Learn French, Live French
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299 Greenwich Avenue - Greenwich, CT | 203.629.1340
Renée Amory Ketcham - President
A life-long francophile and Board member since 2005, Renée brings a passion for French language and culture to the Alliance Française of Greenwich. As President of our Alliance with Co-President Gail Covney, Renée is, in addition, responsible for the Cultural Offerings. She is also Chairman of the Executive Board of Focus on French Cinema, our annual festival of films from around the French speaking world that she helped launch in 2005. Renée also serves on the Executive Board of Federation of Alliance Française in the United States that oversees the over 100 chapters in the U.S. She received an M.S. from Georgetown University in French Language and Linguistics and lives in Greenwich, CT with her husband Bill Ketcham and has two children, Elizabeth Amory Ketcham and Saunders Carhart Ketcham.
The Alliance Française of Greenwich Board of Directors is comprised of dedicated volunteer men and women with a passion for France and the diversity and richness of French culture and language. They do their utmost to provide the community with many French cultural events and programs.
Gail Covney - Co-President
Gail's mother moved from France to the U.S. years ago, so she has strong feelings for French culture and language, which she spoke at home and studied in college. She has had a long association with the Alliance Française of Greenwich, starting first as a French teacher for children programs. She is now acting as Co-President devoting her time to oversee the Education program. She is also on the board of the Focus on French Cinema festival and has been involved in it since it started in 2005. Gail lives in Greenwich and is a French teacher at the Stanwich School in Greenwich.
Fereshteh Priou - Treasurer
Fereshteh serves as the Treasurer of the Alliance Française of Greenwich. She has also been leading the literary Proust Group since 2007. Fereshteh has an MBA from the George Washington University and holds a CPA. She has experience working for multinational companies and teaching at the University of Connecticut, Stamford Campus. A native of Iran, Fereshteh met her French husband Michel in US and they moved to Paris where she learned French. She has lived with her family in the Greenwich area for the past 35 years.
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"The Board of the Alliance Française of Greenwich is devoted to our mission and we welcome everyone to join us and celebrate our vibrant cultural and linguistic community."
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- Renée Amory Ketcham
President
Our Board
Honorary Board Member
Jean-Louis Gerin
Miguel Garcia-Colon
Anne Kern - Honorary Board Member
Anne M. Kern is Associate Professor of Cinema Studies at Purchase College, State University of New York. She received her Ph.D. in Film Studies and Comparative Literature from Yale University, and has published on European and American cinema, surrealism and psychoanalysis in venues ranging from Cinema Journal to Le Monde. Her recent essay on three early Renoir films appeared in A Companion to Jean Renoir, edited by Alastair Phillips and Ginette Vincendeau (Wiley-Blackwell, 2013). In 2014, Dr. Kern was a jury member for the Festival du Film Francophone d’Angoulême.
Sylviane Leibowitz Ely
Sylviane was born in Courbevoie, France. She studied in Paris and came to the United States in 1973 after marrying her American husband, with whom she has two sons. She joined the Alliance Française of Greenwich to be with people who share her love for the French language and culture. After being seduced by the cultural activities, she joined as a Board Member in 2009 and leads La Table Française.
Harry Mc Lachlin
Director at the Byram Schubert Library of Greenwich.
Harry is a longtime francophile who has visited France many times over close to 50 years, including as a member of the Seattle-Nantes Sister City Association. Since retiring from work as a corporate lawyer in 2010 he has enjoyed many activities of the Alliance including the Proust Group, la Table Francaise and Focus on French Cinema; he joined the Board in 2016. A graduate of Carleton College (BA) and the University of Washington (JD), he is the President of Darien Book Aid and a member of the Selection Committee for FFC.
Viviane Ponslet
Brid Mortamais
Since retiring from her translation and teaching career, Viviane has studied “Livelong learners” and philosophy. She is an organizing member of reading meetings at the Greenwich and Westchester Alliance Françaises as well as a member of the Proust Focus Group.She is passionate about jazz and Argentinian ballet and tango dances that she learned during an internship in Buenos Aires.
Claire Négrin
Born and raised in Ireland, Brid moved to Paris, France to study at the Sorbonne and met her French husband, David. She now lives in Greenwich, CT with David and their two teenage children. She is passionate about French language and culture and was involved in organizing the Focus on French Cinema. After many years in finance and project management in Ireland, the UK and France, she is now a licensed realtor with Coldwell Banker in Fairfield and Westchester Counties. She is a member of the Greenwich International Ladies Group.
Born in Cannes, Claire grew up immersed in the vibrant Mediterranean culture and lifestyle. She came to America with her family 24 years ago and settled in Greenwich CT in 2017. Graduated from the Nice with a Master's degree in English and Italian, she holds a certificate in Appraisal Studies in Fine Arts from NY University and has 15 years of experience in teaching French. You can follow her giving tours in French at the Bruce Museum where she is a docent.
Catherine Ladnier
Member of the Greenwich Historical Society.
