OFFICIAL BALLOT - ELECTION OF DIRECTORS 2022

Members may vote for the matter proposed below either online, in person, or by signing and returning the Official Ballot received in your mailing of Le Courrier to the Alliance Française before the Annual Meeting. Five (5%) of the total voting membership present either online, in person, or by ballot at the Annual Meeting constitutes a quorum for the purposes of electing directors at the Annual Meeting. Please fill out the form below indicating a response for each director candidate.

Please note that currently serving “Class II Directors” (terms expiring in 2023) — Philip Barnes, Michelle Champlin Bergner, Carolee Lindsey, L. Pearce McCarthy, III, Caroline Sell, Chichi Steiner, and Jim Wallace — and “Class III Directors” (terms expiring in 2024) — Greg Anthony, Vincent Francoual, Corinne Lawrenz, Jeff Lundgren, Jacqueline Regis, Sofia Terzic, and Joanna Zawislak — will continue to serve as directors of the Alliance Française and are not being presented for election at this meeting.

Members may vote for, against, or abstain from voting for a nominee, or may vote for a “write-in candidate” of the Member’s choice by inserting their name where shown in the Ballot. No member may vote for fewer than or for more than seven directors for Class I.

ACTION: To elect each nominee named below as a Class I Director for a term expiring a the 2025 Annual Meeting of Members

Chris Holden

Chris Holden has spent the past 40 years learning French and Spanish and working as a language immersion teacher and administrator. Two influential French teachers set him on this path: Mme. Sydnes at Northfield High School in Northfield, MN, and Mme. Peters at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN. Their teaching inspired Chris to live and work in Marseille and Grenoble, France, after college. While in France, he worked at a homeless shelter, a language school, and as a Fulbright Teaching Assistant. When he returned to MN, he took a job at the newly created French immersion school in Edina, Normandale Elementary School. Looking for another cross-cultural experience, Chris and his wife Kelly moved to Asuncion, Paraguay, for two years where they taught at the American School of Asuncion. While there, he learned to speak Spanish, and when he returned to MN, he assumed the role of Principal at Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion School in Robbinsdale, MN. Chris's professional journey has now come full circle. He is currently the Principal at Normandale French Immersion Elementary School. He lives in St. Louis Park with his wife and three teenage children. All three of his children attended Park Spanish Immersion School in St. Louis Park, and find great joy in making fun of his Spanish accent.

Allison Lindberg

Allison Lindberg grew up in Rochester, Minnesota where she started studying French at the age of 11. She attended the University of Minnesota where she minored in French, studied abroad in Montpellier, France, and graduated in 2006. Returning to France in 2010 to teach English solidified her love for the language and culture and created the sense of a “second home”. Upon her re-entry to Minnesota in 2011, she visited the AF where she met Anna Scallon and became a volunteer. She first joined the Board of Directors in 2019 and has experience serving on the Programs, Bastille Day, Gala, and Development committees. Allison works full-time at the University of Minnesota Foundation as an Event Manager.

Romain Lorentz

Romain Lorentz was born and raised in France, near Orléans. He earned his J.D. from the Université d'Orléans, and his LL.M and Doctorate in Comparative Law from the Universités Panthéon-Sorbonne/Assas, where he taught American Law for a couple of years. Shortly after moving permanently to the Twin Cities in 2005, Romain joined the University of St Thomas Opus College of Business, where he still teaches Business Law. Romain has been involved with the AFMSP for over 20 years, as a member, a member of the Board of Directors between 2006 and 2013, and a volunteer (from reviving and hosting the ciné-club to emceeing the 2015 Gala). Very active in the French and French-speaking community, Romain has been the co-host of Bonjour Minnesota on KFAI radio for almost 5 years, and he currently serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Notre Ecole French Immersion and STEAM School in Golden Valley. Romain lives in Minneapolis with his wife Cory and their 15-year old daughter Chloé.

Mary E. Schaffner

Mary E. Schaffner is a corporate attorney with Wells Fargo Bank, with a particular interest and experience in nonprofit governance and fund raising as a result of her volunteer board service for a number of Twin Cities nonprofits. She served on AFMSP’s board from 2006-2012 at a critical transition time in AFMSP’s history and financial health. After her AFMSP board service, Mary worked on the AFMSP strategic plan and capital campaign that resulted in the move to AFMSP’s new facilities. Mary received her B.A. in French from the University of Michigan and her J.D. from the University of Notre Dame, where she worked her way through law school as a teaching assistant in Intermediate French in the undergraduate foreign languages department. Mary spent a magical year as a student at the Université d’Aix-Marseille and believes that Aix-en-Provence remains the most beautiful city in France. She has been a past AFMSP student and hopes to continue her French studies in the AFMSP’s new space. Mary is married to Robert Lee (another enthusiastic Francophile) and the exhausted mom of Jenny, their English Cocker puppy.

Isabelle Skoog

Isabelle Skoog is a French immersion educator and artist. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in Art History and French & Francophone studies, she got her Masters in Teaching from Hamline University. Isabelle is an artist who works primarily in ink and gouache. Based in Minneapolis, her interests in global travel, cultures, and history reflect strongly in her work. Isabelle travels to France every summer, mostly in the Landes region, to visit family and friends. She looks forward to continued French opportunities at the Alliance Française throughout the year.

Pamela Pappas Stanoch

Pamela Pappas Stanoch, since she was four years old, wanted to be a teacher, and on her first day of junior high fell in love with her French teacher, her French class and the language. Pam went on to study at the Sorbonne as an undergrad and in Angers as a graduate student. She became a French teacher out of college and taught for nine years in the Robbinsdale School District. She also has degrees in International Relations and a Masters in Intercultural Communications. Three things that have shaped her life are her family, dance, and her ability to speak French. It has led her to live in France on several occasions, to be a translator and interpreter in Rwanda, and to serve on the board of Books for Africa, securing books for les pays Francophone. Pam is currently the President and owner of Athena Group International, working with clients as they increase their presence in other parts of the world, and travels to France in that role. Pam’s other passion was her boutique, C’est Chic, a French boutique that has since closed but keeps her involved in the world of fashion in France. Pam has enjoyed her business relationship with the Alliance as well as speaking French at the boutique with many Alliance students who stop in. Pam welcomes the opportunity to bring on board young people to the AFMSP, to solicit participation from French students in high schools and Universities, and to work with the Alliance to encourage more involvement with other French speaking nations through an Ambassador program. Pam was originally elected to the Alliance board in 2019 and has served as Board Chair since 2021.

Mickael Sunell

Mickael Sunell was born and raised in France, where he lived in the southern region in the city of Montpellier until 2014. After receiving his Master of Laws degree from the University of Montpellier, he moved to Minneapolis to join his husband Casey, a Minnesota native and French major who he had previously met in Montpellier. Eager to keep in touch with French culture in his new home country, Mickael discovered the AFMSP, became a member and volunteered for various cultural events such as “Petit Dej” and “Bastille Day”. A proud advocate of French culture and language, he taught French to children as a Teaching Assistant for St. Paul Public Schools in 2015 and to adults as an AFMSP French Instructor in 2015 and 2016. He is currently a Manager at SAP, a multinational software company, and a business owner as a professional leadership and career coach. In his free time, Mickael enjoys traveling, Crossfit and spending time with his family and friends.

Write-In Candidate

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