L’ESSOR
newsletter of the professional french masters program University of Wisconsin-Madison Volume 15, Issue 1
ALUMNI PROFILE Adriane Melchert
WINTER 2019
Arts-focused alumna now in charge of Frenchspeaking clientele at Christie’s Auction Houses What do you do now for a living?
in this issue Alumni profile: Adriane Melchert brings 1 her arts-focused PFMP research and training to her work in New York From the Director
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Current students & alumni
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I believe that art belongs on walls throughout the world.
I am part of the US Post Sale Services team at Christie's Auction Houses. We handle all client engagement after a sale has concluded, from invoicing to shipping and general buyer and seller correspondence. I am specifically in charge of Frenchspeaking customer relations in addition to the live and eCommerce sales assigned to me. Though I’ve worked with many non-profit organizations and public institutions in the past, I value the tangible market of goods bought and sold.
How did the PFMP help you get there? I did my PFMP internship at the major contemporary art gallery in Montreal, Art Mûr, and my research on the growing global creative economy solidified my interest in for-profit artistic enterprises. I did not expect to land at an institution with the size and stature of Christie's, but they represent a surprisingly dynamic atmosphere (my department was created 3 years ago) with recent attention to corporate social
Adriane Melchert (MFS 2017, business)
responsibility measures and investment in their employees. We discussed looking at qualities such as these when identifying effective companies and employers during my coursework in the PFMP. (continued next page)
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ALUMNI PROFILE (Melchert, continued from p. 1)
What are the biggest challenges in your line of work these days? The world of shipping is changing rapidly. People are accustomed to services like Amazon Prime, with free and nearly instant shipping, and waived sales tax. Christie's uses fine art transport to ensure the safety of purchases, and we open receive pushback about applying tax laws, high fees, and service speed. Being firm and compliant with state and federal laws is an unglamorous and completely compulsory stance in light of globalized convenience.
What do you hope your work will accomplish? Though the art sales world at the highest level can pose moral questions about cultural provenance, I generally believe that art belongs on walls throughout the world. Whether it be in museums, private residences, or business spaces, the exchange and public appraisal of art adds richness to our culture. To stay relevant and increase visibility in 2018, Christie’s engages a combination of charity auctions, lower price point online sales, and open-to-the public lives sales. Art and Decorative Arts do not need to be a niche subject.
Any suggestions for prospective students considering the PFMP?
Adriane Melchert (MFS 2017, business) did her PFMP internship at the Montreal gallery, Art Mûr, and now works at Christie’s Auction Houses. She lives in New York.
I recommend isolating your field of interest as best you can. I self-imposed an “artistic business” concentration within my PFMP concentration area of French and Business, and even then I found myself juggling the choice of market genre, working in nonprofits, and which operations fields to investigate. Especially in the art world, it’s hard to actively dismiss options, but it will illuminate more viable research subjects and subsequent career paths along the way.
Volume 15, Issue 1
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From the Director : Témoignages As I prepared for a presentation at this year's Modern Language Association convention, I emailed program alumni for some quick testimonials about the program. What had the program done for them? It seemed useful to devote this issue's column to those former students, who are the best ambassadors the program has to offer. So here are some recent thoughts on the program's value, in our alumni's own words. "The PFMP gave me the experience to feel confident in my ability to perform in a French work environment.” - Kathleen Patterson (MFS 2010), Champagne Laurent-Perrier (New York) "The PFMP helped me combine my academic interests into a concrete professional plan that brought me to a long-term career in Paris, in a job I am passionate about.” - Leah Fink (MFS 2010), Kantar Health (Paris) "Beaucoup de personnes tombent dans le domaine de l'éducation internationale par hasard. Grâce au PFMP, j'ai pu découvrir ce domaine en profondeur, acquérir des connaissances et me préparer à entrer sur le marché du travail en professionnel compétent et formé." - Yoann Buidin (MFS 2016), ECLA Campus (Palaiseau). "My dream of working and living in Europe came true with the knowledge, experience, and con-
nections I gained through the PFMP." - Gabriel Adams (MFS 2001), Director of Product Review, PayPal (San Francisco) “It is entirely thanks to the PFMP and its internship component that I was able to get a foot in the door, gain invaluable experience and now work as the internship program coordinator at IES Abroad’s Paris French Studies Center.” - Andréa Ferrer (MFS 2017), IES Abroad (Paris) "The PFMP opened doors for me to be able to work in Human Resources at a global Fortune 500 company where I have been able to work with diverse cultures and people, including serving as the team leader for a small global team on a branding project." - Jessica Warmington (MFS 2014), Eaton Corporation (Syracuse, NY) "My internship at a Moroccan language center, which would not have been possible without the connections of the PFMP, paved the way to my current job in graduate school admissions." - Jenna Holt (MFS 2017), Middlebury Institute of International Studies (Monterey, CA) “After 11 years working in France, the Netherlands, the UK and Ireland, I use my French daily. I can honestly say I would never have had these opportunities without the PFMP.” - Megan Lachner-Maley (MFS 2005), Nike UK & Ireland (London).
It is entirely thanks to the PFMP and its internship component that I was able to get a foot in the door.
I would never have had these opportunities without the PFMP.
PFMP alumna Kathleen (Patterson) Poyser, of Champagne Laurent-Perrier, at a company event with the Cuvée Rosé company Citroën. Right: alumna Katrina Brown, Manager for Programs and Operations in Learning Abroad at the University of Utah, during a recent work trip to Paris, with ESCP Europe colleague and longtime PFMP partner Corinne François (left).
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Current Students & Alumni Sarah Moore Allen (MFS 2009, media/arts/cultural production) has launched Dandelion-Seeds.com, a positive parenting- and wellnessfocused website with approximately 15,000 international readers to date. She lives in Seattle. Chloe Bade (MFS, 2017, international education) is in her second year of teaching French at Sturgis Public Charter School, an international baccalaureate school located in Hyannis, MA. This past summer, her former coworker from her PFMP internship at CILFA (Centre International de la Langue Française d'Annecy), came to visit Chloe on the Cape.
Serena Berkowitz and her husband at their Peace Corps swearing-in ceremony in Kiev, Ukraine.
Serena Berkowitz (MFS 2017, international education) has left her position at FHI 360 and is now serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ukraine. During her service, Serena will be teaching English and working with exchange programs at an agricultural university in Sumy, Ukraine. Ruby Blau (MFS 2018, business) is now Customer Success Manager at Workiva, a ten year-old tech company specializing in cloud computing compliance software. Workiva has thousands of clients, including 75% of the Fortune 500. Ruby uses her French especially with Workiva’s Québécois clients. She lives in Chicago. Paige Broeckel (MFS 2018, business) is a French Bilingual B2B Customer Service Representative at Kohler Company.
Sarah Craver
Duncan Brown (business) finit actuellement son stage à la Fondation Québec Philanthrope, où il est chargé du programme « Signes vitaux » dans le domaine de recherche de marché. Il présentera son projet de fin de parcours en mai 2019. John Brunner (MFS 2012, business) est Responsable Communication pour la Confédération internationale des sociétés d’auteurs et compositeurs (CISAC). Il s’occupe de la gestion du contenu pour la confédération ainsi
que leurs conseils créateurs Writers & Directors Worldwide (auteurs audiovisuels) et CIAM (créateurs de musique). Il développe également sa propre société, Rhone Consulting & PR, LLC. Yoann Buidin (MFS 2016, éducation internationale) est Campus Manager pour Campus ECLA à Palaiseau, en région parisienne. C’est une résidence d’un tout nouveau concept, la plus grande d’Europe. Yoann est chargé de tous les aspects de la gestion et commercialisation de la résidence, qui accueille étudiants, jeunes travailleurs, doctorants et chercheurs internationaux. Kate Butler-Jochenbein (MFS 2009, business) a quitté DIBS, un cabinet de conseil lyonnais où elle a travaillé près de huit ans, pour UMI / Dynergie, où elle est actuellement Responsable Partenariats et Programme Ambassadeurs. Basée à Lyon, UMI est une start-up digitale avec un outil de test marché qui permet aux porteurs de projets d’innovation d’évaluer le potentiel marché de leur technologie, trouver des nouvelles applications, des marques d’intérêt, et prendre des décisions fiables.
Lindsay Colbert
Andréa Ferrer
Brianda Castellanos (MFS 2018, business) is a Clinical Trial Leader at QuantifiCare Inc., a French company focused on providing 2D and 3D clinical photography solutions to pharmaceutical, biotech and cosmetic industries. She lives in Atlanta.
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(continued from page 4) Contracts Manager at the Dance Complex in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Andréa Ferrer (MFS 2017, international education) is now Internship and Customized Program Coordinator at IES Abroad Paris French Studies Center. This spring, she coauthored a book chapter with Professor Mark S. Johnson and Chelsea Blackburn Cohen, entitled, "Innovation and Internationalization in University-Based Schools of Education." The chapter appeared in the 2018 volume, The Future Agenda for Internationalization in Higher Education (Routledge).
Former PFMP tutor Pierre-Jean Alès (2013) with alumna Kate Jochenbein, at the Dynergie / UMI office in Lyon Lindsay Colbert (MFS 2008, international development) continues to serve as Executive Director of a non-profit organization (The Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy) based just outside of Chicago. She is expecting her second child in April 2019. Sarah Craver (MFS 2012, media/arts/ cultural production) is Artist Services and
Erin Edwards (MFS 2008, international development) is running for City Council in Riverside, California, in the June 2019 election there. "Our city council doesn't currently have any women on it," writes Erin. "I'd like to change that."
Chris Fuglestad (MFS 2017, international education) is Education Abroad Coordinator at UT Health San Antonio, where he manages study abroad programs for medical, dental, nursing, and health professions students, as well as being the main point of contact for health, risk, and safety for institutional international travel. He is currently working on a program in Burkina Faso. Cequoyah Gates (business) is interning at Preference Events, a luxury corporate event planning agency in Paris. Anika (Smith) Jengelley (MFS 2009, Business) is Assistant Vice President of Marketing at Mayberry Investments Limited, a boutique investment bank based in Kingston, Jamaica, where she leads the company's strategic brand development.
Erin Edwards
(Above) Young Leonie Lachner and her mother, Megan, on a trip to Bordeaux this fall.
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At the 100th Anniversary Gala for the French House, house Director Andrew Irving was named Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques by Guillaume Lacroix, Consul General of France in Chicago.
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Current
(continued from page 5) ever-changing immigration climate. She lives in Washington, DC. Megan Lachner-Maley (MFS 2005) welcomed her daughter, Leonore “Leonie” Lachner in Dec 2017, and enjoyed spending the summer between London, Wisconsin, and Italy. Now back from maternity leave, she is the GM for Nike Sportswear in the UK/Ireland and is leading Nike’s largest category in the territory. Danielle Leuker (business) is interning at Team Créatif in Paris, France, a design agency specializing in branding and packaging. Danielle is on the international team, which works with clients around the world to redesign and launch new pet food products. Mariam Masroor (Certificate 2013, international development) has left her sales associate position at West Corporation in Middleton, WI, and is now an instructor at Huaqiao University in Quanzhou, China, where she teaches courses in public speaking.
L-R: PFMP international education alumnae, Jennifer Quinlan (MFS 2005), now Academic Product Consultant and PhD candidate at Brigham Young University; and Mandi Schoville (MFS 2005), Assistant Director, PFMP, at the Fall 2018 meeting of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.
Ashley Koerner (MFS 2012, international education) is an international student and scholar advisor at The George Washington University, helping incoming students and scholars from all over the world navigate the
Katherine Mayo (MFS 2007, international development) is an attorney with the law firm Chaffin Luhana LLP and litigates class actions, mass torts, and complex personal injury cases on behalf of plaintiffs nationwide. She lives in Brooklyn. Adriane Melchert (MFS 2017, business) has left the UW Division of the Arts for a French-speaking position in post-sale coordination at Christie's Auction House in New York (see p. 1). Jordan Milliken (MFS 2008, media/arts/cultural production) works as a bilingual speechlanguage pathologist for a public school district in Lincoln, Nebraska. She helps problem solve with language needs for a diverse refugee population. Ashley Herrick Orlando (MFS 2013, business), formerly assistant director of the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area in Louisiana, now lives in Houston, TX, with her husband and works
Katherine Mayo
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L-R: alumnae Katrina Perito and Emily Swartz at the 2018 SIAL Paris international food exhibition.
(Below right) Ashley Herrick Orlando, performing in Houston earlier this year.
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(continued from page 6) Sarah Schwartz (MFS 2016, international education) is Project Coordinator at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative in Cambridge, MA. Sarah Sommerkamp (MFS 2015, international development) is Global Gardens Program Manager at Jewish Vocational Service, a refugee resettlement organization in Kansas City, Missouri. She specializes in food security and refugee agriculture. Amanda Stauffer (MFS 2012, EU Affairs) has left freelancing and is now a project manager at Zeitgeist, a translation agency specialized in IT marketing. She lives in London.
Taylor Steinbruegge, while interning at the Off-Courts film festival in Trouville-surMer.
as a musician. She sings in multiple languages, including French. Kelley Patriat (MFS 2013, international education) is a Global Customer Service Analyst at 3M headquarters in Minneapolis. Katrina Perito (business) fait son stage en marketing chez Comexposium, une entreprise événementielle à Paris. Elle travaille notamment sur les projets stratégiques pour les événements agroalimentaires.
Katrina Perito fait son stage en marketing chez Comexposium, une entreprise événementielle à Paris.
Lisa Prather (MFS 2016, business) is a project coordinator at National Council for Behavioral Health, a non-profit member organization that consults with, provides training to, and advocates for mental and behavioral health centers, clinics, and organizations across the U.S. She lives in Washington, DC. Shannon Reader (business) is interning at Paris Wine Company where she is currently working on organizing the annual Wine Weekend for winemakers and distributers in January.
Amanda Stauffer is a project manager at Zeitgeist, a translation agency in London.
Actuellement stagiaire à l'agence de traduction, Sémantis à BoulogneBillancourt, Alexander Schirk (business) s'intéresse aux traductions pour les marques de luxe, de produits alimentaires, et de tourisme.
Taylor Steinbruegge (MFS 2019, media/arts/cultural production) has completed her internship with OffCourts, a short-film festival in Trouville-sur-Mer, France. In January she will start her second PFMP internship, at the production company Federation Entertainment in Paris. Emily Swartz (MFS 2017 Business) works at Business France, where she is a Trade Advisor in the Food Division. She lives in Chicago. Patrick Whelan (MFS 2009, international education) is Localization Manager for French language and Mobile application Translation projects at Epic Systems, a healthcare software company in Verona, WI. Kate Williams (MFS, international development) coordinates international outdoor experiences at REI Adventures. She lives in Seattle.
Jennifer Schueneman (MFS 2013, education) teaches culinary classes at Sun Prairie High School in Sun Prairie, WI. Kelley Patriat
L’ESSOR Newsletter of the Professional French Masters Program
Professional French Masters Program University of Wisconsin-Madison 618 Van Hise Hall 1220 Linden Drive Madison, WI 53706