Staff

Staff Directory

Audrey Chapuis

Executive Director

Audrey brings over twenty years of experience in nonprofits and higher education. Before joining the American Library in 2015, she held positions at Widener Library in the Harvard College Library system and the Pritzker Legal Research Center at Northwestern University School of Law, where she managed the Access Services department. She received a Master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2006 and an Executive MBA from HEC Paris in 2022. Audrey is a passionate advocate for digital literacy, intellectual freedom, open access in scholarly publishing, and community building through cultural programming.

When you have possessed a book with mind and spirit, you are enriched. But when you pass it on you are enriched threefold.
Henry Miller

Abigail Altman

Assistant Director

01 53 59 12 60

With over a decade of leadership at the American Library in Paris, preceded by headship of an IB school library and part-ownership of a major Paris anglophone bookstore, Abigail brings deep expertise to our library services. She oversees all librarians, leads the Special Collections and archives, develops and implements library policies and collection development strategy, while directing print and digital acquisitions (EBSCO, JSTOR, OverDrive). She holds a diploma in Information and Library Science from Robert Gordon University and a BA in French from Tufts University, and is bilingual in English and French.

Human beings can lose their lives in libraries. They ought to be warned.
Saul Bellow

Nathalie Cousin

Head of Finance

01 53 59 12 64

With more than twenty-five years of experience in finance and cultural nonprofits, Nathalie directs the Library’s administrative and financial operations and sits on the Board of Trustees Finance Committee and the USAF Investment Committee. Since 2017, she has collaborated with the Executive Director on institution-wide budgeting and reporting, and leads internal controls and risk management, legal and regulatory compliance, and banking partnerships. Previously, Nathalie served as Administrative and Financial Manager at the international NGO Passerelles Numériques, managed the Library of the Sections Internationales de Sèvres, and was VP/Relationship Manager at the Bank of America. Nathalie holds an MBA in Finance from ESCP Business School and is bilingual in French and English.

Le cinéaste pense avec les yeux et les oreilles, le peintre avec les mains. La littérature est un refuge. Elle approfondit la vision du monde.
Jean-Luc Godard

Maisie Fieschi

Chief of Staff

01 53 59 12 67

Maisie works closely with the Executive Director on organizational strategy, fundraising, and major donor cultivation, and leads cross-functional initiatives in communications, programs, operations, and development.

If you do one good deed your reward usually is to be set to do another and harder and better one.
C.S. Lewis

More about Maisie

The granddaughter of a state librarian, Maisie began her career in publishing at Sydney University Press and Random House Australia, and later directed Australia’s largest academic editing company. She holds a BA with First Class Honours in Literature from the University of Sydney and is completing a global executive leadership program with the Chief of Staff Association.

Erica Johnson

Office and Operations Coordinator

01 53 59 12 66

Erica supports the Executive Director and Chief of Staff in organizational development, coordinating staff meetings, managing the annual review process, and leading job mapping initiatives.

Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another's skin, another's voice, another's soul. Imagining fully other people's lives may be, paradoxically, a way for us to know ourselves better.
Joyce Carol Oates

More about Erica

Erica brings over ten years of experience in the cultural sector and social impact organizations, including roles at The Wellbeing Project, Art of Change 21, Grand Palais, and Musée du Quai Branly. She holds a Master’s degree in Museum Studies from Université Paris Ouest Nanterre la Défense and a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Boston University, and is fluent in English and French.

Celeste Rhoads

Children's & Teens’ Services Manager

01 53 59 12 69

Celeste Rhoads oversees activities and collections for children and young adults.

How can I explain to anyone that stories are like air to me, I breathe them in and let them out over and over again.
Jacqueline Woodson

More about Celeste

Celeste holds a BA in Global Communications from the American University in Paris, and an MLIS from Rutgers University, where she focused on digital libraries and children’s literature. She has served on numerous book selection committees, including the Young Adult Library Services Best Fiction for Young Adults Commitee, and Great Graphic Novels for Young Adults Committee, and she has written for the BnF’s “La Revue des Livres Pour Enfants” about American children’s literature post-Sendak. Celeste enjoys connecting people of all ages with great reads—especially contemporary titles, and she is a passionate advocate for every individual’s right to read.

David Gonçalves

Member Services Manager and Librarian—Adult Services

01 53 59 12 60

A trained librarian, David manages the Member Services team and assists with the Collection, Reference, and Archives departments.

Literature is the most agreeable way of ignoring life.
Fernando Pessoa

Claire Hargreaves

Assistant Librarian–Adult Services

01 53 59 12 60

Claire supports the Member Services and Collections departments, curates book displays, and coordinates logistics for the Book Award.

Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies do divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can.
Jane Austen

Laurine Lucie

Assistant Librarian–Children's & Teens' Services

01 53 59 12 69

Laurine assists in the Children’s and Teens’ Services department with programs and the collection.

There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we believe we left without having lived them, those we spent with a favorite book.
Marcel Proust

Emma Schumann

Cultural Programs Coordinator

01 53 59 12 60

Emma coordinates the Library’s cultural events and manages the Cultural Fellows and Visiting Fellows programs, while serving as the primary liaison for speakers and Writers-in-Residence. If you would like to submit an idea for an event, please use our Programs Submissions Form

What will be left of us in this world? Sentences instead of voices, sentences instead of photographs.
Silvina Ocampo

More about Emma

Previously, Emma worked in product marketing and editorial roles at Happy Money, Wade & Wendy, and W.W. Norton & Company. Emma holds a BS in Neural Science and BA in Psychology from New York University, with a minor in Creative Writing, and is fluent in English and French.

Alfonso Sjogreen

Creative Media and Production Coordinator

01 53 59 12 60

Alfonso coordinates creative media and production, developing visual content for our digital platforms, marketing campaigns, and institutional communications.

Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.
C.S. Lewis

More about Alfonso

With over ten years in video production and brand design, Alfonso has worked with clients including Adidas, Refinery29, ABC News, and Urban Outfitters. He holds a Master’s in Global Communications from the American University of Paris and a BFA in Communication Design from Parsons School of Design.

File3 4 Teheran Courtyard White Hat In Window Portrait Blurry Print 1 Scaled E1705402555363

Yoon Park

Operations Coordinator

01 53 59 12 60

Yoon coordinates operational systems and technology solutions, streamlining workflows, managing development database operations, and implementing process improvements.

A novel worth reading is an education of the heart…It’s a creator of inwardness.
Susan Sontag

Maria Bodmer

Donor Operations Coordinator

01 53 59 12 66

Maria supports the donor experience, serving as the main point of contact for inquiries via phone and email. She facilitates development across gift processing and recognition, database integrity, and fundraising appeals, and collaborates on event logistics for Friends of the Library, the Gala, and the Book Award.

Books are a uniquely portable magic.
Stephen King

More about Maria

Maria worked for five years at NetGalley in publisher relations and community management and holds an MA in Literary Translation from Trinity College Dublin.

Josephine Hirsch

Community Relations and Operations Coordinator

01 53 59 12 60

Josephine supports Front of House and User Experience operations and coordinates the Library’s internship and volunteer programs.

It is is better to know one book intimately than a hundred superficially.
Donna Tartt

Eve Bennett

Member Services Assistant

01 53 59 12 60

Eve supports the Member Services team.

People flock in...in search of answers to those questions only librarians are considered able to answer...Do you have a book I remember reading once? It had a red cover and it turned out they were twins.
Terry Pratchett

Colette Dia

Member Services Assistant

01 53 59 12 60

Colette supports the Member Services and Children’s & Teens’ Services teams.

Stories help shape the way we see ourselves in the world. They help tell us who we can be and what we can achieve.
Nicola Yoon

Nathan Loceff

Member Services Assistant

01 53 59 12 60

Nathan supports the Member Services team.

Through the act of writing, I was able to find out what I knew ... what I was able to know, and where the limits of knowing lay.
Teju Cole

Sara Coladonato

Member Services Assistant

01 53 59 12 60

Sara supports the Member Services team.

Strategic Advisors, Curators, and Docents

John Burnham Schwartz

American Library in Paris Book Award Chair

John oversees the Library’s literary prize, which celebrates works of literature, both fiction and nonfiction, that draw on France as a timeless source of inspiration. He is the author of six acclaimed novels, including The Red Daughter, The Commoner, and Reservation Road, which was adapted into a film. John also serves as the longtime Literary Director of the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference and is an editor-at-large at Penguin Press.

Rachel Donadio

Curator of Cultural Programs

Rachel conceptualizes our premier cultural programming, moderates our public events, and helps shape the visiting fellows program. She is a writer, journalist and critic, a contributing writer for The Atlantic and a former Rome Bureau Chief and European Culture correspondent for The New York Times. She has reported from more than two dozen countries and interviewed heads of state and major cultural figures, including four Nobel Laureates in literature. She regularly writes on culture and politics for The New York Review of Books.

If you would like to submit an idea for an event, please use our Programs Submissions Form

Alexandra Fernández Coego

Communications Lead

Alexandra leads the Library’s communications strategy, overseeing digital platforms, media relations, and content development. She previously served as Head of Communications and Public Relations at the International Council of Museums, where she developed global advocacy campaigns. She was Paris correspondent for the Spanish daily La Voz de Galicia and currently contributes to The Art Newspaper, focusing on cultural heritage and arts policy.

Mayanne Wright

Archives Docent

Mayanne leads our History Tours, where attendees learn about the Library’s 105 years of service in Paris.

Riley Chabot

Development Consultant

Riley supports the Library’s fundraising, events, and donor engagement. She is the founder of Chabot Consulting, where she advises nonprofits on development and administrative strategy.

Julie Fry

Strategic Partnerships Lead

Julie supports fundraising and development efforts, with a focus on strategic partnerships. She is a Paris-based international arts and culture consultant, providing expertise in strategic philanthropy, nonprofit development and management, and cross-national cultural exchange to clients in France, England, and the US. She is the former president and CEO of California Humanities, a statewide arts and humanities grantmaker and programmer. In 2023, she was named a Chevalière de l’ordre des arts et des lettres by the French Ministry of Culture.