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Edith-Emilie Riedel
French Program Coordinator
Edith-Emilie Riedel was born in North Africa and moved to France when she was only two weeks old. She spent eight years in Normandy before moving to the south of France. After completing her bachelor’s degree from Lycée Joffre, she received a degree in English from Paul Valéry Université in Montpellier. Next, she attended Ecole Normale of Montpellier where she studied for three years to become a teacher. Her first teaching experience was in 5th grade in Sète, the city that became “home,” where she got married and had her first daughter. There, she taught nearly every grade in elementary school for eight years before moving to beautiful Colorado in 1991, which is when she started teaching at DMIS. Starting in 1999, she spearheaded an exchange program between the fifth graders and students in France. The first two years she led them to Val d’Isère and starting in 2001, they travel every fall to Auvillar, a little village in southwest France.
In her spare time, she loves to travel, read, hike in the mountains and last but not least, spend time with her family.
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Christy Balay
Lead Teacher
Christy Balay was born in La Rochelle and raised in Brittany, France. After finishing high school in France, she earned her bachelor’s degree in international business in Fresno, Calif. She recently completed her early childhood education certification to be a lead teacher in a preschool classroom. When she’s not in the classroom, Christy enjoys traveling, biking and scuba diving. This is her fourth year at DMIS, and she has two daughters enrolled in the French program.
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Emmanuel “Manu” Bidan
Director of Camps and Lead Teacher
Emmanuel “Manu” Bidan is originally from Paris, France, where he began his teaching career in 1990. He received bachelor’s degrees in education and history from the University of Angers in France. and also completed a course on mentoring other teachers. He has been teaching at Denver Montclair International School since 2001 at both the elementary and middle school levels. Manu is also the Camps Director and looks forward to welcoming your child(ren) during the breaks and summer vacation into our exciting programs. His son, Arthur, is a DMIS graduate. Manu and his wife love Denver and enjoy hiking and skiing in the beautiful Colorado weather.
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Amira Ghanam
Lead Teacher
Originally born in Denver, Amira Ghanam moved overseas at the age of two. She had the wonderful opportunity to live in different countries growing up and was exposed to a variety of cultures and languages. At home she spoke English, French and Arabic with her family. At the age of 11, they settled in France and Amira continued her education in a French public school, after transferring from an American school system. She received a bachelor’s degree from the Metropolitan State College of Denver, with a major in French and minor in Elementary Education. She obtained her Colorado Teacher’s License in January 2011.
She began working in international education in 2007, where she taught French Pre-K, art and sign language. In 2009, Amira started working at DMIS as a summer camp counselor and has been substituing ever since then. After working in various roles at DMIS for the past three years, she is pleased to join the DMIS team as a lead teacher in the fall.
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Laurette Heppell
Lead Teacher
Laurette Heppell was born in Algeria and moved to Paris as a child. She studied in Paris and graduated from the Lycée Jacquard de Paris. In 1971, she moved to Canada and studied French and English literature at York University in Toronto. She taught French to Canadian Civil Servants. Laurette got married in the U.S., and she and her husband have four children — three of them born and raised in Colorado. Laurette spent 15 years in Pueblo, Colo., teaching elementary students and their families. Her family moved to Denver in 2002, where she developed the Bébé Alliance program for L’Alliance Française de Denver, one of DMIS’ Community Partners. While raising her four children, Laurette actively volunteered in their elementary school classrooms.Because of her interest in younger children, she took professional courses in Early Childhood Education at the Community College of Denver and graduated with a certificate to teach preschool.
For the last five years, she has been teaching PreK in the French program at DMIS. In her free time, Laurette loves to cook and spend time with her family.
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Agnes Lagoutte
Assistant Teacher
More information coming soon.
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Fabienne Lleres
Assistant Teacher
Fabienne Lleres is from the south of France, but has lived in the United States for 27 years. She has her real estate broker’s license and has studied psychology. Fabienne began working at DMIS as a summer camp counselor, and has been a teacher’s assistant for the last three years. She has a 21 year old son, and enjoys scuba diving and cross-country skiing.
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Laurence Martin-Pierson
Assistant Teacher
Laurence Martin-Pierson was born in the eastern part of France, but grew up in the suburbs of Paris. In Paris, she studied International Relations, earning a Bachelor’s Degree from I.L.E.R.I. (Institut Libre d’Etudes des Relations Internationales). Speaking daily in English and French, she has also learned German, Spanish, Mandarin and now Swedish. Laurence loves learning languages and traveling — she has visited or lived on all continents, except Antarctica!
In Manilla, she spent some time with an NGO helping street children. She has always been interested in discovering new cultures and living abroad, and has seen the love for her mother tongue reinforced over the years. With her American-French husband and their 6-year-old bilingual daughter (enrolled at DMIS), she moved from Ireland to Denver one year ago. When she has spare time, she loves to paint. In fact, she has been a painter of byzantine icons for 19 years and is currently studying Botanical illustrations at the Denver Botanic Gardens.
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Marie-Madeleine Merwin
Lead Teacher
Marie-Madeleine Merwin grew up outside of Paris, but her heart remains with her ancestral island of Corsica. She graduated from Metropolitan State College in Denver in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in math and a minor in computer science. She began teaching at DMIS in 2004 as an assistant teacher, and has been a regular substitute teacher in all of the grade levels since then. Marie-Madeleine’s hobbies include reading, painting, and cooking and baking for family and friends. Along with her children, Julie, who is 13, and Paul, who is 11, (both are DMIS alumni), she usually spends the entire summer in Corsica, with her parents and brother and sister and their families.
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Bénédicte Ogilvie
Lead Teacher
Bénédicte Ogilvie grew up in Paris, France, where she received a bachelor’s degree in literature from Sorbonne University. She has a master’s degree in education from the University of Colorado and has over 18 years of teaching experience — 10 of them at DMIS. Bénédicte has two sons, both graduates of DMIS. Her greatest pleasure in teaching is to help children progress to their true potential as they become responsible and independent learners. In her free time, Bénédicte loves to travel and experience all outdoor activities, especially skiing and climbing fourteeners in the summer.
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Dominique Shortridge
Lead Teacher
Dominique Shortridge, a native of Lyon, France, has taught at Denver International School for more than a decade. She studied psychology and art history at the University of Lyon and recently completed a degree from the Metropolitan State College of Denver to become director certified in Early Childhood Education. She also assists with DMIS’ After-School Workshops and Summer Camps. In her free time, Dominique likes to spend as much time as possible with her two daughters who are both in college. She also enjoys acting with Alliance and Company, playing tennis, reading and and taking long walks in Cherry Creek Park around the lake.
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Christèle Turner
Lead Teacher
Originally from Bayeux, France, Christèle Turner received her teaching degree from the University of Caen in Normandy, France. She taught for one year as a substitute in the elementary grades before moving to the U.S. She earned a master’s degree in French Studies at Auburn University in Alabama before moving to Colorado. In 1997, she started teaching 3rd and 4th grade at Denver International School. Now, she teaches French Kindergarten at DMIS. She finds it is such a milestone year between pre-school and the elementary years. Christèle finds it very rewarding to watch kindergarteners grow during this year! She loves being a mom and playing with her three children (ages 10, 8 and 3). In her free time, she also loves to read, ski and travel.
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Odile Vincent
Lead Teacher
Odile Vincent is from the northeartern part of France. Before coming to Denver, she lived in Minn. for 12 years. She holds an associate’s degree in computer science and a bachelor’s degree in international trade. Odile also has a master’s degree in education with a specialty in French from St. Catherine’s College in Minn. She spent nine years at the French Academy in Minn. teaching children ages 3-8. In her free time, Odile enjoys hiking, playing the keyboard, and traveling to Latin America.
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Marco Volcker
Lead Teacher
Originally from l’Orne in Normandy, France, Marco Volcker received a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Paris X and completed his teacher’s training in Antony just outside of Paris. He taught French to adults and adolescents in San Cristobal de la Casa, Mexico for 2 years before returning to Normandy where he taught various levels of elementary school for the past seven years.
In his free time, he enjoys playing the violin, wood working, running, cycling, reading and spending time with his family. His wife is a Denver native and they are excited for their son to grow up in the beautiful Colorado mountains and the bilingual environment of DMIS.
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Veronique Weiss
Assistant Teacher
Veronique Weiss is a native of Bayonne, France, and lived in Bordeaux for 10 years. While at university, she studied English and Russian. Veronique served as a teacher for Denver International School’s French kindergarten in 2001-02 and is delighted to return to Denver Montclair International School’s faculty. Veronique has two daughters enrolled in DMIS’ French program.
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Deborah Wolf
Lead Teacher
Deborah Wolf is from Nice in the the south of France, but she has lived in the U.S. for the last 12 years. She graduated from the University of Colorado with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Early Childhood Education. She has been teaching the French 3-year-old class at DMIS for the past 2 years. She recently had her second child, an adorable little boy named Elliott. Her oldest daughter, Zoe, is entering the French Kindergarten at DMIS.
During her free time, she enjoys cooking and baking, exploring the outdoors with her four dogs and gardening.
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Amélie Yellen
Lead Teacher and Librarian
A native of Le Mans, France, Amélie Yellen grew up in Niort and then went on to college at l’Université de Poitiers, where she received bachelor’s degrees in teaching French as a foreign language and English literature and civilization. She loves literature and languages and studied English, German, Latin, Russian, a bit of Vietnamese and her local regional dialect Poitevin -Saintongeais.
When she first moved to Denver from New York, she worked at the Alliance Française of Denver. She has been working at DMIS for 13 years now, currently as a library specialist and French 4th grade teacher. Amélie has two children enrolled in the French program, Benjamin in 2nd grade, and Sarah starting in the French 3 year old program this fall.
In her spare time, Amélie likes to read, take ballet classes, attend Broadway shows, hike and camp out with her family in their old VW bus and best of all, spend time with her wonderful husband and children.
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