“Every person can make a difference, and every person should try.”– John F. Kennedy |
WICE Volunteers WICE has been an all-volunteer organization since its founding in 1978. Simply put, WICE could not exist without a strong and active volunteer community. From the President and Board of Directors to our various team leaders and team members, each and every person who helps makes WICE run is a volunteer. This page serves to introduce our current volunteer community and acknowledge the stellar work they all do in making WICE the fantastic organization that it is. So please, meet the WICE volunteers . . . |  |
 | Terry Blount Terry is developing a culinary program for WICE, which will include wine and cheese tastings as well as cooking classes and other culinary activities. Terry worked for many years as a city planner and city manager, lastly in the US in California, where he lived for 22 years. He is originally from North Carolina. He came to Paris in 2021 to study French cuisine at Le Cordon Bleu and after working at a hotel near the Opera as part of his program is now retired full-time. He taught English as a foreign language in South Korea, Mexico and at the University of California-Los Angeles. He loves to travel, meet new people and explore new cultures. He loves to ski, go hiking and is up to try most any sporting adventure. |
 | Ellen Bryson Ellen runs WICE's Creative Writing program, and she is also the director of the forthcoming Paris Writers Workshop. Originally from Cleveland, OH, Ellen spend most of her early adult life in New York City as a professional dancer. She switched to creative writing in 1990, and began publishing novels in 2010 (her first being "The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuna"). She's lived in the Persian Gulf (Bahrain), in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and on both coasts of the U.S. She and her husband moved to Paris in July 2018 and immediately became a member of WICE. |
 | Gail Carline Gail teaches mahjong to beginners, and she hosts WICE mahjong games in her lovely 7th arrondissement apartment. Gail grew up in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, and was a Human Resources manager while working for Bell Laboratories (part of AT&T and Lucent) at Murray Hill, NJ, and Naperville, IL. She later moved to Bonita Springs, FL and worked as a Realtor in the Naples area. She has two children and two grandchildren, and spends most of the year in Paris. She loves the architecture, food, exploring neighborhoods and enjoying life with new friends. |
 | Julie Charvet Julie is a graphics designer who works with the WICE marketing team to produce our fabulous graphic products. Among other things, she designed the new WICE logo and website, and is a part of the creative team for the Paris Writers Workshop. A French freelance graphic designer based in Paris, Julie has been designing printed supports for children books publishers, companies, and city halls for more than 12 years. Before that she created her own fashion brand for babies, designing and trading textile accessories made in France with original patterns and colorful fabrics. Even before she had worked as Art Director for magazines dedicated to video gaming. She loves to travel with her husband and their two daughters, discovering the world and other cultures. She has been a WICE member and a volunteer since September 2020. |
 | Liz Chroman Liz is a facilitator of English Guided Discussions. Liz is the founder of Love of English, a company dedicated to helping people improve their lives by improving their English. The company includes language tutoring, a book series on American Idioms and online Business English courses. Prior to teaching, she spent 30 years working in Corporate America in marketing and project management. Liz Lives in Miami with her husband, Jason. She has two wonderful sons, both living in New York. She loves reading, learning new languages, and being at the beach. She lived in France for many years and misses it now! |
 | Bryan and Dominique Cossey Bryan and Dominique volunteer in WICE's administrative department. They manage the receipt and depositing of cheques from WICE members. Bryan is originally from England, and Dominique is a native Parisienne. In the U.K. they both had various roles in education, and on retirement
decided to spend more time in France. In 2021 they moved to Paris,
having been members of WICE since 2019.
They are fond of visiting museums and art galleries, as well as taking
motor tours. And they are particularly fond of visiting Menton, near the
Italian border. |
 | Brice Dardel Brice is a facilitator for the French Guided Discussion groups. Brice is a retired business consultant for Hewlett Packard Entreprise Financial Services (HPeFS) and he has been a WICE member for 20 years, participating mainly in the wine tasting evenings. Having developed a number of excellent friendships from these evenings, he decided it was time to give back a little to this organization. |
 | Ellen Feldman Ellen is on the Board of Directors. She also teaches our American Film Classics course as well as produces our monthly public newsletter, WICE Direct. Ellen lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and she visits Paris three months every spring. She holds a doctorate in cinema studies from New York University, and her passions include taking photographs in Paris streets and studying French. She's been a member of WICE since 2014. |
 | Mike Franks Mike helps facilitate the Tuesday and Friday online conversation groups, and he assists in our monthly online tech support sessions. Mike is originally from Kansas City, Missouri but grew up in Michigan,
New Jersey, and California. Traveling taught him how useful languages
are, and he credits WICE Conversation Groups with getting him
comfortable enough to try to speak in French. WICE going online was the
silver lining of the COVID confinement for him and from Los Angeles he
had a wonderful time practicing French and making new friends, and
getting an early start to his day. Now that he and his wife can travel
again, he searches out street art wherever he can. |
 | Anna Gilchrist Anna publishes the WICE Weekly Reminder email. Originally from London, England, Anna worked in pharmacovigilance before moving into medical communications, and has spent the past ten years working as a medical writer. Anna moved to Paris in 2023 and is enjoying the opportunity to improve her French and visit the many art galleries, museums, and restaurants the city has to offer. |
 | Angie Guyoton Angie is the project manager on WICE's marketing team and has been a volunteer since October 2020. Singapore-born (at 325 ppm) Paris-based (since 1999), Angie is a Writer, Freelancer, Volunteer & aspirant Haikuist. Connect with her on LinkedIn. |
 | Pat Hallam Pat runs WICE's "Walks, Talks, and Tours" program, and she also leads walks. Pat Hallam moved to Paris in 2020 from the UK, fulfilling a long-held
ambition to live in the City of Light. Her fulltime career for 33 years
was as a public librarian, followed by a spell as an administrator for
the English National Health Service. She has always been keenly
interested in the history of Paris and now puts that knowledge to good
use as a tour guide and contributor to the online magazine Bonjour
Paris. Since joining WICE in 2022, she has become involved in the Friday
conversation group and recently took on the co-ordination of the walks
and tours program. |
 | Caroline Hautcoeur A very long time WICE member and volunteer, Caroline assists in volunteer recruitment and in membership outreach. Caroline lived in London for several years and joined WICE upon her return as a volunteer 25 |
 | Viktória Hrabošová Viktória is a volunteer in the Marketing Department where she manages WICE's social media posts. A bilingual Hungarian-Slovak, Viktòria has pursued a cosmopolitan life in every sense of the word. She has been in several cultural exchange programs, in England, Poland, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. She is currently living between London and Paris, and a student at a university in Budapest, where she is majoring in International Relations and Digital Marketing. She is passionate about literature and cats, as well as exploring different opportunities for growth. |
 | Saumya Jetley Saumya is the organizer and facilitator for our monthly Booker Book group. An AI scientist trained in Oxford, UK, Saumya has worked previously as a researcher, technology consultant and a university professor across India and the U.K. Now based in Paris, she is pursuing her long-standing interest in the fine arts, literature and writing. Since October 2023 she is co-leading the Bookers club for world literary fiction at WICE. She runs a YouTube channel for poetry, enjoys the spoken word, and loves going on long hikes and open water swims. |
 | Jo Jones Jo wears a number of WICE hats: she works with the marketing team, she is our activities photographer, she co-organises our Pétanque games and indoor board games, and she posts our French/English expressions of the week on our social media pages. Originally from Wales, Jo lived most of her life in Hong Kong, followed by a year in Sydney, Australia before moving to Paris. Given her international history she brings a truly cosmopolitan outlook to WICE. |
 | Rick Jones Rick is the President of WICE. He also leads the occasional walk and teaches technology classes. Originally from Wilmington, DE, Rick spent 20 years as a U.S. Naval officer, during which time he had assignments in a variety of locations in the U.S. and overseas. Following his retirement in 2002, he began a career in information technology, which led to work in knowledge management and data science. He moved to Paris in July 2018 with his wife. He is an aspiring jazz flutist, a very amateur Go player, and an avid walker. He has been a member of WICE since 2018. |
 | Toni Kamins Toni is WICE's programs coordinator. She coordinates all aspects of WICE's courses, classes, workshops, and social activities. |
 | Nobuntu Komape Nobuntu volunteers in the Membership Department where she a member of WICE's data analytics team. She works with the team to help WICE develop greater insights into membership issues. Originally from South Africa, Nobuntu moved to France in January, 2022.
She holds a Bachelors degree in Information Technology in Business
Systems and is currently pursuing a Masters in General Management &
Strategy Consulting. She has keen interest in Data Science, AI &
International Relations. Although she's still perfecting her French
skills, she has learnt a thing or two about the culture, like how
lounge wear is never worn outside. Et voilà! |
 | Dania Lawand Dania (on the right-hand side of the photo) is our Social Activities director. She coordinates all lunches, apéros, etc. She also helps facilitate online conversation groups and online tech support sessions. Originally from Beirut, Lebanon, Dania has been in Paris since 2019, and a volunteer at WICE from the start. She has an undergraduate degree in Business Computers, and has lived in such diverse places as Saudi Arabia and Turkey. She loves baking and hosting little social activities for her WICE friends. |
 | Brigitte Le Quéré Brigette is a facilitator for the French Guided Discussion groups. Brigette is a retired French teacher who taught at the French middle school and high school level. She has been a member of the WICE conversations for 14 years and a member of the English guided discussion for one year. |
 | Lucy Madelin Lucy is one of our "back room" members. She belongs to the Finance team, where she helps to ensure that WICE's accounting is current and accurate, and she is the one who—more often than not—takes care of registration problems. A Patagonia-born Anglo-Argentine, Lucy married a Frenchman and began a life of globe trotting. She
was an executive assistant at several oil companies, then an expat
in Colombia, Scotland and Norway for 10 years as a trailing spouse. She came back to France in 2000 and found a volunteering position at WICE in
2001 as a Front Desk assistant. Now there is no more office and she works
from home helping with Wild Apricot and accounting. She knits for her grandchildren and enjoys classes in chair upholstering. |
 | Valérie Helmbreck Mascitti Valérie hosts the WICE needlework group (knitting, crewel, embroidery, cross stitch, etc.), as well as knitting classes, in her charming apartment in the Marais. Originally from Wilmington, Delaware, USA, Valérie began traveling back and froth between the Diamond State to Paris years ago. After a successful career as a journalist on the mid-Atlantic coast of the U.S., Valérie made the permanent transition to Paris in 2018. She's been in Paris through the gilets jaunes, the burning of Notre Dame cathedral, the December 2021 grève, and the COVID lockdowns. She still wouldn't trade her life here for the world. She loves corgis and makes a mean boeuf bourguignon. |
 | Alice Meade Alice is currently is a facilitator with the English language discussion group. Alice has been a volunteer with WICE for over 5 years. She works full-time in the US as a software designer and researcher, and she will be in Paris in the summer of 2024 for the Olympics. |
 | Annie Milgram Annie is the WICE Partnership Program Coordinator. She works with various enterprises around Paris to arrange partnerships wherein WICE members can get discounted goods and services. Annie is a native Parisienne who has been a member of WICE since 2012. During that time she has contributed significantly to WICE, serving on the Board of Directors and also as the WICE Treasurer. She is fond of Morocco, and she enjoys playing golf and playing bridge. |
 | Meredith Mullins Meredith is a member of the Paris Writers Workshop planning committee. Meredith has been part of WICE since 2006—teaching photography, diving headfirst into French classes, and organizing wine tasting evenings. Born in Baltimore, educated at the University of North Carolina (in journalism and film), and transplanted to the beautiful Monterey Peninsula to explore the “California Dreamin’” life for more than 30 years, she also traveled the world (photographing and writing). She now considers the Ile St Louis in Paris her home. Her award winning book In A Paris Moment confirms her ongoing love of the City of Light, and she continues to write articles and exhibit photographs to share its rich treasures. |
 | Anya Orzechowska Anya is the director of WICE's Literature program—which includes two book groups, a play reading group, and author readings—and she also coordinates the use of spaces around town in which to conduct WICE classes, workshops, etc. Taking early retirement from her position as editor-in-chief of a technical magazine, Anya spent ten years in Dubai where her career took an artistic turn into classical painting. After brief stops in Mallorca and Toronto, she came to Paris in 2023 with her husband (Jerzy) and became a member of WICE. Currently she is juggling her volunteer work with art and walking her dog Suki, as well as trying her hand at writing. |
 | José Pietri José volunteers in WICE's information technology department where he evaluates new technologies and assists in monthly Tech Support sessions. Originally from Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, José grew up in New Jersey (exit 4) and then bounced around during his collegiate years (Ohio, Mexico, France, etc.). After graduating with a degree in physics, he joined IBM (“I’ve Been Moved”) and bounced around again to Akron, Ohio, Kansas City, Missouri, and Little Rock, Arkansas. In 1994 he left IBM and moved to Paris, where he married his lovely wife, Odile. Now retired and eager to “pay it back, ” he considers WICE the perfect place. |
 | Darleen Piol Darleen is a graphic designer on the Paris Writers Workshop team. Originally from The Philippines, she transitioned from IT and teaching to pursue a vibrant career in design. She was a graphic design volunteer for WICE from from 2019 to 2022, and has recently rejoined the team. Beyond pixels and vectors, Darleen finds inspiration through travel and diverse cultural experiences. |
 | Isabelle Preston Isabelle volunteers as WICE’s Administrative Coordinator ensuring that projects are well defined, structured and provide the expected results. She is also providing support to establish a WICE User’s Manual documenting WICE’s organization, governance and processes. Isabelle has grown up with both a French and American culture. Originally from New York, she has lived in Minneapolis, Washington DC, Boston, Angers, Toulouse and has been in Paris since 1993. She studied engineering at the University of Minnesota and has worked as a project manager in various fields. She enjoys all arts, yoga classes and walking around Paris. She is a member of WICE since October 2023. |
 | Robin Price Robin leads our literary museum walks, and also leads book group discussions. Robin's history in Paris goes back to her junior year in high school, when she decided on her own to say goodbye to her life in Delaware and finish her schooling here. After graduating from Marymount International School in Neuilly-sur-Seine, she became an au pair and a student at the Sorbonne, and has made Paris a part of her life since. Currently residing in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Robin spends a large part of each year in Paris. She is an avid reader and museum goer. |
 | Dan Raj Dan volunteers in WICE's IT department where he is helping develop metrics for assessing the impact of various web traffic events. Hailing from Bangalore, India, Dan spent five years working and residing in San Francisco, Bentonville, Arkansas, Toldedo, Ohio, and other cities. He is a software engineer and entrepreneur by trade, with a keen interest in immersing himself in new cultures and languages. |
 | Mary-Jo Reef Mary-Jo is a member of the Board of Directors, and she also organizes and coordinates the Tuesday and Friday in-person conversation groups. Mary-Jo is a long-time member of WICE. Before retiring to France, she was a professor of sociology at a state university. WICE was instrumental in her decision to retire to France, as many of her closest friendships originated through the WICE conversation groups. |
 | Brise Rickey Brise organizes and hosts WICE's twice monthly morning coffees at Brasserie Le Bullier. Originally from Chicago, IL, Brise taught graduate students at Loyola University and was deeply involved in social justice issues in Chicago and within her own neighborhood community. She also lived in Calcutta, India for two years, which remain embedded in her heart. A few years ago she received a sabbatical and spent the year writing in Paris, where she continues to teach. Brise enjoys exploring Paris, reading, and giving guided tours of Notre Dame. When not in Paris, Brise can be found discovering new parts of the globe (usually in Africa, Asia or other parts of France). |
 | Nathalie Rodgers Nathalie Rodgers is a member of the Board of Directors, where she serves as Treasurer and oversees all things financial at WICE. |
 | Sara Somers Sara is a member of the Paris Writers Workshop planning committee. Originally from Oakland, California, Sara has lived in Paris since 2013 and has been a WICE member since 2015 when she took her first writing class with WICE. She went on to take two Paris Writing Workshops, write and publish a book, and is forever grateful to WICE for her start. Since then she has taken advantage of the language courses, photography courses, a number of site seeing/walking courses (having become a great flâneuse since living in Paris and her writings often reflect that. She writes a Substack called Out My Window. www.sarasomers.substack.com Her book "Saving Sara A Memoir of Food Addiction" is available from the Red Wheelbarrow, Amazon, and independent bookstores. |
 | Nicki Tillinghast Nicki Tillinghast is on the Board of Directors where she serves as Secretary. Nicki Tillinghast is originally from New York but has lived in France for over 40 years, teaching English at international schools and universities. Now retired, she is a volunteer for NGOs defending end-of-life options. Among her other interests are gardens and rescue animals. She joined WICE in 2022 and immediately became an active member, happy to make new friends, attend cultural activities, and, now, serve on the Board. |
 | Susan Townson Susan is a member of the Paris Writers Workshop team. Susan hails from Wellington, New Zealand via London. She loves hosting BBQs and aspires to run a half marathon . . .one day. When she isn't busy trying to drain the EU's wine lake, she writes short stories, practices her downward dog and looks after five demanding cats. She is passionate about history and handicrafts, and she is an avid reader who frequents the WICE Café Littéraire book group meetings. |
 | Richard Tran Richard works with Mary-Jo Reef in setting up weekly in-person conversation groups. Richard is a longtime member of WICE and a stalwart member of the WICE conversation group. He is always willing to lend a hand and he regularly sets up our rooms for the French-English conversations. Further, Richard is a unique individual, a true logophile who is devoted to his love of words. Richard dedicates himself assiduously to reading the dictionary daily. Also, he is knowledgeable about many subjects, so he is a hard person to stump. |
 | Tess Vanberg Tess volunteers in the Membership department where she does weekly analysis of member activity for use in membership retention efforts. Originally from Kansas City, Kansas, Tess moved to Paris in August 2023 to spend her first year of college at the American University of Paris. She is studying abroad before completing her degree in Political Communications at the George Washington University in DC. She enjoys being outdoors, visiting museums, and exploring new cafes. |
 | Jay van Wagenen Jay serves as WICE's Vice-President on the Board of Directors, and she is also the head of WICE's language department and helps out in marketing. |
 | Jonathan Weiland Jonathan is the head of WICE's information technology department. He manages WICE's IT platforms, and he organizes and leads the monthly tech support sessions. Jonathan studied in London before moving to Paris in 2019. He enjoys
biking in and around Paris. He has been a member of WICE since 2020. |
 | Kate Wolter Kate is WICE's "Membership Ambassador." She contacts new members to welcome them and to ensure they are aware of all that WICE has to offer and how to access it. Like Josephine Baker, Kate has deux amours: living in Paris but always a New Yorker. In her life, she's been a singer, an executive assistant, a bookstore manager, a supernumerary, lived in a cabin (chop wood, carry water), a hat check, und femme de ménage, an actress, and now—after years of quilting—shes's teaching herself to sew. In all of it, there has been one consistent element, the people in her life. And she is thankful there are lots of wonderful ones here in WICE. |
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Being a WICE volunteer offers tangible benefits as well as the chance to be part of a great team. For more information on what positions are available and what the benefits are, check out . . . 
