As a Grammy-nominated conductor, Christophe Chagnard has led a vast repertoire of symphonic, operatic, and ballet works of all styles and periods. He has also spent three decades making the concert hall accessible to all, addressing the elitist stereotype that plagues this art form.
Deepening his commitment to environmental sustainability, in 2020, he founded Earth Creative, a non-profit organization dedicated to
using the power of the arts to raise awareness about climate change to advance climate justice for all. It seeks to build a global coalition of creative minds speaking as one powerful voice toward a responsible and sustainable stewardship of our environment for today and future generations.Jacqui Germain is a poet and journalist living and working in St. Louis, MO. Her debut poetry collection, Bittering the Wound (Autumn House Press, 2022), was selected for the 2021 Center for African American Poetry and Poetics Book Prize and awarded the 2024 Kate Tufts Discovery Award. She has received poetry and journalism fellowships from the Economic Security Project and Teen Vogue, the St. Louis Regional Arts Commission, Jack Jones Literary Arts, and Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop. Her original reporting, essays, and culture writing have been published in The New York Times, Teen Vogue, The Nation, VICE, In These Times Magazine, Artsy, and elsewhere. She’s also author of the chapbook, When the Ghosts Come Ashore (Button Poetry, 2016).
Chevalier of the French Order of the “Palmes Académiques,” Consule Honoraire de France à Saint Louis, and Executive Director of the Alliance Française de St. Louis, Isabelle was born and bred in Toulon (Provence). After studying law for two years at the Université of Toulon-La Garde, she “gave it all up for love” and moved to the U.S. in 1981.
After a diverse career across the country, she joined the Alliance Française de St. Louis in 1998 as a teacher/translator/lecturer/tour guide and became our Executive Director in 2009.
Danielle MacCartney is the Interim Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Webster University. A professor of sociology, she previously served as the academic director at Webster’s Geneva campus. Since joining the university in 2007, she has held various leadership roles, including associate dean and director of criminology and criminal justice. MacCartney holds a Ph.D. in sociology from UC Irvine.
Originally from France, Sarah moved to the United States to pursue her graduate education in International Affairs at Washington University in St. Louis (MO). After working for various Think Tanks and non-profit organizations in Washington DC, Sarah moved back to St. Louis in 2014 and joined the corporate world working in project management and consulting.
Search for meaning and impact in her work led her to reconnect with a long-lost interest for sustainability. Sarah then decided to pivot and use her international business experience and passion to help organizations transition towards a more resilient model for the planet, the people and business.
In 2022 she joined Climate Fresk, a French non-profit whose mission is to raise awareness and educate about climate change, for which she now is the Midwest region co-lead as well as a trainer and facilitator.
In November 2024, she established the French-American Chamber of Commerce Missouri, in St. Louis, MO.
When she is not working, you can find Sarah enjoying good food, teaching yoga and spending time with her family.
Emily Thompson earned a BA in History and French from Duke University in 1991. She completed her doctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania, receiving a PhD in French Literature in 1996. She teaches courses in French language, FrancoPhone: literatures and cultures, and global studies. She also teaches a global cornerstone seminar for the Gleich Honors College on place-based learning and civic engagement. She serves as a member of the Women, Gender and Sexuality Academic Committee and Executive Council. Professor Thompson’s research interests focus on sixteenth-century French literature, specifically the evolution of the nouvelle and the history of the book. She won the William T. Kemper Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award in 2016.
Emma Wittenauer is a Soprano from Waterloo, Illinois studying under Dr. Karen Kanakis. She is a current Sophomore at Webster University pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance with a double minor in French and Entrepreneurship. She has most recently been seen in the Webster University Opera Studio performances as the Spirit and Belinda Cover in Dido and Aeneas, Sarah in The Ballad of Baby Doe, Sally in Die Fledermaus, Chorus in The Mikado, and Chorus in Suor Angelica. Emma has upcoming performances as Ilia in Idomeneo, Chorus in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Chorus in Madama Butterfly, and Chorus in Nabucco with the Webster University Opera Studio and Orchestra this spring, and in St. Louis Theatre Kids’ production of Theory of Relativity this summer.
Emma sings with the Webster University Chamber Singers and Jazz Singers. She is President of the Webster University Student Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and Treasurer of the Webster University Jam Club. Emma was a Featured Soloist with the Webster University Orchestra Oratorio de Noël, Double 2nd Place Winner in the National Association of Teachers of Singers Classical Competition and Musical Theatre Competition, and is the 2025 1st Place Winner and recipient of the John J. Prcic Memorial Scholarship at the Union Avenue Opera Crescendo! Young Artist Program.