Education & Experience:

Hugh was born in France and was a professional tour guide until his move to Australia in 1982. 

For the last 30 years he worked as a Manager for a leading international airline in Sydney, Paris, Cairns, Adelaide, Christchurch and Canberra. He has been involved for many years at the Alliance Francaise of Adelaide and Canberra.

Some of his goals as President are to grow the reach of the Alliance Francaise de Canberra to new markets, to increase its visibility through existing and new events and promote our location as a place where Francophones and Francophiles meet.

Education & Experience:

BA(Hons) MA(Hons)

Gordon is an art historian and retired academic. He taught art history and theory in Australian universities for over thirty years, principally at the School of Art and Design at Australian National University where for ten years he was Head of the Art Theory Workshop, and for seven years the Head of School.  

Gordon has been a member of the executive, and treasurer and membership secretary of the Art Association of Australia and New Zealand (AAANZ), and a member of the executive, secretary and chair of the Australian Council of University Art and Design Schools (ACUADS).

Gordon has been a student at the Alliance since 2013. He enjoys learning about all things French.

Education & Experience:

Judith has been part of the AF for several years taking part in lessons & all events.

For the past 5 years she has been on the board as she wanted to give back to the AF & their expertise & friendship has been very important.

She has been part of a work community which developed skills in administration, finance, risk, policy & research.

Her external activities has included dogs for most of her life & she is a judge, breeder & owner of lovely companions.

Education & Experience:

BEc (Hons), MEc, PhD

Arthur has a keen interest in French culture, history and language — much of this stimulated and developed while living in Paris for several years and travelling across France. He also participates in cultural and language education activities at the Alliance Française.

Arthur pursued a career as an economic analyst and policy adviser. He was a senior executive in the Australian Department of Finance and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Arthur also worked for several years in a leading international organisation in Paris, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. He previously worked as a Lecturer and Senior Tutor at the Australian National University while undertaking his Ph.D. research in economics.

Education & Experience:

Leslie Barnes is Associate Professor of French Studies at the Australian National University, where she teaches all levels of courses in French language and culture. She is the author of Vietnam and the Colonial Condition of French Literature (Nebraska, 2014) and co-editor of The Cinema of Rithy Panh: Everything Has a Soul (Rutgers, 2021).

Her daughter is enrolled at Telopea Park School and regularly attends camps and classes at the Alliance.

Education & Experience:

BE (Martitime) (Hons), MBA, MDefStud, GAICD

Rupert is a long-term francophone and francophone, driven by an enduring passion: “What I love about French culture is the value placed on style - anything worth doing must not just be done, it must be done elegantly and with panache.” 
His career and personal travels have taken him to France and New Caledonia many times over three decades, as well as to Canada, Niger, Morocco and Algeria. These opportunities were enabled by French language skills, thanks in part to completion of the DALF at the Alliance Française de Canberra in 1999. He is therefore delighted to join the Board, in particular to help with strategy and infrastructure. 
Rupert was a Brigadier in the Australian Army, whose service included: multiple operational tours (Bosnia, Timor Leste, Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait); Defence Attaché in the Australian Embassy Paris; Adviser to the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade at the Parliament of Australia; then his final posting was Commandant of the Royal Military College of Australia.  Subsequently, he worked with the Business Council of Australia on community recovery following the 2019-2020 bushfires, then spent three years as a Senior Expert on culture and leadership with McKinsey & Company. In 2024, he co-founded strategy and leadership consulting firm Balance Partners.
Rupert has the honour to be a Chevalier de l’ordre national du mérite (Knight of the French National Order of Merit), and in 2017 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his service to international relations. 

Education & Experience:

BE, MEM, MBA, PhD 

Rim has been part of the Alliance Francaise de Canberra for more than 5 years.  Having attended French schools overseas, she continues to have a keen interest in the French culture and language.    

Rim’s professional background is in information technology.  She has worked in various management and professional services roles across the higher education and private sectors in Australia and overseas. 

She is currently a visiting fellow at the ANU. Her research interests include sustainable development and digital inclusion.  Rim is also the AFRAN ACT hub leader.

Aurélie Sheehan was born in France and moved to Australia in 2008 where she launched her career in translation after initially starting out as a French and English language teacher. She became a NAATI-Certified English to French translator in 2010 and has been working in the translation and interpreting industry since then. She held a range of roles from freelance translator to translation project manager in both the for-profit and non-for-profit sectors. She is currently working at the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) where she has been a member of the senior executive leadership team since 2020.Aurélie holds a master's degree in English Studies (Université Lumière, Lyon 2) and a master’s degree in the Didactics of French as a foreign language (Université Lumière, Lyon 2). She also holds a Postgraduate Certificate of Education – Secondary (Modern languages – French) from the University of Cumbria, UK, and a Graduate Certificate in Business from the Australian Institute of Management.Aurélie loves to get involved in everything French and has been a strong supporter of the Alliance Française since she set foot in Australia. Her two daughters are students at Telopea Park School where she sometimes volunteers to support French stream students.

Nigel Peckham has been a member of the Alliance Française de Canberra since he retired and moved to Canberra in late 2022. He has been an active volunteer since 2023 and a member of the Book Club since 2024.A lifelong and passionate Francophile, Nigel first visited France at the age of six with his father, a French and Spanish teacher in London who was leading a school trip. He later lived in the South of France for several years, where he established and ran a camping holiday business catering to the UK market.Nigel had a 42-year career in management, both internationally and in Australia, in the building, construction and development management industries, progressing to Managing Director level. Throughout his career, he worked on major commercial projects in the UK, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Caribbean.His interests include painting and drawing, carpentry, films, reading and hiking.