Our instructors have experience teaching French as a second language to students of all ages, and have completed advanced degrees in French language and literature studies. They bring native speaking capabilities to the classroom and have been fully immersed in the language while studying and working abroad in France.
Shieva is American-Iranian. Growing up in a bilingual environment, she was drawn to study languages at university. She has a BA in
French Language and Literature as well as a MA and PhD in French Didactics.
Shieva has been teaching French for over 15 years in language institutes such as Gotbe Ravandi, CLF (Language Center of the French Embassy
in Iran) and also the University of Tehran. Other than the didactic training courses in the academic curricula, she has regularly
attended training programs provided by the cultural section of the French Embassy in Tehran (CLF) and also at the Applied Linguistic
Center in Besancon, France. Shieva is also a DELF/DALF and TCF examiner. In addition to her teaching experience, she has had the
opportunity to work for embassies of multiple francophone countries as a fulltime translator/interpreter. Shieva enjoys good company,
traveling, yoga, reading and movies. In her spare time, she makes miniatures, colored pencil or pastel drawings.
Contact Shieva at sghassemi@afkc.org
Kerry Miller has been teaching at AFKC since 2020. She has a BA in French and an MSEd in education from the
University of Pennsylvania.
She also studied Spanish, Latin and linguistics.
She was a French teacher in Indianapolis and at Highlawn Montessori School in Prairie Village.
Kerry
studied in Rennes with the School Year Abroad program.
Contact Kerry at: kmiller@afkc.org
Jean-Louis was born in Casablanca and studied in Paris (HEC, Sorbonne). His career took him to Asia, Latin America, and the United
States, working for various French companies. His wife, Julie, is from Kansas City, and they have three adult children (Emilie, Matthew,
and Nicolas), as well as a dog and a cat (Lola and Louis). For the past four years, he has been involved with the Alliance Française de
Kansas City. He has a passion for literature, history, painting, cinema, Brazilian popular music, gastronomy, and Loire Valley wines.
Contact Jean-Louis at: jlbruyere@afkc.org
Christopher is from Overland Park, Ks and has been studying French for over 13 years. His love for the French language started
when he took his first French class in high school where the passion and devotion of his French teacher, Madame Gehr, inspired him to
learn as much as he could. His goal as a teacher is to one day instill that same curiosity and enthusiasm in his own students. He has a
BS in Computer Science and a BA in Linguistics with a focus on French phonetics from the University of Kansas, and he is also currently
preparing to take the TCF and DALF exams. Alongside French, he can speak Korean and Spanish while also learning Mandarin Chinese,
Japanese, and German. When he's not learning foreign languages, Christopher enjoys trying new foods, playing basketball, and reading
novels.
Contact Chris at: cgustanto@afkc.org
Danielle Monty-Mara brings more than 20 years of global leadership experience to the Alliance Française de Kansas City (AFKC). Prior
to relocating to Kansas City, Danielle was Vice President of the Alliance Française Maseru board in Lesotho. Her professional work across
Africa has been deeply interwoven with French language and culture. In each country she lived in, Danielle was a dedicated member of the
local Alliance Française or Institut Français. She and her son benefited enormously from the rich cultural programming, bibliothèques,
and médiathèques in places such as Conakry, Ouagadougou, Dakar, Lusaka, Kinshasa, Yaoundé, Douala, Gaborone, Maseru, and Johannesburg.
Danielle’s passion for cultural exchange and community engagement continues in Kansas City, where she applies a globally informed
perspective to foster connection and learning within AFKC. She is committed to strengthening AFKC’s role in enriching our community through
the French language, arts, and cultural understanding.
Contact Danielle at: dmonty-mara@afkc.org
Born in Paris, Isabelle Baron spent much of her childhood between the south of France and Corsica.
Isabelle is a certified teacher with the French national education system and currently teaches at the elementary level at Lafayette
Academy. In addition to her work in education, she is actively involved in theater and performs with a local troupe.
Passionate about theater and film, she loves traveling and exploring different cultures. Meeting people from diverse backgrounds and
discovering new cultures is what truly motivates her in life. Teaching French allows her to share her language, its history, and its
civilization—an invaluable gateway to discovering and understanding other cultures.
Contact Isabelle at: ibaron@afkc.org
