Front facade of the University of Paris

About

Academic Programs Abroad

Meet Our Team

  • Dr Aurelie Perrier

Dr. Aurélie Perrier

is the Director of APA.

As a Franco-American raised in Paris and educated in the USA, Aurélie Perrier grew up between two worlds and developed an early interest in interculturality.  She holds a Ph.D in Modern Middle East and North African History from Georgetown University, a passion she first developed after spending her junior year abroad in Egypt and which impacted her career choices. Since, she has conducted fieldwork in Egypt, Algeria and Yemen and taught Middle East history in Qatar, the USA and France. Her research and teaching interests center on gender and race in colonial North Africa, postcolonialism in France, and the politics of human rights and development.

Aurélie is convinced that international education can help students find purpose and meaning in today’s global world, and that it can help address key international challenges by fostering solidarity and cooperation worldwide.

Prior to joining APA in 2019, she taught at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service in Qatar and at Wake Forest University, NC, as well as worked in think tanks and international organizations on issues of human rights, democratization and civil society promotion in the Middle East and North Africa.

  • Sophie Corbeau

Sophie Corbeau

is the Academic and Operational Advisor for APA Paris and APA Dakar, splitting her time between the French and Senegalese offices.

She holds both a “Maitrise” and a DESS (equivalent to an MA) in French language education from the Sorbonne Nouvelle University. Sophie spent most of her teaching career in Paris, but she has also taught French language courses in the U.S. for 3 years at Memphis State University and Mills College, as well as one year in Great Britain. Sophie has published teaching materials for the instruction of technical French. Her works cover topics such as business French and French for the tourism and hospitality sector. Sophie spent four years at the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry. While there, she trained teachers of FLE (French as a foreign language) to teach technical French.

Following her time at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sophie worked among immigrant youth as a social counselor and professional advisor in Parisian urban communities. Sophie enjoys a bicultural life spending time between Paris and Dakar in her role with APA, but also allowing her to spend time with her family and friends in both cities.

  • Cynthia Vernhet-Sellem, a smiling woman with a long brown braid standing in front of ornate Parisian buildings.

Cyntia Vernhet-Sellem

is the Language Instructor & Pedagogic Coordinator.

Cyntia leads the French language Acquisition curriculum and takes part in the cultural program all while being academic advisor.

She studied Linguistics and Didactics in France and the US and graduated in both fields as a Masters’ Program of the University of Paris Cité in 2018. After being an Assistant Teacher in Indiana University, she taught in a French Immersion Program in Brest and later, in Japan and Bulgaria.

Her pedagogy is articulated around sociolinguistics and cultural media, especially cinema.

Alyona Kondratyeva

is the Executive Assistant & Student Life Coordinator of APA Paris.

Alyona welcomes students, helps them organize their daily life in France, manages cultural trips and excursions, and handles other administrative tasks.

She obtained a bachelor’s degree in teaching English and worked as a freelance translator for several years before moving to Paris in 2017. She then received a French diploma in Tourism and worked in the field for a couple of years before joining APA Paris.

Lindsay Turlan

has served as Director of Institutional Relations at APA’s U.S. office since 2010.

She spent 10 years living and working in France, primarily in education and exchange. Most recently, she led the American Section of the Franco-American Commission for Educational Exchange–Fulbright France, overseeing inbound U.S. Fulbright grantees. Previously, she was an EducationUSA adviser promoting U.S. study across France as part of the U.S. State Department’s advising network. During this time, she was active in NAFSA, the American Chamber of Commerce in Paris, and IFE.

Lindsay first came to France as a Middlebury Master’s student, interning at the RPR during Jacques Chirac’s re-election campaign. Her interest in French began with a host-family exchange to Montreal in 8th grade, followed by a year of high school abroad in France, a gap year volunteering in Europe, and college study in Poitiers and Paris. She is passionate about helping students experience full cultural and linguistic immersion in French!

  • Dr Astou Sanga director of APA Dakar in her office in Senegal.

Dr. Astou Sagna

is the Director of APA Dakar, based in Dakar, Senegal.

Responsible for all aspects of the program in Dakar including academic, administrative and cultural programming. Astou meets with students for academic and language support, coordinates with faculty, and ensures the well-being of all involved! Astou holds a PhD in Written African Literature from the Université Cheikh Anta Diop.