Executive Team

Tatyana Franck became President of L’Alliance New York on March 1, 2022, and was excitedly welcomed by the Board of Trustees and the L’Alliance team for her strong leadership, global strategic vision, and participatory management style which will help grow the institution into an international leader in French education and francophone culture in the new digital landscape.

Franck was previously the Director of the Museum Photo Elysée in Lausanne, Switzerland for seven years, where she oversaw a critically acclaimed $108M new construction. She also enriched the museum’s collections, formed exciting new partnerships for local and community engagement, and implemented a new digital strategy to expand the museum’s international reach. Before Photo Elysée, Franck was Director of the Claude Picasso Archives in Paris and Geneva, and oversaw many important collections including of modern and contemporary art, design, and the David Douglas Duncan photographic Archives. Franck attended Columbia Business School’s Executive MBA Program in Asia, London and NYC; after receiving an MA in Business Law and a double major in Law and Art History & Archeology from the Université Paris – Panthéon/Sorbonne.

Franck is involved in the cultural policy of several renowned institutions and holds various honorary positions in France, Switzerland and abroad. Franck currently sits on several boards, including the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation in Paris (Treasurer), Fondation Art Explora in Paris, and Fondation du Jeu de Paume in Paris. She is also the respected curator of numerous international exhibitions including Jan Groover: Laboratory of Forms; Charlie Chaplin: A Vision; Hybrids – The Body as the Imaginary; The Beauty of Lines: Masterpieces from the Gilman and Gonzales-Falla Collection; Nicolas Savary: Conquistador; Unfamiliar Familiarities: Outside Views on Switzerland; The Memory of the Future: Photographic Dialogues between Past, Present and Future; Picasso at Work, Through the Lens of David Douglas Duncan; and La Part Animale.

Violaine Huisman joined L’Alliance as Artistic Director on August 28, 2023. A French-American festival curator, writer and translator, Huisman grew up in Paris and has lived in New York for over two decades. After a career in publishing, she transitioned to performing arts, working in programming at BAM from 2008 to 2016, and as a freelance curator. She has been involved with L’Alliance since 2005, serving as consultant, moderator to literary discussions, and most recently co-curator to the first three editions of TILT Kids Festival. Her first novel Fugitive parce que reine was published in the US in 2021 as The Book of Mother and long listed for the International Booker Prize. Her most recent novel, Les Monuments de Paris received the Prix Anna de Noailles from the Académie Française and the inaugural Prix Littéraire Who’s Who.

Photo Credit: Beowulf Sheehan

Marie-Catherine Glaser joined L’Alliance in 2013 and led as the director of the New York Language Center for two years. In 2015, she became the director of L’Alliance New York’s Montclair Campus. From 2009 to 2013, she led educational programs at the Embassy of France in Washington D.C. for the states of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Previously, she worked in the Czech Republic, Russia, China and Latvia where she held positions in education and in cultural organizations including Centre culturel française and the Alliance Française. Originally from Marseilles, she studied French and comparative literature at the Université de Bourgogne in Dijon and pursued a specialization in teaching French as a foreign language at the Institut de recherche et de formation en français langue étrangère of the Université de Nantes.

Catherine Baumann joined the Development Team at L’Alliance in 2014 and oversees fundraising activities for the organization. Before moving to New York, Catherine was based in France, where for over ten years she worked in the non-profit cultural sector. She led two service organizations representing the performing arts sector in France and Europe, where she developed national and international advocacy campaigns for the arts, and managed labor negotiations and funding matters on behalf of cultural institutions. She holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and a Master’s in arts management from l ’Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris.

Laurent Lanzini is an accomplished financial executive serving as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance at L’Alliance New York. He oversees all aspects of financial strategy, planning, and compliance, drawing on extensive experience across both nonprofit and corporate sectors. A French CPA by training, Laurent brings a strong background in financial management and statistics, complemented by studies in fine arts that continue to inform his creative and human-centered approach to leadership.

Known for his innovative mindset, Laurent integrates emerging technologies such as generative AI into financial operations, while championing value-based performance that combines financial and non-financial metrics. His leadership reinforces L’Alliance’s mission by ensuring financial strength, operational transparency, and long-term sustainability in a rapidly evolving environment.

Suzanne Zudick joined L’Alliance in March 2022, overseeing marketing strategy, content development, and communications. Prior to L’Alliance, Suzanne was the Executive Director of Content & Strategy at Meredith Corporation. With a decade of experience in the media industry, she has developed extensive expertise in cross-platform marketing and communications, across television, print, digital, and social media. In addition to her media career, Suzanne is a life-long Francophile, with a passion for the beauty of the French language. A native New Yorker, Suzanne’s experience includes a degree in International Business, two cumulative years studying and working abroad (in Aix-en-Provence, Paris, and Périgueux), and fluency in French (although she considers herself a life-long student!). She is delighted to be part of the L’Alliance team and to use her experience to promote the richness and diversity of French language and francophone cultures.

Emelyne Maroufi joined L’Alliance New York in August 2023 and is proud to serve as Director of People & Organization. With a deep passion for people and a strong belief in the power of inclusive workplaces, she brings warmth, strategic insight, and energy to every aspect of Human Resources. At L’Alliance New York, Emelyne oversees a broad spectrum of HR initiatives—from talent strategy and organizational development to employee engagement and workplace culture—always with a people-first mindset. Before relocating to New York, Emelyne launched and built the HR function from the ground up for Alantra’s Paris office, an international investment banking. As the first HR professional on-site, she developed and implemented all core processes, while also championing initiatives to strengthen culture, support early-career development, and attract diverse talent. Emelyne studied at Université Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas. A lifelong advocate for human potential and collaboration across cultures, she is excited to help shape a workplace where people thrive—and proud to support the mission of L’Alliance New York.

Philip Naudé is proud to be joining the L’Alliance Executive Team. He has over 30 years of experience in the performing arts as a Producer, Production Manager and Technical Director. With a penchant for guiding creative processes and operational logistics with a collaborative and pragmatic approach, he has worked with Manhattan Theatre Club, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Atlantic Theater Company, and as Production Director for The 24 Hour Plays®. Most recently he moved into the technology field for Immersive Design Studios from Montreal, Canada working on installations at the Summit Observatory NY, Worre Studios, and White & Case NY (Quorum). As an educator, he has taught Technical Theater and Design at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, The City College of New York, and at The New School for Drama.

Marguerite Nougue-Sans was invited by Marie-Monique Steckel to join the L’Alliance team in 2005 as Legal Counsel. She holds a “Maîtrise de Droit” and a “DEA” in Political Science from the University of Paris II/Assas and Paris I/Pantheon respectively. She came to NYC to obtain an LLM from New York University and has been an Attorney, member of the New York Bar since 1985. She first worked as an associate for a small NYC law firm servicing Swiss and French clients doing business in the U.S. and later became Assistant General Counsel for The North American Watch Corporation. In 1993, she started to work as Associate Attorney in the NYC office of a French law firm for over 10 years. Her clients included small and medium size French entities and businesses setting up and doing business in NYC. She has been very happy to work pro bono at L’Alliance and rekindle there her interest in French Culture.