Eléonore Le Corvaisier - Teacher & AFA School Coordinator
Eléonore was born and raised in Paris. She has a Master's in English Studies from the Sorbonne. Eléonore moved to the United States to attend the University of Illinois, where she was a teaching assistant in French for three years. She has been living in Austin since 2011 and teaching at the Alliance Francaise since 2017.
She is working at the Alliance Francaise because she loves meeting motivated students of all ages and backgrounds, and accompanying them as they grow into competent speakers and culture savvy travelers. Her work is done when the students can make bilingual jokes.
When she is not teaching Eleonore enjoys spelunking with fellow Texas cavers, hiking, gardening and reading.
Elisabeth Vedrine - Teacher
Elisabeth was born and raised in Paris. She studied at L’Ecole Nationale Supérieur des Beaux Arts de Paris before moving to Austin, Texas in 1991.
She later relocated, first to Grand Rapids Michigan and later Seattle, Washington. She spent more than a decade teaching art and French to schoolchildren as part of an after-school program. She also served as a French instructor for Inlingua, the French immersions program for employees of Motorola, and has worked as a private tutor. In 2013, Élisabeth returned to Texas and joined the Alliance Française of Austin. Élisabeth has worked with students of all ages. Quick to laugh, she has a wonderful sense of humour which she brings to the classroom knowing that fun is a key element for learning. She leads conversation classes for A1 students and pronunciation classes for all levels.
Élisabeth loves cooking healthy foods, spending time outdoors enjoying nature and abstract painting.
Maryvonne Le Guilly - Teacher, Cafe Conversation & Scholarship Lead
Maryvonne was born and raised in Cholet, Francein the Loire Valley. She studied Liberal Arts and Foreign languages (English, Spanish) at the University in Nantes. She furthered her studies at ACC and the University of Texas.
She embraces travel to other countries discovering different cultures and languages. Her travels have taken her to Spain, Italy, Madagascar,Germany, England, Netherland, Belguim, Switzerland, Mexico, Costa Rica and Canada. Maryvonne says, “Through my travels, I have learned the importance of communication, tolerance and patience having the opportunity to practice the languages I have studied.” She has been teaching all levels of French and the culture of France to adults and children at Alliance Francaise for thirteen years. She finds it so rewarding when her students travel to France and come back saying proudly that they were able to communicate with the locals.
When not traveling or teaching, Maryvonne enjoys jogging, cycling, hiking and swmming.
Julia Podgorsek - Workshop Instructor & Cine-Club Director
Julia was born and raised in a parisian banlieue called Créteil. She graduated in 2013 from the Sorbonne Nouvelle with a Master's Degree in English and Film. In fall 2014, she moved to Austin and one year later created the Alliance Française Ciné-Club and started working at the Alliance as a French and Literature teacher. She's deeply involved in making French and Francophone culture accessible to people by shedding a different light on it. She also loves figuring out the learning process of each of her students and adapting her teaching methods to them.
When she doesn't share her love for French and Film, she focuses on her passions for dancing and drumming.
Nabila Fouchal - Teacher
Nabila was born and grew up in Algeria and has Berber origin. From a very young age, she showed an interest in learning languages. Nabila got her first Bachelor's degree in French in 2009 from Mouloud Mammeri University, Algeria, afterwards she went to the Sorbonne University in France where she got a second Bachelors degree in Didactic of French as a Foreign Language and then a Masters Degree in Didactic of French Languages and graduated in 2013.
Nabila started her teaching career as an intern at Sorbonne University, where she taught the DULF Program (Diplome Universitaire de Langue Francaise) for International Students.
Nabila also taught Arabic for Children and Adults for over 3 years. After she regained her home country in 2013, she started working as a French teacher in Primary and High School. In 2015, she moved to Austin and Joined Education Française of Austin in 2019.
Nabila spends most of her spare time with her two sweetheart children and also loves cooking especially Berber food.
Gilbert Seraphin Kond - Teacher & AFA Event Moderator
Gilbert is originally from Cameroon. He came to Austin recently by way of Brazil. Gilbert has a degree in management and a passion for languages and has been teaching French and math for 15 years.
He is an avid sports fan and also loves scrabble, reading and travels. He is now leading AFA’s Salon de Conversation and Club de Lecture events.
Serge Brethe - Teacher
Serge Brethe was born and raised in Paris, France. He has a Master's in English from Tulane and a PhD in poetry from the Sorbonne. During his first years in Austin, he taught French literature at the Ecole Francaise d'Austin, then became an English Composition teacher at ACC, and has been so for 25 years. He has been teaching French for Travelers at Alliance Francaise for 5 years now and relishes this opportunity to share his travel tips and bonnes adresses with students.
When he is not teaching, Serge enjoys reading and writing poetry, swimming a Deep Eddy's, riding his bike and traveling the world.
Isabelle Sambuis - Teacher
Originally from the Paris area, Isabelle studied Law in the University of Paris 10 Nanterre and has a Master’s degree in Human Resources Management from the Institute of Gestion Sociale.
Later, she bought her forever home in Provence, right next to the Auguste Renoir Museum. She loves reminiscing about the beaches of the French Riviera and the song of the cicadas. In 2010, Isabelle moved to the United States with her husband and 3 children.
There, she started teaching French at the Alliance Francaise of Dallas and got the DELF PRIM Certification (Diploma in French Language Studies-Children) from the French Agency for International Matters in the Field of Education (CIEP).
After relocating to Austin, she spent another 3 years teaching French at Education Francaise of Austin. She also helps high schoolers prepare for the AP French Test. In 2019, she proudly became a US citizen.
Her students describe her as determined and supportive, as she continuously strives for greater achievements. When she doesn’t teach French, she loves to stretch out her legs in yoga, show off her dance moves in Zumba classes, and draw in pastels.
Isabelle can’t wait to introduce you to the beauty of the French language.
Shanin’ Smith - Administrative Assistant
Shanin’ Smith recently joined as us our Administrative Assistant. Shanin’ has worked creatively over the last 30 years as a caterer, band manager, event planner and personal assistant along with raising two boys. She is, currently, a yoga teacher and has numerous public classes around Austin. She loves cinema and supporting the Austin Film Society.