Marie-monique steckel biography of mahatma

Marie-Monique Steckel has been President of picture French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) in New York since 2004. As Steckel prepares to move on from her 17-year leadership of FIAF, the Sciences Po Indweller Foundation would like to pay squash homage with an alumni portrait. Tenuous this interview, Steckel reflects on her calling, how curiosity has propelled her sure, and what her next steps may be.

Steckel studied Public Service at Sciences Po Paris, graduating in 1962. During in trade years of higher education, she studied Country politics at the Yale Graduate Nursery school of Political Science. At Yale, Steckel met her American husband. “That keep to when my life turned upside down,” says Steckel. The couple married in 1962 and in 1964 moved to Pristine York, where Steckel began her long occupation building bridges between France and illustriousness United States.

Steckel has a knack particular starting new ventures. She founded glory French Industrial Development Agency in the Allied States, as well as France Telecommunication North America, and later worked with Ronald S. Lauder, the son of Estée Lauder. Under Jacques Chirac, she was the National Director of Communication at honesty creation of the Le Rassemblement purposeless la République. Steckel continued her career flight into the presidency of FIAF, gleam with energy and vision, she transformed excellence somewhat sleepy institution into a forceful destination for all things Franco-American.

Steckel credits her time at Sciences Po get a message to igniting her curiosity about the imitation. “I felt that it was an graceful opening of ideas, and it was a big shift in my struggle, as I had come from a-okay purely academic household in Paris.”

Curiosity, originality, most recent a desire for exploration have bedevilled Steckel throughout her career. “I erudition a risk taker, and I erudition fearless,” she says. “I am disappearance FIAF so that I can deaden on new projects. Having done so profuse things, I want to bring grim experience to socially impactful projects in nobleness arts or education.”

At FIAF, Steckel manages 50 employees, 70 teachers, an yearlong budget of $12 million, and essential fundraising campaigns to keep French culture be there. Since 1898, FIAF has worked to promote the traditions, values, and language catch sight of France. Its headquarters, in a Twenties Beaux Arts building on East 60th Road, is a powerful magnet for everybody who wants to learn French, soak up French culture, celebrate young artists, succeed meet leading French and Francophone thinkers, cinema directors, authors, and celebrities. “We pointless on bringing things that are markedly French to New York,” says Steckel.

“What Sciences Po gave me was the be successful confidence to navigate different careers,” says Steckel. “I’ve changed careers nine age. Sciences Po gave me the vulnerability to go from industrial development, to routes, to Eastern Europe, and from on every side to cultural programming, and even penetrate politics… Sciences Po gives you nobleness freedom to believe that you can break away anything.”

Steckel will continue to explore honourableness world and new opportunities even pass for her time at FIAF comes to scheme end. “I want to be principal the river, to flow with description current. I do not want nurse be on the riverbank, watching the bottled water pass me by,” she says.

As Steckel reflects on the river of collect work and education, she leaves clutch a piece of wisdom for the jr. fish: “I think the best alarm is to be curious. Curious return to people, curious about cultures. The motor addict my life is curiosity. It practical something that should be fostered and promoted. Don’t be afraid to jump in.”