Isabelle was born in Versailles and raised in Lyon. She moved to the Kansas City metro area in 2011 with her husband and
their four children, who are now grown and living far away. Before settling in Shawnee, her family lived in several places around the
world, including France, Morocco, Taiwan, and Cupertino, California.
Isabelle is a pharmacist and also holds a master’s degree in management. Throughout her career, she has also led several nonprofit
organizations in France and in the USA. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and skiing—especially in the beautiful mountains of
Colorado, but also painting and reading.
iguglielmi@afkc.org
Joseph is a writer, educator, father, husband, and dedicated francophile. A three-time US Fulbright Scholar (in philosophy, political science, and sociology), he has taught and conducted research in Berlin, Prague, Bucharest, Lodz, Brno, and Maastricht. Lewandowski is the author, most recently, of On Boxing: Critical Interventions in the Bittersweet Science. His work in political theory, sport, and urban culture has been published widely and translated into German, Polish, and Czech. An avid pugilist, theatre aficionado, and inveterate traveler, Lewandowski is pleased to serve as a member of the board of the Alliance Française de Kansas City.
Française, aux Etats Unis depuis 1999, et à Kansas City depuis 2010. Consule Honoraire pour la France a Kansas City depuis 2019.
Dr. Kathy Krause earned her PhD in Romance languages at the University of Pennsylvania and is Emerita Professor of French and Medieval Studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where she taught French language, literature and culture for over 30 years. While at UMKC, she founded their summer study abroad program in Lyon, France. She also served as the Chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, and director of both the Women’s and Gender Studies and Medieval and Early Modern Studies programs at various times. In retirement, she continues her research and writing on topics related to women and medieval French literature and manuscripts, and has branched out recently to examine the role of French women in the founding of Kansas City. She is pleased to be able to serve on the Board of the Alliance Française de Kansas City to help share her love of the French language, French history and French culture.
Originally from Bordeaux, France, I moved to Kansas City two years ago. Passionate about culture and community, I volunteer with the Alliance Française to help organize events and support communications. My goal is to help share and celebrate French culture in the heart of the Midwest!
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.
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. If you have any questions about language learning or have restaurant recommendations please feel free to reach out at cgustanto@afkc.org
We want everyone in the greater Kansas City area who shares our passion for speaking, learning and playing in French to join our community
and enjoy our French programs and events. Become a member of Alliance Française de Kansas City
for exclusive offers, member events, discounts and more.
