Meet The Teachers

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

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 a PhD in French Didactics.
Shieva has been teaching French for over 18 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 didactics 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 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

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

Michael was born and raised in Ethiopia and brings a rich international background to the classroom. He holds a BA in Language Sciences and an MA in Linguistics and French as a Foreign Language from Université de Rouen, as well as an MS in Multidisciplinary Studies from State University of New York at Buffalo. He also earned his teaching certification through Moreland University.Michael began his teaching career at Lycée Franco-Éthiopien Guebre-Mariam, where he had previously completed his own elementary and secondary education. He also taught French as a Foreign Language at Alliance Ethio-Française d’Addis-Abeba, working with students from beginner (A1) to advanced (C2) levels and serving as a DELF/DALF examiner.Before moving to Kansas City, Michael taught French at the International Community School of Addis Ababa. He is currently a French Immersion teacher at Académie Lafayette’s Oak Campus. Passionate about language learning and cultural exchange, Michael is dedicated to helping learners develop confidence, curiosity, and a lifelong appreciation for the French language and Francophone cultures.
Contact Isabelle at: madem@afkc.org

Jacob Hendrix is a Lecturer of French and Academic Program Associate at the University of Kansas, where he has taught since 2017. He completed his Masters, in French and Francophone Studies, at the University of Kansas in 2019, receiving the David Dinneen Award for Pedagogical Excellence in 2019, and the Medieval and Early Modern Studies Certificate in 2020. He teaches beginning- and intermediate-level French, as well as advanced French grammar. He has taught accelerated French language acquisition courses through a partnership between the Language Training Center at the University of Kansas and the Command and General Staff College (CGSC) in Leavenworth, Kansas. He has also submitted chapter material to Le Pont, an open educational resource (OER) that focuses on developing French language skills from the intermediate levels to the advanced levels and increasing knowledge of francophone cultures.
Contact Jacob at: jhendrix@afkc.org

Moctar, originally from Senegal, has recently moved to Kansas City after two years in Denver, Colorado. He holds his Bachelor and Master’s degree in engineering and Career Education Teaching License. As a dedicated teacher and community leader, he has taught French and design to high-school students and professional for the past seven years. He is passionate about culture and science. He also likes to travel and learn languages. Moctar enjoys hanging out with friends, designing architectural drawing, playing basketball and meeting new people.
Contact Moctar at: mdiaw@afkc.org