AUP Alumni Association Board

The AUP Alumni Association is guided by an elected Board of dedicated alumni who serve as leaders, ambassadors, and advocates for the global AUP community. This Board was first shaped by a transitional group of 22 alumni working in close partnership with the University, the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, and the Board of Trustees to establish the Association’s charter and framework. Unlike the President’s Alumni Advisory Council (“PAAC”), which primarily advised University leadership, the Alumni Association Board represents and serves the alumni body as a whole. 

Its role is to foster meaningful engagement between alumni and the University by supporting a wide range of initiatives: energizing local chapters, nurturing affinity groups around shared identities or professional interests, and organizing programs that promote lifelong learning, mentorship, and student recruitment. The Board also plays a key part in amplifying alumni visibility within student life and encouraging alumni support for the University’s mission. Through this work, it ensures that AUP’s global network remains vibrant, inclusive, and accessible, empowering alumni to connect with one another, contribute to AUP’s future, and extend the University’s values of cross-cultural understanding and global leadership well beyond the Paris campus. 

• Tsoline Avedisian G’11 | Yerevan, Armenia 

• Andrew Callaghan ’22, G’24 | Paris, France 

• Melanie Cissone ’80 | New York, New York* 

• Darryl Crompton ’69 | Garrett Park, Maryland 

• Tyler Cushing ’05 | Irvine, California 

• Mary Margaret Dineen ’91 | Baltimore, Maryland 

• Elan Garonzik ’70 | New York, New York* 

• Beverly Gaucher ’91 | Arlington, Virginia 

• Marvis Hardy ’78 | Chicago, Illinois 

• Emily Ide G’19 | Boston, Massachusetts 

• Petra Jenkins ’88 | Providence, Rhode Island 

• Carey Kluttz G’09 | Washington, District of Columbia 

• Albert Moore ’86 | Salem, Massachusetts 

• Natasha Moulton-Levy ’93 | West Friendship, Maryland 

• Adelaide Ness G’08 | Nashville, Tennessee 

• Alan Peterson ’89 | Irvine, California 

• Grant Plemons ’64 | Felton, California 

• Christie Stacey ’70 | Chicago, Illinois 

• Maryland Swensen ’63 | Sausalito, California 

• Haya Tawil G’21 | Paris, France 

• Amelia Urwin G’22 | Paris, France 

• Roxanne Vanderbilt ’95 | Pound Ridge, New York 

• Heather Walters ’93 | Bal Harbour, Florida 

• Kendall West ’25 | Paris, France 

• Edie Wiltsee ’67 | Carmel Valley, California 

• Sam Yehya ’11 | Atlanta, Georgia 

*indicates an appointed member of the Alumni Board 

Launched in April 2025, the AUP Alumni Association unites more than 23,000 graduates and former students across 145 countries, creating a dynamic and enduring community at the heart of the University. Membership is free and lifelong, beginning at matriculation, and offers opportunities for networking, mentorship, professional growth, and engagement through chapters, affinity groups, and global programming. Building on decades of alumni initiatives and the legacy of the President’s Alumni Advisory Council (PAAC), the Association brings alumni back to the center of AUP life, strengthening bonds across generations and reaffirming a shared commitment to global citizenship.

The President’s Alumni Advisory Council (PAAC) of The American University of Paris was established in 2013 under the leadership of President Emerita Celeste Schenck to strengthen the connection between the University and its global alumni community. From its inception, the Council served as a trusted advisor to the presidency, offering steady counsel across successive administrations and deepening the partnership between alumni and the University. 

Throughout its years of service, the PAAC played an instrumental role in advancing AUP’s mission. It fostered engagement across AUP’s international alumni network, supported recruitment efforts, and provided strategic insight in areas such as diversity, alumni relations, and University advancement. Subcommittees dedicated to these priorities expanded the Council’s influence and impact, ensuring that alumni voices remained central to the University’s growth and direction. 

The PAAC also made lasting contributions to AUP’s strategic goals, most notably through its support of the AUP Ascending capital campaign, which raised over €18 million for campus renovations and academic programs. In addition, members of the Council gave generously of their time and expertise, mentoring students and championing initiatives that strengthened the global AUP community. 

In April 2025, with the establishment of the AUP Alumni Association, the PAAC was formally discontinued. While the Council ceased to exist in its original format, many of its members continued their service as part of the Alumni Association’s Board, carrying forward the spirit of collaboration, counsel, and commitment that had defined the PAAC for more than a decade.