About Us

Vanina Joulin-Batejat is an international jurist with two master’s degrees in intellectual property law and Contract law and ABD doctoral studies in consumer law, author, and literary activist driven by one enduring question: how do we find, and create meaning? She relocated to the United States in 2007, founding a business to support the French-speaking community through immigration, entrepreneurship, and career reinvention.

Since 2023, she has channeled that same passion into writing that gives voice to those who live between worlds, cultures, and versions of themselves: her works include À la recherche du sens perdu and Réussir aux USA (Éditions Gereso), plus contributions to fiction and poetry collections. She is also a proud and devoted mother of two teenagers, her greatest adventure of all. Her motto: He who does not doubt acquires little (Leonardo Da Vinci)

Alain Rolland, originally from Brittany, lives in San Diego, California, with his wife, their three sons, and four grandchildren. He holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree as well as a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences. He has worked for three decades in the United States in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. He enjoys music and painting, which he practices as an amateur, as well as reading and writing historical and adventure novels. Scuba diving, hiking, and traveling are also among his interests.

His first historical novel, Six Ans d’Absence, traces the journey of a Breton soldier during World War II. Inspired by real events and the odyssey of the author’s father, it was published by Éditions Spinelle (Paris). Its English version, Six Years of Absence, is available on several platforms, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Google. He is currently seeking a literary agent for his contemporary English-language thriller, The Sphinx Cipher, grounded in historical mysteries and modern science.

Vinciane Van Moer holds a PhD in French literature. Her research focuses on the work of French writer Hervé Guibert, as well as on autofiction, intermediality and otherness. Originally from Belgium and with Congolese roots, her personal and professional journey has been deeply shaped by the intersection of languages and cultures. After spending several years in Spain, she now lives in San Diego, where she is a lecturer and the academic coordinator of the French program at UC San Diego. Through her teaching, she seeks to convey not only the French language but also the richness and diversity of Francophone cultures.

Convinced that learning a language fosters greater understanding and acceptance of others and promotes dialogue between cultures, she places cultural openness, curiosity, and mutual understanding at the heart of her teaching approach.

Catherine Goldschmidt, a passionate traveler and devoted mother, has called California home since 2013, though she divides her time between France and Quebec. With two decades of experience as a writer, journalist, and consultant specializing in gaming and family life, she has contributed extensively to Quebec’s leading media outlets.

While she is the author of numerous columns and the charming picture book Le bisou (Dominique et compagnie), Catherine now devotes herself exclusively to crafting children’s literature and novels.

Sylvie Almeri brings extensive expertise to the board, serving as a pillar of the organization's financial health. She is dedicated to the logistical success of Francophone cultural initiatives throughout Southern California.

Originally from the small town of Guérande in Loire-Atlantique, Laurence Denié-Higney has been a Senior Continuing Lecturer in French and Francophone Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles since 2020. She holds a doctorate in International Relations from the University of Nantes (France) as well as a PhD in Francophone Literature from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Her research and teaching focus on a range of topics related to pedagogy and second-language acquisition—particularly French as a foreign language and hybrid instruction—as well as the work of Algerian writer Mohammed Dib. She teaches courses in professional French, integrating intercultural competence into her instruction, and enjoys encouraging her students to put their newly acquired skills into practice. She has also published several articles on the work of Mohammed Dib and on pedagogy.

Since 2022, Laurence Denié-Higney has served as Director of the UCLA Center for the Study of Global France. The Center is part of a national network of centers of excellence supported by the French Embassy. Its mission is to support the teaching of the French language and to promote French and Francophone cultures. She organizes conferences and other events for UCLA students as well as for the wider Francophile community in Los Angeles.

In 2025, she joined the Board of Directors of the Alliance Française of Los Angeles, where she continues to share her passion for teaching French and Francophone cultures.

Corinne Cotereau is a novelist and painter. With a dual master’s degree in international business law, she worked as a lawyer and then as a lobbyist for French airlines in Paris and Brussels before devoting herself to creative writing. Her first novel, Providence Canyon (Albin Michel, 2024), won the Notre Temps Readers’ Prize in 2025. Her work explores themes of territory, memory, and internal displacement. Her second novel, Faire avec, expands on these themes in a story set in France.

Represented by the Le Monte-Charge culturel agency, she currently divides her time between France and California. Her visual art extends the themes explored in her novels and establishes a dialogue between writing and imagery.

A true icon of La Jolla, Ann Craig is a passionate philanthropist whose lifelong devotion to arts, culture, and diversity shines through her leadership on the boards of the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library and the La Jolla Historical Society. Her profound love story with France began in 1960 during her studies at the Sorbonne, where she met her late husband, Roger, sparking a lifetime of near-annual journeys to her favorite country alongside family and friends.

For thirty years, Ann shared this passion as a dedicated educator, fostering deep intercultural bonds by teaching the French language and organizing meaningful exchange programs for generations of children. Today, her home remains a warm sanctuary for the Francophone community, hosting weekly French conversation groups and maintaining close, enduring friendships that cross the Atlantic every week.

As a beautiful embodiment of French elegance and generous community spirit, Ann lives by a philosophy that is deeply defined by the soul of France, a life we celebrate as she raises a glass of Champagne to cultural unity.