Au Courant
Spring 2012
Created 2012-05-01
Caroline Brooks ’64
Caroline "Cal" Brooks lives in Pearland, a suburb of Houston in a 55+ golf course community. She does not, however, play golf. She quit when her golfing buddy said that she made more divots in the course than a muskrat! Instead, she plays mah jongg, does volunteer work for the Unitarian Church, and walks with the Houston Happy Hikers.
Marie Younkin-Waldman ’64
Last fall I started a citizen-based advocacy group called "Where's The Town?" to revitalize the local marketplace area and create a center in Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island. The town has a complicated history resulting little sense of community. This historic seaside area was once the summer vacation spot for Philadelphia and New York socialites in competition with Newport, across the bay, at the turn of the twentieth century. We are having our first big event, a seaside village fair, which I am spearheading now, on June 9, 2012. Many residents are excited about bringing our town back to health, filling the empty buildings, and creating a year round destination location. For more information about this project, goals, aims, and events, please visit: www.wheresthetown.org
Eric Elbot ’66
Eric Elbot thoroughly enjoyed AUP and Paris from 1964-1966. He finished his BA at George Washington University and completed his graduate work at Harvard, where he later directed international training programs. He is currently serving as the CEO of Veritas Scientific Corporation, developing brainwave technologies for the intelligence community in the Washington, DC area. Eric’s three wonderful kids brought him up right after he squandered much of his drawn-out adult adolescence in questionable pursuits all over the world. To not drag down AUP’s fine reputation, Eric maintained his distance for a time, but the recent Washington, DC alumni reunion rekindled all of his instincts for new mischief . . . if anyone wants to still play.
Jacky Robin Clyman '67
Jacky graduated in 1967 from the American College in Paris when it was a two year school. She went on to get her BA from George Washington University in 1969, going to work as an interpreter for the State Department and later as a translator at National Geographic. Married to Jeff Clyman since 1971 with two boys: Scott (Who is a Major in the USAF Reserves and flies F-16s) and Mark (who is a lawyer in New York City married and has a 2 ½ year old daughter Samantha). Jacky started Avirex USA, an apparel company, in 1975 with her husband which is now under the name Cockpit USA. (www.cockpitusa.com). She and her husband, Jeff, also founded and run a non profit educational foundation, The American Air Power Museum (www.americanairpowermuseum.org) in Farmingdale, NY.
Karen Newman ’67
Karen teaches Comparative Literature at Brown University where she chair of the department. She and her husband, Tom Brooks, spend as much time as possible in Paris. Their daughter Frances works for the Boston Consulting Group and will be moving to Houston with her husband, John Taplett, and their eight month old daughter, Evelyn, in July. She is looking forward to the 50th Anniversary Global Alumni Weekend in 2013 which she hopes to attend.
Jalaledin Ebrahim ’68
I was recently licensed as a psychotherapist in the state of California. I should have my PhD in Depth Psychotherapy this year! My dissertation topic is "Towards an Integral Psychology of Islam."
Bob Hertzka ’68
I graduated from ACP in 1968 and stayed on for an extra semester until January 1969. It was too much fun to leave!! I then went to New York to finish my BA from NYU. After graduation I started a real estate business in New York and now split my time between there and Paris when not traveling for my current business, Resorts Online (www.resortsonline.com). ROL is designed to bring together the world's top luxury hotels/resorts/lodges with direct links to each properties website. With our newly redesigned site, ROL is a sort of combo Google, You Tube, and Trip Advisor for luxury hotels. I am also on the board of the Global Give Back Circle (www.globalgivebackcircle.org) started by my partner, Linda Lockhart. GGBC is dedicated to supporting and mentoring destitute but bright girls in Kenya as they transition through high school and on to college or university, i.e. give them a future! I invite you to check out the website to see the amazing work Linda and her team are doing.
Marian O’Neil (Valchar) ’72
I have been in New York since I left Paris in the early 1970s. After ACP, I attended Barnard College and earned a BA in Political Science. Ten years ago, I got my Masters in Education, and have been teaching for 11 years. Unless I win the lottery, I hope to continue teaching for another decade or so. My husband and I have raised our 4 children (ages 25 to 31) here and have watched the city change over the years. I’d like to hear from my old roommates, Shohreh Shirazi and her sister, and from Valerie Lawrence.
Katherine Cook ’73
I attended ACP for the spring semester in 1973. I might have stayed longer but ACP was only a two year college at the time and I had already completed two years of college. We had a memorable trip to Russia and Poland that spring! I went on to complete two years at Paris-IX Dauphine with a major in Gestion et l'Economie Applique. I continued to live in the 7th arrondissement near ACP and kept in touch with friends there. A few years later I moved to Washington, DC and worked for several international non-profits and then as a photographer for a couple of years. For the past twenty years I have had an acupressure massage business first in DC and then now in Rhode Island for the past ten years. Currently I'm back to pursuing my photography interests and am in a certificate program at RISD. My partner's daughter lives in Amsterdam so we try and get back to Paris and Amsterdam once a year. I keep in touch with several AUP friends and would love to hear from anyone I have lost touch with! The attached photo was taken on a trip back to Paris last May. That's almost 40 years after being a student there!
Katie Wong de Geitz ’77
In April 2004, an AUP literature professor (Professor Rosenstein, I believe) invited me to a poetry lecture to talk about my experiences as a poet who comes different cultural backgrounds, and above all, as a human being dedicated to poetry for over 30 years, travelling frequently, and 100% rejecting television. Nowadays I still write, but I am more advocated in defeating the limits of provincialism by building a Holistic Center where nature has a principal role. Holistic treatments and diets demand another experience and studies though, and handling this reality gives me, in a way, strength to be more aware of life’s demands. I hope to survive and sometime maybe escape to the Caribbean islands where I can more easily connect myself to people. This trial and error I am determined to win!
David Aasen ’78
David continues his political development work, now with the United Nations Mission in Iraq where he is advising the parliament and electoral commission. Previously, he undertook similar projects in Afghanistan and Pakistan. David sends greetings to old classmates and may be reached at: davidlaasen@gmail.com
Michelle Benoit ’79
I'm very excited that two of my films will be celebrated at the CineJazz Film Festival in Paris this November 2012 (http://www.cinejazzparis.org). "Cigarettes et Bas Nylons" is a French film my husband and I executive produced. It tells the story of WWII French war brides who married handsome American GIs in France only to find out what regular guys they were back home. Directed by Fabrice Cazeneuve, much of it was filmed in Louisiana which is my home base. Also in the festival will be our PBS documentary "American Creole: A New Orleans Reunion" about a jazz musician struggling to put his world back together after Hurricane Katrina. Both are part of a sidebar event featuring Louisiana films and filmmakers. As I continue working in films and visual media, I'm always drawn back to the great foundation in literature and art laid for me at AUP. It seems a lifetime ago but those classes are still an invaluable resource. Life in New Orleans, six years after Katrina, is more about growth and planning for the future than surviving and healing the present. It's still a wonderful place to live and work with a European sensibility, a Caribbean pace and uniqueness, where "letting the good times roll" is truly a daily experience. www.coteblanche.com
Astrid O. Bertoncini (maiden name: Orellana) ’79
Seeing the 1970’s alumni so sparsely represented in the Au Courant, I thought I’d send my news to share and hope more of you do the same! I have been happily married for 22 years to my “amore” Carlo. We have a 21 year old son, a 17 year old daughter, and live in Westchester, NY. I have a career doing what I love ---magazines mixed with international culture. I work with the international editors of Hearst Magazines, mostly as a brand steward for our 200+ international editions worldwide, including Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Good Housekeeping and Harper’s Bazaar. To paraphrase, the sun doesn’t set on our international editions — from Cosmo Mongolia, to GH Middle East, Harper’s Bazaar Brazil and recent launches of Esquire in the Philippines and Malaysia. I do travel on business and will be in Paris and Madrid this spring. Excited that I will even be visiting a town in Spain, bearing my maiden name: Orellana! I have wonderful memories of my college days and still feel inspired by my French literature professor Dunia Barnett. I have some amazing friends that I keep in touch with from those college days. Though I have lost touch with some and would love to know what Stanley Mincher, Osman Eralp and Trinket Walker are up to, should anyone still keep in touch with them. Best wishes to all!
Jacqueline Urbanek, aka Zaza Fetterly ’83
Jacqueline lives in Napa, California. She makes art, teaches art, edits manuscripts, writes newsletters, raises a 12-year old son, widowed since 2004. Travels back to Paris twice a year to see 90-year old Mom and other relatives. Would love to connect with Hoda Ben Ladin, a classmate, probably living in Saudi Arabia or England, and a few other classmates, you know who you are.
Karen Albright Lin ’84
I’m busy with a steady stream of editing clients, speaking engagements (including invitations to teach for cruise lines this year), publishing with e-magazines, and working on two novels. I’m cheering on my 22-year-old who’s in on the graphic design end of books and my 18-year-old who is an engineering student at CU. My husband, Wen, travels often and may be invited to be an ex-pat soon – in Milan. Look me up: http://www.karenalbrightlin.com
Sandra Bramwell ’86
Sandra is currently the Executive Director of Versan Educational Services where she has three offices in Jamaica. Versan provides consultancy services to families who seek an overseas education, helping students with their search for a good boarding school, university, graduate school, or professional degree program. She has expanded to other islands in the Caribbean including Trinidad and Domiica, plus the country of Guyana. Sandra has affiliations with India in Mumbai, New Deli and Bangalore. Equally, she hosts a New York office for special clients. Her French is still alive and vibrant. She adores her Akita dogs and lives between the tropics and North America. Currently separated from her husband, reggae icon Jimmy Riley, she spends her time managing her businesses, traveling, and hoping to come out with a book on Educational Consulting that will rock the industry!
Soraya Reina ’86 and Bradley Prior ’89
After meeting and falling in love in Paris (thank you AMEX Cafe at AUP!), we married and have lived in beautiful Vermont, USA. We both got our M.B.A.s from the University of Vermont after which Brad went into banking and Soraya into healthcare information systems. We now have 3 active, snowboarding teenagers and Soraya has since changed careers a few times to keep up with them. After getting an M.S. in counseling, she worked as an elementary school counselor for 9 years. She is now happily teaching Spanish to elementary students in Stowe, Vermont. We recently took our children to Paris and back to Spain (where Soraya is from) 25 years later to show them where we met. We have wonderful memories of our time in Paris!
Pascale Chatelain ’89
After 20 years of American corporations in IT, I decided to go back to entrepreneurship and joined a young innovative company called DirectStreams in 2007. While the stress and the intensity are high, it is all worth the excitement and rebirth I experience in that wonderful adventure of marketing and selling across the world - providing the first Apple based technology solution for luxury hotels. I still live in the south of France, yet I spent a lot of my time in Asia discovering a new culture and new adventures.
Alexandra Malandain-Leckie ’91
I am still living in Hong Kong (it’s been more than 12 years now!), have completed a Masters in Science in International Hotel Management with the University of Surrey (with distinction), and have launched my new company in February. The company is Ms Alecs Tours (www.msalecstours.com) and offers bespoke city tours in Hong Kong.
Kate Turney ’91
I studied at AUP from 1989-1991 before heading off to the American University in Cairo. Upon returning to the U.S. after about 6 years overseas, I worked in publishing and graphic design until I made the transition to gardens. Since 2001, I have been a landscape designer of primarily residential spaces, specializing in gardens up and down the East Coast. I'm based in New York and mostly work on the design of residential rooftop and ground gardens in Manhattan.
Jean-Christophe Bieselaar ‘95
Jean-Christophe has launched a blog about intercultural marriages (www.intercoupleculture.com) and has been asked to join PROJET MOSAIC, a branch of the Fédération Protestante de France, to act as a consultant on this subject. He has published a chapter on intercultural marriages in an edited work titled Vivre la diversité: l'Eglise dans une société multiculturelle.
Diana Holmes Levaton '97
Diana still lives in Paris with her husband, Michel, and her son, Ben.
Larissa Liventals ’99
Following graduation I worked as a wilderness guide and instructor in the mountains of the American West. After enjoying the remote snow, streams, and silence I went to the University of London SOAS and earned two Masters Degrees specializing in the Middle East - the first in Art and Archaeology and the second in Ethnomusicology. Over the next few years I created cultural exchange programs between Jordan and the U.S., delivered presentations on Persian classical singing and began developing media projects that examine ancient and contemporary cultures of the Middle East. I also attended three years of drama conservatory, connecting the ability to penetrate Shakespeare and Greek Theater with the ability to effectively communicate both the subtle and epic stories of history for literature and film. Since 2009, I have resided in Syria, working in tourism, education, and developing films that explore the country's rich history and culture. When not in Damascus, I spend time in the desert with Bedouin friends, my lovely camel Barakeh ("blessing") and soon, her new baby Al Aasifa ("the storm").
Camden McDaris Black ‘99
After staying home with her son for a year, Cammie McDaris Black has gone back to work, but not as a lawyer. She is now a Grant Writer at The Fortune Society, a human services organization that helps formerly incarcerated New Yorkers reintegrate into society. Cammie is very happy to have finally found what seems to be the perfect career for her.
Margarethe Baillou ’00
I am a graduated from AUP with a BA in International Communications and, having founded my own film production company, M.Y.R.A. Entertainment in New York in 2007, am currently producing a feature film, entitled "Drawing Home", in the Canadian Rockies.
Meredith Hastings '01
Meredith attends law school at Charleston School of Law in Charleston, South Carolina. And she misses Paris.
Sonia Ziadi Trives ’02
I graduated from AUP with a BA in International Communications. Since then, I worked in the music industry, film industry, founded my own company "Conectando Culturas" (Connecting Cultures), and worked for several public institutions in Spain. I am currently undertaking an International MBA at IE Business School in Madrid and developing my own Start-Up "Shared Secrets" within the Venture Lab of the same university. Shared Secrets is a "Human Media" start-up trying to change the paradigm of how we use the Internet, bringing back emotions and authenticity to the equation.
Lucas Lai ’03
As with most AUP alumni, it has been a whirlwind since leaving the comforts of the 7th arrondissement. I finished my degree in Design Management at Parsons in New York, worked at Vanity Fair then Interview Magazine, and then did a stint in interior decorating before leaving my fast paced life behind to travel for 8 months. During my travels I expanded my understanding of humanity in ways I never imagined, mostly thanks to the Couchsurfing (http://www.couchsurfing.org/)! I also met the artist Ai Weiwei in Beijing and subsequently moved there for a year to do a project for him, curating and managing his first photography exhibition, currently showing at the Jeu de Paume in Paris. This year I finally gave in to my inner calling and am devoting myself full time to my art, doing an art residency at La Porte Peinte Centre Pour Les Arts in Noyers Sur Serein, France.
Stephanie Wells ‘03
Stephanie joined the international public sector as a communications consultant for UNESCO (the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) in June 2011. Stephanie acted as the communications focal point for the 7th UNESCO Youth Forum under the theme, "How youth drive change?". She managed overall communications, press relations, social media, and the recruitment and training of ten youth bloggers and journalists from around the world to represent their regions over a 2-year period. Previously, Stephanie served as the Director of Communications and Public Programming at the Alliance Francaise de San Francisco, before returning to Paris to pursue her International M.B.A at the Sorbonne Graduate Business School (class of 2010). She credits AUP with kick starting her passion for working and living internationally, and is excited to continue similarly impacting work in communication strategy and public outreach for international organizations. Stephanie is an AUP alumni career mentor and is the co-founder of the AUPSF alumni chapter of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Sean Casey '04
Sean recently moved to Juba, South Sudan, to take over as Country Director for International Medical Corps (IMC) there. Sean joined IMC in June 2011, first serving as Haiti Country Director before moving to Juba in February. In Haiti, Sean managed one of the largest cholera response programs in the world, providing treatment to over 40,000 cholera patients across Haiti, as well as supporting the emergency department at the national referral hospital in Port-au-Prince. In South Sudan, the world's newest country, Sean is overseeing a team of around 500 staff in four States, primary running health clinics, hospitals, emergency nutrition programs, water/sanitation programs and providing HIV prevention, counseling and testing, treatment, and care. In addition to his work with IMC, Sean serves as a guest professor at AUP each fall, teaching a module on HIV/AIDS Program Design and Implementation in Africa.
Elizabeth (Philpot) McCune ’04
I now live in Seattle, Washington and have been working in the market research industry for the last 7 years. Recently, I joined a startup company located in Portland, Oregon which specializes in software for online qualitative work. I work in outside sales which requires about 20% domestic travel, but the rest of the time I work remotely from my home office. In regards to my personal life, I got married a little over a year ago and bought a house with my husband, Chris McCune, in Seattle. I attempt to visit Paris once a year and walk around campus nostalgically every time. I see a French tutor every week to keep up my French in hopes of moving back one day. Paris me manque!
Aseanto Oudang ’05
Since graduation in 2005, I went back to Jakarta and got married in 2007. I have two wonderful children. As for work, I'm in the food and beverage industry. We do retail shops for wines and spirits, and we do imports for the food service industry. We are also the sole importer for Sirop Teisseire, France's no.1 syrup. If anyone is visiting Jakarta do get in touch with me.
Briana Sapp ’05
Since graduating from AUP, I have focused my career on international affairs and development. I worked as Social Projects Manager for the Embassy of Malawi in Brussels, then as a Program Assistant for a maternal and child health project funded by USAID through Georgetown University, working in Rwanda, DRC, Mali, and Madagascar. In 2008, I co-founded Partners for Euro-African Green Energy (PANGEA), an international network based in Brussels, Belgium that promotes investment in sustainable renewable energy in sub-Saharan Africa. After 7 years of living in Europe and traveling the world, I decided it was time to return to my family in sunny California. Currently, I am a Senior Analyst for the Executive Director's Office for the University of California Education Abroad Program (www.eap.ucop.edu) based in Santa Barbara. UCEAP helps over 4500 students every year, from all 10 UC campuses, study abroad in 35 countries through more than 150 programs. I finally have the opportunity to share with others the amazing opportunity of studying and living in foreign countries. AUP changed my life and now I hope to help change the lives of future generations to come.
Victoria Kisseleva (Kysyl'ova) ’06
I graduated from AUP with a BA in Art History, with a minor in Urban Culture. Since 2010, I became self-employed as a marketing manager with a focus on art, cosmetics and medical products. Last year I began to work on a marketing concept for a start-up project, a totally new cosmetic brand FARFOR PRINCESS (www.farfor-princess.com). In March, we will finally be launching the product and the brand. I was so proud to be able to fuse all my ideas and knowledge collected during my AUP times to develop the marketing concept for this brand. Furthermore, I am participating in another interesting project right now helping to develop a new marketing strategy for Alfred Schnittke Akademie International (www.schnittke-akademie.de) - the academy for contemporary music in Hamburg- which represents a bridge between various cultures and offers a unique musical experience.
Camille Boulay ‘07
After having finished my BA in Film Studies at AUP and then at ESRA in Paris, I decided to travel around the world for a year. I am currently four and half months into my travels having covered several countries in Asia. I will then be heading to Australia, Tahiti, California, and finally, South America. Depending on the country I'm in I'm also interviewing family, friends, and acquaintances for my documentary on Third Culture Kids, which I hope to edit upon my return and share with the AUP community. I'm always open to more interviews so if you are a third culture kid and interested in participating please email me boulay.camille@gmail.com.
Alessandro Cardone ’08
After graduating from AUP in 2008 in Global Communications and working in Paris for a period of time, I moved to the land down under. Later, after pursuing Australian adventures and business opportunities, I returned to my hometown of Milan, Italy, where in 2011, I was hired by Dow Jones, a News Corporation Company, to manage their clients across Italy and francophone Switzerland, traveling frequently to London, Geneva, and our treasured Paris, giving me the opportunity to reconnect with many fellow AUP alumni along the way. Looking forward to a continued internationally oriented career and life, I am enjoying the journey on the way to every destination, wondering if I could still pull off a World’s Fair-style party.
Harriet Alida Lye ‘08
Harriet is currently curating the 12th issue of her magazine, Her Royal Majesty (http://www.heroyalmajesty.ca/), and coordinating a series of global launch parties to celebrate its publication on the 11th of May. The parties will include readings, live music, performances, and art shows in Paris, London, Berlin, New York, Toronto and Halifax. If you find yourself in one of these cities, please come and celebrate! She also recently finished her first novel, Symbiosis.
Belle Bocal ’09
In the fall of 2006, after spending a weekend in Normandy to study the Bayeux Tapestry (Tapisserie de Bayeux) with my International Communication class from AUP, I found myself changed— the way I looked at the world around me, and thought about how we all communicate regardless of gender, race, or generation. I completed my B.A. in Communication, with minors in Media Studies and International Relations. For my post-graduate studies, I moved to Boston, Massachusetts and received my M.S. in Mass Communication and Applied Market Research from Boston University (2011) before accepting a research position at Forrester Research in Cambridge, MA. I spend my free time brushing up on my French, drinking wine, and planning my return to Paris.
Elizabeth Ganshert ’09
I graduated from AUP with a bilingual Master of Arts in International Affairs, Conflict Resolution, and Civil Society Development. After a brief stint as Communications Fellow at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, I joined Meridian International Center in 2010 as a Program Associate and was recently promoted to Division Administrator and Training Coordinator. At Meridian we promote international understanding through the exchange of people, ideas and culture. Within the Professional Exchanges Division, we administer the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program. Selected by American embassies abroad, International Visitors come to the United States to meet and confer with their professional counterparts and to gain an appreciation of the ethnic, cultural, political, and socio-economic diversity of the U.S. I also serve as Vice President of the AUPDC alumni chapter and stay in touch with many future, former, and current AUP-ers.
Lauren Limerick '10
Following graduation, I began an internship with Hearst Television in Baltimore, where I was quickly promoted from intern, to associate producer, to reporter. I have been a reporter for the Hearst Television ABC affilliate in Northwest Arkansas for a year, which has been both a humbling and rewarding experience. I got engaged this past December in Venice, Italy to Patrick Duffy. We are looking forward to our wedding next summer in Washington, DC where we will hopefully be joined by many AUP alumni.
Sarah Federman '11
I have been accepted to George Mason University's PhD program in Conflict Resolution and Analysis. I am presenting research from my AUP masters thesis, entitled Aller Simple, to the House of Representatives this March. The thesis covered the SNCF's role in the WWII deportation of the Jews and the ensuing conflict with survivors in the US over this role. I maintain a small private coaching practice for struggling humanitarians, returning military, and correspondents. www.sarahfederman.com I am currently working and living in Arlington, VA.
Robert Olechna '11
Upon graduation in May 2011, I, along with my fellow Public Policy and International Law students, went to the Hague and then Oxford for summer classes. I took an internship with the International Chamber of Commerce in Autumn; then, after two years abroad (with the exception of two short weeks last Christmas) I came home to Pennsylvania. I have become involved again with the St. Patrick's Parade Association of Lackawanna County, a non-profit group, where we organize the fourth largest St. Pat's parade in the US. There, I met Congressman Tim Holden (D, 17th District, Pennsylvania, US House of Representatives) and asked to help with his campaign. At present, I am the Director of Coordination for Lackawanna County in his bid for reelection. I am also awaiting word from the Foreign Service Officer selection process to work in a US Embassy (hopefully in France!).
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