Martine is the proud and passionate Director of Alliance Française de Cincinnati since 2013, where she enjoys creating new programs and developing new ideas for the students.
She was born and raised in the multicultural suburbs of Brussels, Belgium. She has extensive experience teaching French and Francophone culture to foreigners in the United States. She came to the United States in 1977, where she taught French for ten years in the first Immersion program in Louisiana. She moved to Kansas City to be the first Full Immersion Kindergarten Instructor and then moved to Cincinnati in 1989, where she taught in the Full immersion Program in the Cincinnati Public School School District. She received a Teaching Degree in Belgium and a B.A degree in Teaching / Montessori at Xavier University. She also obtained an E.S.L Degree from the University of Cincinnati.
She is married to Yvan Verbesselt, also a teacher at Alliance Française. They have a daughter, Gini. She also loves cooking with beer and wine, taking photos at events, traveling, reading, and watching movies. She loves being a grandmother to Maxwell, her two-year-old grandson who lives in the UK.
My name is Fanny Plaisance. I am from east of France and, for the past three years, I lived in Dayton, OH. I have a bachelor degree in Graphic Design & Communication. I came to the USA because my husband works for a French Company in Dayton. This year, I started my own French Pastries business. I like baking, traveling, horseback riding, photography, interior design, theater, knitting, embroidering, pets, tea & latte.
After reaching a certain milestone birthday, Debbie Eaton decided to brush up on the two years of French she learned in high school in Indiana. She casually mentioned “Quickbooks” during a French class, and the next thing she knew, she was the Treasurer of the Alliance Francaise. Debbie is also an active volunteer at Refugee Resettlement and tries to use her French when talking to newly arrived immigrants. When not keeping the Alliance’s books current, Debbie can be found listening to the CSO at Music Hall, taking photos, or planning her next trip to Europe.
Bonjour! My name is Seyi Adeniji and I was born in Cleveland but grew up in Lagos, Nigeria. I am currently double majoring in International Business & French Studies at Xavier University. For about 13 years I attended a French school in Lagos where tuition was conducted in French and where I discovered my love for the language and culture as a whole. When I am not teaching and sharing my passion for French at the AF, I enjoy playing and watching soccer and ping pong and learning about computer technology.
Jacqueline Fournier has worked for Safran and is assimilated engineer since 2008.
She started teaching French n 2008 and loves it! She wants to thank all her students for their trust and tell them how much she enjoys sharing the French language and culture with all of them.
Cameron is from the Cincinnati area and obtained his Master's Degree in French Studies with a focus in foreign language teaching at the University of Cincinnati in 2022. Previous to his studies at UC, he was an English language teaching assistant in France from 2018 to 2020. During that time, he worked at the elementary and primary levels with the Académie of Dijon, and at the secondary level with the Académie of Martinique. In his free time, he enjoys learning new languages, running, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.
My Name is Nadia Leon. I come from Paris and after marriage, I moved to the United States in 2017. I have a son who is 3 years old. I studied sociology at the University of Paris. I worked as a nurse in France on different services like geriatric, oncology, surgery, pediatrics. During my vacation time whenever I visit Pondicherry (India), I used to teach French to the children and adults. I have always loved teaching French and sharing my knowledge with others. I like baking, traveling to different countries, cooking different kinds of food. I like to learn and explore diverse cultures and traditions. I am very happy to teach French in Alliance Française of Cincinnati.
Bonjour! I live in Northern Kentucky with my husband and two children. My mother is from Italy and so I developed a love of European culture and languages at a young age. I am a francophile at heart and I have a bachelor's degree in both French and International Studies from NKU. During my last semester in college, I lived in Montpellier, France and attended the Universite de Paul Valery. I decided to teach French upon returning home, and so I went on to obtain a Master's in Teaching from NKU. In the early 2000s I taught French at the high school level for 6 years and worked at the Alliance Francaise of Cincinnati as the director of the Institute and a French language teacher. I love cooking and opened an Italian cafe and bakery for a few years and now I enjoy cooking at home for my family. I am so happy to be reconnecting with the Alliance Francaise of Cincinnati to share my love for the French language and culture.
Born near Paris, Patricia calls Saint-Briac-sur-Mer home, on the northern coast of Bretagne, where she was fortunate to spend her summers growing up. At seventeen, she came to Carson-Newman University, TN, on a tennis scholarship. What started as a one-year cultural immersion turned into 35+ years of blessed professional and personal memories in the United States! Following a successful Corporate Finance career with Procter & Gamble, Patricia, a mother of 3, worked as a freelance consultant to spend more time with family. Now a part-owner of Altix Consulting, an international boutique management consulting firm, she is thrilled to start her 4th year teaching at the Alliance Française: a perfect avenue to feed her natural passion for teaching and helping others while at the same time share her love of French language, history, and culture with her students.
Hi, I’m Céline!I’m French and I taught English in France (high and middle school) for 19 years.Currently I live in Cincinnati with my husband and my two children. My daughter, Amber, is 12 and a half, and my son, Robin, is 9. It is not the first time I’ve lived in the USA. When I was a kid, I lived in Washington DC with my parents and my elder sister. I also lived in England for a year when I was a young adult. I was a French assistant there for high and middle school students. I like dancing a lot; I go to Dancefix classes in Blue Ash twice a week.
Janhavi is from Cincinnati and has recently completed her bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience with a minor in French from the Ohio State University. During her time there, she has been involved in the French and Italian department as a French tutor, worked as a project assistant in the Center for Languages, Literature, and Cultures, and participated in a study abroad program in Paris this past summer. In her free time, she enjoys reading, running, and traveling. Janhavi hopes to return to France soon and perhaps continue her education there!
Bonjour! I was born in Brussels, Belgium, reared in a Flemish/French bilingual family and environment. In 1977, I graduated as a Dutch, English, and German Teacher as Second Languages and started my teaching career as a French teacher. I live in the States since the 80’s. I became a Foreign Language Education Consultant in Louisiana, supervising teachers from Belgium, France, Quebec, and the United States. I created a French Immersion Program in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and I also co-wrote the Louisiana French as a Second Language State Curriculum Guide. I have taught Math, Science, Social studies, and English Language Arts in a French Immersion Program for The Cincinnati Public Schools. I obtained my B.S in Elementary Education from Xavier University, Cincinnati, in 1992 and a Masters in French Civilization and Literature from the University of Cincinnati (UC) in 1998. Retired from public education in 2011, I taught one semester at Xavier University. I’ve been teaching from 2012 until the present for the Alliance Française de Cincinnati and served as Institute Director from 2012 to 2014. I’m serving as a Board Member for the AF Cincinnati since 2020.
Finally, I have also been a drummer/percussionist for the local Cajun-Zydeco, New-Orleans Trad jazz band “Lagniappe” from 1992 to the present.