Pam Canadas
Inspector
A native Californian, Pam studied English and French literature at the University of California at Davis and Berkeley, then at l’Université d’Aix-en-Provence before setting off on a life of adventures around the world, teaching both English and French in Buea, Cameroon, at the University of Nairobi, the Institut français d’Athènes, the Escuela de Minas in Oviedo, Spain and finally literature at the Lycée Magendie in Bordeaux where she was head of the International American Section as a professeur agrégé. Her daughter and son grew up in our old country home in the countryside overlooking the village of the philosopher Montesquieu, bringing much joy and many parties to add to our annual OIB graduation barbecues. Pam has been Inspectrice Déléguée de langue littérature for the past ten years, blessed to carry on her passion for teaching and sharing great works of literature with students and teachers around the world.
Claudia Castaybert
Subject Coordinator HG
Claudia has been teaching History, Histoire/Geographie, English and Theory of Knowledge at the secondary level since 2006. She joined the OIB community in 2007 when her school, the French American School of New York, launched its first high school class, and has been happily preparing students for the OIB and BFI and the IB ever since. She is currently Subject Coordinator for History/Geography in North America for the BFI, and serves as Head of the English department at FASNY. Prior to embarking on her vocation as a secondary school teacher, Claudia taught journalism at Columbia Graduate School of Journalism as an adjunct professor. She began her career as a journalist with Bloomberg News, where she spent seven years as a reporter in Paris and an editor in New York.
Rob Gallagher
Inspector
From 1975 to 1990. Rob worked in schools in London, Nairobi, Athens, Fontainebleau and Berne as teacher, Head of Department, Head of Upper School and Head of Section. From 1990 until 2016 he was Head of Humanities at the CIV, Sophia Antipolis, where he taught and examined the OIB, IB,American AP and British O and A level exams. He has also taught English, drama and yoga
Since retiring in 2016, Rob has been an assistant inspector and moderator for the OIB and has also been involved in the preparation work for the French International Baccalaureate. He also continued his work as IB examiner for History. During my retirement he has had 4 novels and a children’s book published. Rob is also President and member of a group which plays both local and world music.
Jérôme Giovendo
Treasurer
Jérôme is originally a mathematics teacher. After teaching for many years in the Paris region, he joined Ecole Jeannine Manuel Paris in 2006, where there has been an American section since 1985. In 2014, he was appointed Head of Ecole Jeannine Manuel Lille, and a few years later he took on the role of Schools Coordinator for all American sections, except those in North, Central and South America. In this capacity, he organizes the examinations of the American section of the French International Baccalaureate in collaboration with the French Ministry of Education and acts as a liaison between sections, College Board inspectors, subject coordinators, and representatives of the French educational system. Together with Laure de la Giraudière, Jérôme collects all possible information and statistics about the existing and future sections and coordinates the organization of our main event, the AAMIS World conference, which usually takes place early October each year.
Jérôme has also worked at the French Ministry of Education, DGESCO, as Program Coordinator for Mathematics and Primary Education and at the French National Center for Distance Learning (CNED).
Laure de la Giraudière
Administrative & membership Manager
Laure spent her high school years between France and Ireland, then studied Language, Literature & American civilization at La Sorbonne. Later, she graduated as an executive assistant within the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Her travels took her all the way to Australia where she joined the Alliance Française de Sydney. Back in France in 2011, she joined Ecole Jeannine Manuel as an executive assistant. She is in charge of the administrative management of the AAMIS association.
Bernard Manuel
President
Born to a Franco-American mother and a French father, Bernard Manuel was first educated in France where he earned degrees in Mathematics, Computer Science and Economics as well as the Sciences Po diploma. Moving to the US, he obtained an MBA from Harvard Business School, graduating as Baker Scholar.
His activities lead him to work in finance and industry until he became chairman of Ecole Jeannine Manuel in 1999 and gradually phased out his professional activities to dedicate his time to education and to the Fondation Jeannine Manuel.
A frequent speaker in the field of international bilingual education, Bernard Manuel is chairman of AAMIS and trustee of the Lycée Français de New York and of the French American Cultural Exchange foundation (FACE) which operates in partnership with the French embassy’s Cultural Services in New York.
Bernard Manuel lives in New York and Paris; he is Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur.
Arthur Plaza
Inspector
Arthur Plaza is the Dean of Innovation and Professional Learning at the Lycée Français de New York.
In 2003 he won a U.S. Fulbright Fellowship to France to complete a Ph.D. in History at New York University with an affiliation at the École doctorale de Sciences Po. His research has been published in collective works, including Politiques de la Laïcité (P.U.F., 2007) and Religion in the Public Schools (Rowman & Littlefield, 2013).
A history teacher at heart, he has taught Lycée students since 2008 drawing from both French national programs and U.S.-inspired curricula. He also served as a reader for the College Board’s Advanced Placement Exams and presented at the A.P. Annual Conference. An adherent of design thinking principles, he has contributed to curriculum innovation through a social entrepreneurship seminar he teaches.
To embed educational research at the Lycée, he facilitated faculty professional learning on differentiation, entrepreneurial learning, diversity, equity and justice; as well as learning and the brain. He also earned a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Administrative Policy from Fordham University. The New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) has appointed Arthur to serve on Re-accreditation Committees for its member schools.
Arthur believes a growth mindset is critical to the success of educators and students; consequently, he launched a 1:1 growth coaching program to nurture a culture of life-long learning among Lycée faculty.
Joëlle Reilly
Subject coordinator ACL / LL
Joelle Reilly is the English subject coordinator for North America. She is currently an English teacher and department coordinator at the Lycee Francais de New York where she has been teaching for 22 years. She has 10 years’ prior teaching experience in American independent and public schools, where she taught both English and French. She holds an MA in English and is a certified teacher in the state of New York.
Jonathan Scriven
Inspector - HG
Jonathan Scriven is the Associate Director of the Honors College at Washington Adventist University (WAU), just outside Washington, D.C. He is also a member of the teaching faculty in History and Political Studies and leads WAU’s Center for Law and Public Policy. Prior to his work at WAU, Scriven taught OIB History and Geography for 13 years at the Centre International de Valbonne and served as a national examiner for the OIB history/geography exam.
Jonathan is a native of Washington, DC, having grown up in the Maryland suburb of Takoma Park. Scriven earned a B.A. in History and Economics from Andrews University (Michigan), a Master’s Degree in History and Education from The Johns Hopkins University, and a Doctorate in International Relations from the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations in Geneva, Switzerland.
