but had been living in Japan for more than 15 years. Jeff and Nao moved back to her hometown Sapporo last year to get away from the busy life in Tokyo so that they could enjoy a slower life with the hopes of starting a family.
Camden McDaris Black ('99)
Camden married Adam Black in a small ceremony outside London in September of 2008. She returned home to New York City to learn that she, like so many others, was out of a job. Although she enjoyed working as a corporate lawyer, her real passion has always been writing, so she used the free time to write a novel, which is currently in the process of being revised. Camden and her husband recently relocated to their little fixer-upper cottage in upstate New York, and are making plans for a possible move to Australia in the coming
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Robert Poccia (‘02)
Since graduation in 2002, Robert had the opportunity to travel throughout Africa and Asia. Two and a half years ago, he moved to Washington, DC where he took a job as an accountant with a large NGO. Since January 2009 he has been serving as Chief Financial Officer for the organization's job-creation and infrastructure development program in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Jian Wu (‘02)
After leaving AUP, Jian went straight to Oxford University to pursue a degree in development studies and sociology and graduated with a Masters in 2004. Then he returned to China and attended Renmin University of China and gained a PHD in Public Administration in 2008. Since July 2008, Jian has been working as a postdoctoral researcher at Peking University.
Ashlee Goldsmith, M.D. (‘03)
After a semester abroad studying at AUP in spring of 2003, Ashlee spent time travelling in Europe and went cage diving with great white sharks in Australia. She graduated from the University of California, San Diego in May 2005 with a BS in bioengineering. Ashlee then went on to pursue her dream of becoming a physician by attending and graduating from medical school at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine in her hometown. She is now Ashlee Goldsmith, M.D. Ashlee just moved to Philadelphia last spring. She is doing an intern year in pediatrics and will be starting her residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation this summer.
Louise Kahrmann (‘04)
Louise still lives in Paris where she works as the Vice President & Fashion Director of a luxury goods PR firm DM MEDIA. In addition to this, she writes her own blog commenting on the latest fashion and style news. You can find her blog at this address.
Corentine Quiniou
Corentine Quiniou (‘04)
Corentine is a full-time racecar driver. She created her company, corentine.com, in 2005 to support her racing activity (official website, contracts with teams and sponsors, media coverage, etc…). She’s been racing for Toyota France in off-road rally races since 2005, at Rally of Tunisia, Paris-Dakar, Rally of Morocco, and the all-female Rallye des Gazelles with three victories so far. She is also taking part in major endurance competitions throughout Europe, with her goal being to achieve victory at the Le Mans 24 hours. Her next challenge is a 24 hour-race in Dubai, from January 12-16 2010, on an Aston Martin. AUP Community support is welcome, either on site, at or on her Facebook page. She moved from Paris to Monaco in 2007.
Victoria Kisseleva (’06)
Victoria’s graduation from AUP was followed by several internships in cultural institutions: Klassik Stiftung Weimar, Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin, and Agentur fuer Kunst und Kultur in Hamburg. During the last internship she did PR for an antiques fair, the FINE ART FAIR, in Hamburg, Germany. In 2007, she started a one year MA Programme in Arts and Heritage Policy, Management and Education at the University of Maastricht which she successfully accomplished in the fall of 2008. In November 2008, she entered her family enterprise, V.A.G. Chemie GmbH in Hamburg. V.A.G Chemie GmbH specializes in international trade with chemical products. Victoria is currently working there as Assistant General Manager. Since August 2009, she has also beenvolunteering as a marketing/PR manager for a project to create an online art networking platform which aims at bringing art professionals and artists together and at helping artists with jobs, projects, and useful contacts.
Brooke Tosdale (’06)
Brooke has been living in Paris since graduating in 2006. She taught business English for several years, a personally rewarding job, but after tiring of hefting around teaching materials on the Paris metro, she switched over to working in an office. Now Brooke works as an assistant at a company in the natural gas industry, where “my feet rest comfortably under the desk for most of the day and where I interface with people from various parts of the EU, putting to use my international background.”
Maksym Nokhrin (’08)
Maksym (Max) works as a Financial Consultant in Toronto. He is engaged to Aleksandra Muravyeva and they are now planning their next few hectic years before they settle down in some global location.
Lindsey Tramuta (’09)
Lindsey Tramuta’09 is still living in Paris with her husband since completing her Master's in Global Communications. Currently, she is working as a marketing and communications executive for an e-boutique start-up called Je Ne Sais Quoi where she is in charge of the brand's image over multiple media platforms as well as developing content for the website and forthcoming blog. Originally from Philadelphia, she earned her BA in French from Temple University in 2007 and had the opportunity to complete formative internships at l'Oréal Luxury Products Division and Landor Associates in Paris. A veritable francophile, Lindsey has been living in Paris for the last three years.
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