Meet our team!
Julie Ripoll
Executive Director
Julie Ripoll moved to California, with her family, in 2012 after living in Austin, Texas. She went to UCSD to learn more about fundraising and development while volunteering in various organizations related to education or social justice. She worked at San Diego French American School, then opened her company “San Diego, c’est beau!” which helped newcomers settle in the Finest City of America and showed tours with historical and architectural sights.
Prior to living in San Diego, she worked as a computer scientist at Marine Nationale, at Mairie de Mougins as a geographical information analyst, and was elected in the city of Pegomas as a councilwoman. Julie Ripoll holds a Master of Law, Economics and Gestion from Université de Paris Sorbonne I, and an MBA from Institut des Administration des Entreprises de Paris (IAE).
She enjoys going on a walk or watching a movie with her family, and making her own sourdough bread or baguettes in her free time.
Annie Bergman
Educational Director
French native speaker Annie moved to San Diego in 2017 and started teaching French as a Foreign Language to different publics, in face-to-face or online, private or group classes.(Cavilam Certification – Alliance Française de Vichy).
Previously, she worked at the Continuing Education Center of Grenoble Alpes University for 10 years. She started as a Counselor advising students, employees, and businesses in search of new qualifications and skills and collaborating with university professors in developing new curricula to meet business needs. For the last 2 years, she was at the head of the Counseling Service. (« Chargé d’Animation et d’Ingénierie en Formation Continue » - Public Service examination).
In her new role within the Alliance Française, Annie develops and evaluates curricula, teaching procedures, and educational materials. She will also assist you in finding the perfect teacher that can help you progress in your journey with the French language.
Laurence de Valmy
Cultural Coordinator
Laurence de Valmy is French-born and has been living in the USA for nine years. After an MBA at Paris Dauphine and a career in marketing, she decided to dedicate herself to her passion and became a professional artist in 2016.
Laurence's primary mediums are watercolors, oils, and acrylics, and she teaches art classes in a private studio and at the Alliance Francaise.
In her artistic practice, she combines her interest in art history and painting to invite us to reflect on the place of social media for artists. Her artwork is represented by galleries based in New York, London, and France.
Passionate about culture, she gives art lectures and writes for her blog The Curious Frenchy, and art publications.
Perrine Dellicour
Certificate Coordinator
Perrine is a Belgian native French speaker and arrived in San Diego in January 2023.
She always enjoyed traveling while discovering new cultures, this is one of the main reasons why she decided to work abroad as a French teacher.
Perrine have extensive experience with teaching French in Europe and internationally. For example, already during her studies, she volunteered for a semester in Mexico to teach French in preschool.
After obtaining her Master degree in French as a Foreign Language (FLE) from the university of Brussels, Perrine had her first experience teaching French at the French Institute - Alliance Française of New York City (FIAF).
She continued to explore the French Culture while pursuing her career in Europe, in Paris and in Belgium, where she taught to children, teenagers, and adults, from beginners to advanced speakers, including various schools and enterprises.
In collaboration with the Alliance Française of Brussels-Europe, she obtained all the DELF, DALF and TCF certifications between 2019 and 2022.
Perrine has now settled down in California, where in addition to teaching French at the Alliance Française of San Diego, she is also managing the Certifications department.
Cameron Lupton
Digital Marketing Intern
Cameron Lupton is a senior in high school and she will be attending Loyola Marymount University in the fall. She is going to be majoring in theater arts to become an actress and she is planning on minoring in French. She is very interested in the film industry and also wants to continue studying French. She previously attended the San Diego French American school from 2 to 13 years old and has been studying French ever since. In college, Cameron hopes to study abroad in Paris and then eventually move there for a few years after graduation. Cameron also loves traveling, horseback riding, archery, acting, and skiing.
Frank Finch
Educational Coordinator
Frank Finch moved to San Diego in the Winter of 2022. A passionate francophile, Frank has lived and studied in Metz and Lille, in France, and in Montréal, Québec. While completing his MA in French Studies at Virginia Tech, he was also an instructor of undergraduate French. Frank has previously worked as a legal translator from French to English.
Frank is deeply interested in second-language pedagogy, linguistic diversity in the Francophone world, and art history. He is motivated to put these passions into the service of the residents of San Diego as Educational Coordinator of the Alliance Française.
He plays harpsichord in a chamber music group and enjoys discovering Francophone cinema in his free time. Frank is currently studying the work of Jean-Philippe Rameau.
