Meet Our Team

AFDC Staff

• Sarah DILIGENTI

  Executive Director - Sarah DILIGENTI

  Sarah comes from a multicultural and multilingual family. She spent her childhood in the West Indies and arrived in Toulouse, France at age 6. She was educated in France and obtained an LLM in International Law in 1986 and a Master of Philosophy in Political Science at the University of Toulouse. Her thesis in 1988 covered History, War, and Cinema. She also passed two National Certifications to Teach French (1992) and English (1993) at the High School and University levels.

  Sarah moved to the US in 1995. She joined the Alliance in 2004 as a teacher, then in 2005 as Academic and Deputy Director, and finally in 2013 as Executive Director.

  Sarah is a 1984 Young Poet Laureate of the Académie des Jeux Floraux. She has published poems in anthologies in France and in the US and was invited to submit a text for a book written by 100 authors, published in October 2017 in Beirut, Lebanon. She is currently preparing to publish her first poetry chapbook for Fall 2018 and is writing a series of short stories as well as her first novel.

  She was a Founding Director of Word Fest, the Annual DC International Poetry Festival and sat on its Board from 2001 to 2006. Sarah was invited on the Diane Rehm Show in 2009 to speak about The Elegance of the Hedgehog, a literary phenomenon in France.

  She was president of Washington Accueil Association, -an association dedicated to helping French and francophone expatriates coming to live in the Greater Washington area- from 1998 to 2000 and founded a book club in 1997, “Avid Readers in DC” to introduce American Literature to French expatriates, which she managed until 2014.

  In January 2017, Sarah was made a Knight in the Order of the Academic Palms, the oldest non-military distinction of the French Republic. Presented by the French Ministry of Education, it recognizes those who have rendered eminent service to French education and have contributed actively to the prestige of French culture. Sarah was recognized specifically for her continuous efforts in the promotion of the French language and to her commitment to grow the Alliance Française D.C. as the premier French Cultural and Language Center in the Nation’s Capital.

  director@francedc.org

• Ameneh MADJLESSI

  Deputy and Academic Director - Ameneh MADJLESSI

  Originally from Iran, Ameneh learned the French language at the age of 3 in Belgium where her father was a diplomat. After doing a BA in French/Persian Translation and interpretation in Tehran, she obtained a Master 2 FLE (French as a Foreign Language) from the Université Stendhal in Grenoble, France. She moved back to Iran after her Master’s. She founded her own private language school and linguistic lab in Tehran and taught French at all levels. She also worked as a French Instructor and Administrator at the Service de Coopération et d’Action Culturelle (Cultural Services) of the French Embassy in Tehran. In 2004, she moved to DC and started work as a teacher at Alliance Francaise of Washington in September 2005 until November 2013. She also taught French at the World Bank from 2006 to 2016; she was an Adjunct Professor at George Washington University from 2010 to 2016 and has been adjunct Lecturer at Georgetown University since September 2015. She came back to AFDC in October 2016 as Deputy and Academic Director.

  academic.director@francedc.org 

• Kelsey HAMMER

  Director of Library Programs - Kelsey HAMMER

  Originally hailing from Colorado, Kelsey has been in the AFDC Library for the past 6+ years. A lifelong lover of books and libraries, Kelsey worked in the University of Denver’s library all throughout undergrad before joining the AF Library in DC. With degrees in French, Criminology, and a minor in International Studies, being a part of the AFDC has been a great compliment to her studies. Recent favorite reads include Soleil by David Bouchet. When not reading, you can find Kelsey exploring any number of used book stores and trying to befriend as many dogs and cats as possible.

  library@francedc.org

• Natasha ZAVADSKAIA

  Director of Cultural Programs & Social Media - Natasha ZAVADSKAIA

  Originally from Russia, Natasha studied and worked in Paris for three years before moving to the United States in the summer of 2017. She received a Master’s degree in International Relations and Interpreting in Russia, as well a Master’s in International Affairs and Intercultural Communication at the Université Paris Nanterre. Natasha has been teaching and tutoring Russian, English and French for many years, and traveled a lot among Russia, Finland and France before settling down in Washington. She is very grateful for the opportunity to maintain her ties with French culture and language. When not at work, Natasha is fond of chatting over a cup of tea (and a couple of croissants), going off to discover a new place or visit old friends, skiing, or trying out a new recipe.

• Jessy VERGER

  Certifications & Private Classes Coordinator - Jessy VERGER

  Jessy Verger has an extensive experience in teaching French and Francophone culture to foreigners.

  Jessy was born and raised in Normandy, France. After obtaining a B.A. in French Modern Literature, she received her B.A. in FLE (French as a Foreign Language) and later her Master 2 in FLE from the university of Rouen.

  Jessy had her first experience teaching French as a foreign language to her foreign classmates to help them navigate the campus and later volunteered to the International Relations Office of her university.

  While completing her Master, she taught French at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.  She continued teaching French language while exploring  new places as she taught at Leeds University, United Kingdom.

  She taught adults and diplomats from embassies and government agencies at the Alliance Française of Ottawa, Canada. She arrived in the United States in 2011 and worked both with children and adults at the Alliance Française of Washington DC. She also taught for 5 years at the Washington International School and for 2 years at the Yokosuka Middle School, Japan. She came back to the Alliance Francaise of Washington DC in October 2019 as a teacher and a Certifications Officer.

  coordinator@francedc.org

  certifications@francedc.org

• Liz NUTI

  Controller - Liz NUTI

  Liz Nuti graduated from George Washington University with a BBA. She is the Founder and President of Accounting and Tax Solutions, Inc. She is an an EA (Enrolled Agent) and has years of experience as an IRS registered tax preparer. Liz's dog is a Bichon frisé whose name is Bisous (Kisses in French).

• Wissam El Bouzdaini

  Youth Programs Senior Coordinator - Wissam EL BOUZDAINI

  Born and raised in Morocco, Wissam is originally a journalist and has been a proud member of the Alliance Française’s team since May 2018 first as faculty and now as Part-Time Senior Coordinator for the Youth Programs.

  Even though Moroccan Arabic is his native language, at heart he is a Francophone and a Francophile and elected to study and work in French. He holds a first master’s degree in Corporate Communications Management and a second master’s degree in Media Economics & Management.

  children@francedc.org

• Tatiana BIENVENU

  Executive Administrative Assistant - Tatiana BIENVENU

  Tatiana was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Being Russian on her mother's side and Cajun French on her father's side, she had a strong connection to the cultures and languages at an early age. She learned English and Russian from birth and started French Immersion as a toddler until she graduated high school. She graduated from American University with a BA in Communications, Legal Institutions, Economics and Government as well as French and Russian Translation Certificates. She is currenlty pusuing her MPA at her alma mater AU. During her undergraduate studies, Tatiana has also interned in Congress, the Office of Language Services at the State Department, and at the Embassy of France. She first joined AFDC in 2019 as Saturday Receptionist and has been working full-time at AFDC as an Administrative and Executive Assistant since Spring 2021. When she is not working or studying, Tatiana enjoys running, discovering new parks, baking, and getting lost in boutiques (particularly fashion and shoe shops!)

• Anta GUEYE

  Saturday Receptionist - Anta GUEYE

  Anta was born in Virginia but grew up in Senegal, -where she first learned French-, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Although she prefers Senegalese cuisine, Congolese music is one of her favorite things to dance to. Having just graduated from William & Mary with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and French, she joined the AFDC with hopes of keeping up with her French. While in college, she studied abroad in Montpellier and had the opportunity to meet and conduct a research project on a local contemporary artist, Abdelkader Benchamma. Not only is she an art lover who enjoys visiting museums and taking her own photographs, but she also loves to read.