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.
While in France, she worked as a computer scientist at the Marine Nationale, as a geographical information analyst at the Town Hall of Mougins, and was elected in the city of Pegomas as a councilwoman. Julie Ripoll holds a Master of Law, Economics and Management from the University of Paris Sorbonne I, and an MBA from the Paris Institute of Business Administration (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.
Laurence de Valmy
Director of Cultural Affairs
Laurence de Valmy is French-born and has been living in the USA since 2013. She holds a Master of Economics & Management from the University of Paris Dauphine, and an MBA from the Aix Institute of Business Administration (IAE).
Alongside her training and career in marketing, she practiced painting and studied art history at the Ecole du Louvre. In 2016, she decided to dedicate herself to her passion and became a professional artist.
Laurence's primary mediums are watercolors, oils, and acrylics, and she teaches art classes in a private studio and at the Alliance Française. Her artwork is represented in art galleries in the USA, UK and France.
Passionate about art history and culture, she gives art lectures and writes for her blog The Curious Frenchy, and art publications. She is a wikipedia contributor on a mission to enrich biographies of women artists.​
In addition to teaching, Laurence is in charge of the communication, and the coordination of the events of the AFSD.
Perrine Dellicour
Certificate Coordinator
Perrine is a Belgian native French speaker who arrived in San Diego in January 2023.
She enjoys traveling while discovering new cultures, which led her to decide to work abroad as a French teacher.
Perrine has extensive experience with teaching French internationally.
After obtaining her Master degree in French as a Foreign Language (FLE) from the university of Brussels, Perrine taught 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 San Diego, she manages the Certifications department.