BA, MA (Oxon), MA (USur), PGCE (Institute of Education)

Following obtaining a master’s degree in French and German and a PGCE at the Institute of Education, Anneli taught for 13 years in inner London and began writing textbooks in French and German. She ran a large department in an inner London school which earned a grant to become a “Language College.” In 2000, Anneli left the classroom to focus specifically on writing and consultancy.

After serving on the School’s Board of Trustees for several years, she became Burbank Campus Director in 2013.

In 2024, Anneli was appointed LILA’s interim Head of School, while continuing her commitment to serving as Director of Teaching, Learning & Professional Growth, the position she assumed in 2023.

Anneli has over 30 publications to her name. She holds a second master’s in 20th century French cultural studies from the University of Surrey and a Certificate in Advanced Educational Leadership from Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Licence géographie, science de l’éducation (Paris I), CAPE (Versailles)

A graduate of the University of Paris I: Panthéon-Sorbonne, Mathieu spent three years teaching and managing international student programs in France before arriving in Los Angeles in 2008.

He began his journey with the School as an elementary teacher at our West Valley campus in 2008, moving to roles serving the Pasadena and Los Feliz campuses before finally arriving at the Burbank campus in 2016 as Assistant Campus Director.

Mathieu stepped into the role of Middle School Principal & Representative for French Affairs in summer 2018. Starting in 2023, Mathieu took on his current role as Burbank Campus Director. In 2024, Mathieu also took on the role of Assistant Head of School for French Affairs PS-12.

M. Ed Educational Leadership (UNO), CAPE (Besançon), CAPA-SH (Besançon)

A native of Gevrey-Chambertin, France, Benoît became an educator in Special Education in 2006.

He then taught 2nd grade and 4th grade in a Public French Immersion Program in New Orleans, Louisiana, and concurrently completed his Master’s of Education in Educational Leadership at the University of New Orleans. He joined the Ecole Bilingue of New Orleans in 2019 where he served as the Elementary and Middle School Academic Director.

Benoît joined LILA in August 2022 as the Pasadena Campus Director. He is happy to continue organizing the annual three-day camping trip to Joshua Tree that the Pasadena campus community has been enjoying for more than a decade.

BA (Bretagne Occidentale), PGCE (Exeter), MA (Angers)

Vincent holds a B.A. in American and British Literature, Linguistics & Civilization from the Université of Bretagne Occidentale and a Master’s Degree in French Education from the University of Angers. In addition, Vincent earned certification in special education with TNTP, broadening his pedagogical approach to emphasize inclusiveness and equity for students most at risk.

After several years of teaching French in the UK, Vincent moved to Louisiana in 2013 where he taught French in an elementary public school. In 2016, he joined Lycée Français de la Nouvelle-Orléans as an academic interventionist and special education teacher, eventually advancing to a leadership role.

Vincent then served as the Dean of Students and Head of Pastoral Care at Collège Français Bilingue de Londres.

A native of Brittany, France, Vincent stepped into the role of West Valley Campus Director in 2024.

BA (UCSC), MA (USC), ECEC

Sarah embarked on her educational career in a special education elementary classroom, fostering a dedication to nurturing inclusive and innovative learning environments. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California Santa Cruz, with a focus on social justice, and a Master of Arts in teaching from the University of Southern California. Sarah also attained the highest level of certification in Early Childhood Education in 2016.

Joining the LILA community in 2009 as an elementary teacher, Sarah progressed to Assistant Director before undertaking the initiative of establishing and managing the Early Learning Center in 2017. In this capacity, she served as Program Director while also holding the position of Associate Director at the Los Feliz Main Campus.

In 2019, Sarah was selected to participate in the Columbia College Klingenstein Center FORGE Leadership Program and has completed further studies with an Advanced Education Leadership course at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In May 2024, Sarah took on her current role as Los Feliz Campus Director.

B.S.Ed. (UCO)

Rebecca joined LILA as the STEM teacher in 2017, bringing her experience in both classroom teaching and educational technology to the Los Feliz Campus.

Rebecca began her career in education teaching second grade in Oklahoma City Public Schools. Driven by a passion for exploration and lifelong learning, she took a sabbatical, gaining valuable insights into different cultures and educational systems. This global perspective has enriched her approach to teaching and leadership.

Just before joining LILA, Rebecca worked for an educational technology company, where she presented at educational conferences and worked with teachers to implement hands-on science in the classroom.

Rebecca is passionate about creating engaging, inclusive, and nurturing learning environments that inspire young minds to explore and discover.

BSc(Hons), MSc (Eng), MSc (Law), CEng

Mort first joined the LILA community as a parent in 2007 following his move to Los Angeles from London, UK, with a commitment to continue with the French bilingual education of his four children, three of whom graduated from LILA.

Mort started his career as a chartered structural engineer in the UK. He then moved into business operations and management, contract law, quality management systems, and project and risk management.

Mort has a Master’s in structural engineering from the City University, London and a Master’s in Law from King’s College, London.

Mort brought with him a diverse and extensive range of experiences gained over 25 years in company operations management, as well as through leading the delivery of major multi-disciplinary construction projects worldwide, such as the BBC Media Village Development. Mort also designed and led the delivery of the London ExCel Exhibition Centre Development, which turned into the British Government’s NHS Nightingale Hospital during COVID.

In 2012, acting as an independent management consultant for LILA, he successfully delivered the construction of the Burbank Campus. He then formally joined LILA in 2014 as the Chief Operating Officer.

BS (UOre)

John holds degrees in both marketing and finance from the University of Oregon. He moved to Los Angeles in 1986, where he started his finance career in the entertainment industry.

John has been part of our school community since 1997, when the older of his two daughters started preschool at the Los Feliz campus. In 1998, he attended his first PA meeting and was quickly elected President. After establishing a strong parent volunteer community, John was invited to join the School’s Board of Trustees in 2001; he served as Treasurer until 2010. John has held the role of CFO since 2003.

In 2015, John earned the CFO of the Year award from the San Fernando Valley Business Journal for his work associated with the School’s first-ever campus purchase. This two-year project required a combination of financial, political, and planning skills, and through sound budgeting practices, John was able to lead the transformation of the purchased property from a five-acre General Motors facility into a usable middle and high school campus. The project was not only delivered on time, but also within budget, for the start of the 2013-2014 school year at Burbank.

BA (USC), CFRE

Leslie is a LILA alumna who has more than 20 years of experience in the communications and public relations field. Having worked at top PR agencies as well as in-house, she leveraged these skills to take on the Annual Fund and alumni relations for LILA in 2017. She spent that time building community while promoting understanding of, and growing support for, the Annual Fund.

In 2021, she took on the role of Director of Advancement, overseeing development, marketing and communications, events, and volunteer management.

Leslie holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Southern California as well as a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) certification.

BA (ULond), MA (UBirm), MEd (OpenU)

Juliette joined the School in 2009, bringing with her 25 years of teaching experience and a passion for bilingual education and linguistics. After serving as Admissions Coordinator for the Los Feliz campus for several years, Juliette took on the role of Director of Admissions in 2013.

Growing up, she attended the Lycée International de Saint-Germain-en-Laye and the Lycée Français de Stockholm. Juliette is also a parent at the School; three of her four children have studied here. Having been both a student and a parent at a multitude of French and international schools, Juliette understands firsthand the unique experience that the School offers to its students.

Juliette holds a Master’s in Education from The Open University as well as a Master’s in Applied Linguistics from Birmingham University.

MA (ESIEE-IT Paris), CESA (HEC Paris)

A Paris native, Stéphane has more than 25 years of experience in IT Infrastructure and Services working for international companies. In 2015, during his tenure as the director of IT Operations at Hewlett-Packard, he and his family moved to Los Angeles, where he became involved in the school community as the Los Feliz PA Treasurer in 2016.

In 2017, Stéphane took over LILA’s IT Director role. Since joining, he and his team have spearheaded important initiatives in the life of the School. Namely, in March 2020, they were instrumental in developing a fully remote learning model, allowing the School to pivot to e-learning in the span of one weekend. To ensure the success of LILA’s e-learning program, the team offered support to teachers, students and parents for the duration of the year-long school closures.

Under his leadership, technology at LILA has been transformed with initiatives such as the development and implementation of the 1:1 Chromebooks program for 2nd to 9th grades, the use of Google Classroom throughout the School, as well as the digital interactive whiteboard.

Stéphane holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science (Diplôme d’Ingénieur) from ESIEE-IT Paris as well as an Executive Certificate (CESA) in Management from HEC Paris.

PhD (UMASS Amherst), MA (Fairfield University)

In 2024, Dr. Alisha Jean-Denis (she/her) joined LILA as Dean of Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. Dr. Alisha Jean-Denis is a mother and scholar-activist who is passionate about educational equity and justice.

With over 20+ years of organizational leadership and development as a Senior Director and philanthropic strategist, Alisha has worked in schools, early childhood settings, non-profit organizations, private foundations, and institutions of higher education, expanding the intergenerational wisdom of Black Feminist theorists who believe that transformative pedagogical spaces for PK-12 youth are indeed possible.

Alisha holds a PhD in Social Justice Education as well as programmatic experiences in various lived contexts, utilizing multi-interdisciplinary approaches to reimagine social justice praxis in PK-12 schooling experiences.

As a cultural storyteller, she has traveled to more than 30 countries and loves spending time with her husband Dr. Howard Jean-Denis, and her three children, one of who is a student at the West Valley campus. Dr. Alisha continues to draw from the wells of her late mother and late grandmother, who both believed in high quality education and service to all humanity.