Jillana Burgess (Administrative Coordinator, Conversational French): Acadia University, Nova Scotia, Canada, B.A,, Université de Paris, M.A. After completing her bachelor’s degree, which included a year abroad studying French in Aix-en-Provence, Jillana returned to France to teach English in Rouen and Marseille over a period of three years. She taught in a variety of settings ranging from the University of Rouen to various businesses and professional environments as well as designing children’s programs for a daycare. Inspired by teaching, she then returned to her studies of the French language and linguistics at the Sorbonne where she received a ‘Licence’ in FLE (Français Langue Etrangère), a program designed specifically for future French language teachers, followed by a Masters program at the University of Paris. Jillana is currently teaching French at a private high school in Massachussetts. This will be her third summer teaching with Excel.

Virginia Brumby (Intermediate French): Washington and Lee University, B.A. summa cum laude & Phi Beta Kappa. Growing up in a Georgia household where foreign accents mixed with southern drawls, Virginia became fascinated by languages at an early age. She has traveled extensively throughout Europe, Central America, and South America, and has spent time in Asia, as well as in Canada and Mexico. After one year of high school in France through Phillips Andover Academy, she worked as a hostess at a restaurant on the French Riviera. Virginia's language background helped her land positions at the United States Department of Justice and later at Quebec's bilingual Office of National Affairs in Washington, DC. She lived and worked in Buenos Aires, Argentina for three years, and currently resides in Delhi, India, where she works as a journalist and handles International Marketing for a travel company. Her hobbies include hiking, tennis, softball, kayaking, writing, storytelling, and food! This will be Virginia's fouth summer with Putney Student Travel. She has led Language Learning programs in France and Spain, and a Cultural Exploration program in Australia, New Zealand, & Fiji; and has helped coordinate Putney's programs in Argentina and India. Virginia is fluent in French and Spanish, but her Hindi leaves a lot to be desired.

Jude Leitten: University of Virginia, B.A. Monterey Institute of International Studies, M.P.A. in International Management. Jude majored in French and minored in Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia. Before that, she spent two years at the University of Cincinnati studying fashion design. Last summer, Jude completed a fellowship working on an HIV/AIDS learning initiative with Pact, Inc in Lusaka, Zambia. Before arriving in Monterey to earn her masters, Jude was an information management specialist at Talisman International in Washington DC, consulting for the Department of Energy and projects in information security. She has also worked as a Senior Analyst for The White House in the Executive Office of the President. Jude was a founding principal of EU StudyAbroad, Inc., an international education abroad organization based in Washington, D.C. and Grenoble, France. Additonally, she has taught high school French in the United States and was an English language teaching assistant in Auxerre, France. Jude was awarded two fellowships from the Cabell Brand Center for International Poverty and Resource Studies for research and publication in the areas of international conflict management. She completed studies during her junior year of college at l'université de Grenoble in Grenoble, France and in high school with the Indiana University Honors Program in St. Brieuc, France. This is Jude’s first summer with Excel.

Benjamin Pitt (Resident Advisor, Travel Photography): Brown University, B.S. Ben hails from Rhode Island, where he spent much of his childhood on the water sailing with his family. In college, Ben spent his Junior spring studying abroad in Paris, where he practiced his French-speaking and croissant-eating avec plaisir. While his studies in college were in the brain sciences, he spent his summers pursuing his passion for photography at the Maine Photographic Workshops. Since graduating he has taken his talents to Israel, where he worked as a photographer for an environmental organization. Recently, he was part of a four-month program in Israel, where he spent his time hiking, learning, and working as a volunteer English teacher. In addition to sailing, Ben also enjoys drumming, squash, the Simpsons, and dark chocolate, preferably in combination.

Bob Pokorney (Assistant Director, French Cuisine): Colorado College B.A.; Middlebury College School in France, M.A. After completing his degree in Art and Art History at Colorado College, Bob studied art conservation at the M.H. DeYoung Memorial Museum in San Francisco, and wrote as the Art Editor of the Ripsaw News, an independent Minnesota weekly newspaper. He has led cycling, kayaking and walking trips for Backroads in France, Italy and the western U.S., and co-operates a small surfboard-shaping company. Bob is currently pursuing a degree in translation and interpretation at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California. This is his third year with Excel Paris/Provence.

Shankar Prasad (International Relations, History of WWII): Rutgers College/Rutgers University, B.A., B.S.; Brown University, PhD. Shankar graduated summa cum laude from the Honors Program at Rutgers College with a triple major in French, Political Science and Finance. He spent his sophomore year studying international relations and French history at the Université François-Rabelais in Tours, France and at UNESCO in Paris. While in France, he worked for the French Red Cross and helped expand their “Échange de Savoir” program. Shankar worked in an NGO in Tartu, Estonia creating an EU sponsored information communication strategy report on policy implementation and political participation for the Center for Transboundary Cooperation. He also has considerable political experience, having interned on Capitol Hill and worked on political campaigns for seats in the Senate, House and Governorship in Rhode Island and New Jersey. Shankar is passionate about travel and has trekked throughout Asia, Australia and the Europe. For hobbies, Shankar enjoys squash, swimming, running and reading.

Marannie Rawls-Phillipe (Residential Assistant): Clark University, B.A. Psychology, French concentration. At Clark, Marannie played three years of women’s varsity soccer and was recognized as an outstanding scholar-athlete. She served on the university’s musical theater union and co-directed the production in her junior year. Growing up in a bilingual household has given Marannie the opportunity to learn French first hand and as a child she spent her summers traveling France, visiting her family. Upon graduating from Clark she took the summer to revisit the country traveling from Barcelona into France to hike the Alps. She returned home to New York City to work for IXIS Capital Markets where she interacted with clients in French as well as in English. She enjoys soccer, taekwondo, theater, film and playing music. She is fluent in French.

Noah Sabich (Creative Writing): Bates College, B.A. in French and History. Middlebury College School in France, M.A. University of Connecticut, M.A., PhD candidate. Noah has extensive travel and residential experience throughout Europe due to the fact that he enrolled in the University of Poitiers and the Sorbonne while studying French at various points in his academic career. He progressed in his studies of French thanks to engaging professors who dared to explore literature and culture beyond the borders of prescribed texts or societal references. It is from these simultaneous adventures in language, literature and culture that his intellectual pursuits guided him toward the study of post-colonialism and, more specifically, this theory in relation to contemporary French Polynesia. As part of his Ph.D. thesis he intends to examine by way of literature how indigenous Tahitians navigate their often opposing, combative identities (French/Tahitian) in a post-colonial island society. When not working or traveling, he enjoys surfing, soccer, reggae, the Basque country, Polynesian literature, biking and swimming. He has a mastery of French and Latin, and a working knowledge of German.

Larcombe Teichgraeber (Art History as Autobiography): Middlebury College, B.A., University of Texas, M.A., PhD candidate. At Middlebury College, Larcombe focused her European Studies major on History and French. She spent the first semester of her junior year studying at Middlebury College's Paris campus and her second semester at The University of Melbourne in Australia. During college Larcombe was a member of the Cross Country and Track & Field teams. Larcombe is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in French Literature at the University of Texas in Austin, focusing her studies upon the depiction of women in 19th century French literature. She also serves as an Assistant Instructor in the French Department. As a high school student, Larcombe attended Putney's Excel at Williams College program where she studied film and drama. This will be Larcombe's fourth summer with Putney Student Travel. She has led a Language Learning program in France and also the Cultural Exploration program in Switzerland, Italy, France, & Holland. Larcombe is fluent in French and loves Longhorn football.

Bibba Walke (Director): Middlebury College, B.A., Middlebury College School in France, M.A. Bibba directed a love of foreign languages and cultures into a B.A. in French and Spanish at Middlebury College, which brought her to Paris, France and Logroño, Spain during her junior year. An Education minor, Bibba has taught French, Spanish, or English at Second Chance Academy in Accra, Ghana; at Langue et Nature English Immersion School in Laval, France; on a Putney Student Travel Language Learning Trip to Spain; and at St. Paul’s School for Boys in Baltimore. She recently returned to Paris to complete an M.A. in French Language and Francophone Literature with Middlebury College’s School in France before joining the ranks of Putney directors here at the Barn. Beginning this fall, Bibba will be teaching French at the Hamlin School in San Francisco. This is her third summer with Excel Paris/Provence. She is fluent in French and Spanish.

Andrew Witrak (Drawing and Painting, French Cuisine and Culinary Arts): St. Olaf College, B.A., Studio Art. At St. Olaf, Andrew studied sculpture, painting, and drawing, graduating with Distinction. After graduating, Andrew left his native Minnesota to apprentice in New York City, first for Tucker Robbins Furniture and then for three years as an assistant for the bronze sculptor Tom Otterness in Brooklyn. In Manhattan while he managed the busy restaurant Terra 47, he volunteered for the Lighthouse for the Blind. He has spent time sculpting and painting in Cape Town, South Africa, where he obtained a Cambridge English Language Teaching certificate at Shane Global Village, and taught English to Congolese refugees. Andrew has recently moved back to the U.S. after spending two years teaching English and creating art in Paris. He has made commissioned artwork for clients in NYC, Minneapolis, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Paris, and Marseille. He currently spends his time working in Duluth, MN creating and exhibiting his work. Fluent in French, Andrew is thrilled to get back to France for his second year with Excel Paris/Provence.