The Georgetown Alumni Club of France serves as the bridge between Georgetown University keeping alumni, faculty, parents, and friends connected to the heart of the Hilltop. We are a chartered club of the Georgetown University Alumni Association (GUAA) and we are managed and operated entirely by alumni volunteers.

1) Sign up to be a member of our club:  For curent students, use this link here.  For alumni, the process is to complete this ‘contact update‘ form. The country and city you choose determines the ‘news’ you get by club- so you would need to pick France as residence.   Otherwise you will not get any communications from us.

2) Connect with fellow members on Linkedin- GU Club of France page and join the GU France Whatsapp group.

3) Alumni interviewing in France – stay connected to GU and help Admissions select great candidates through the Alumni Admissions Program. Georgetown graduates can volunteer to interview prospective students seeking admission to various schools in the University The interviewing program shows prospective students a critical part of what makes GU stand out among great American universities. By offering and requiring an alumni interview to all applicants, candidates directly experience alumni connectedness, underlining the importance of community at Georgetown. That sense of community sets Georgetown apart and is inseparable from Georgetown’s academic excellence and ethical values. If you would like to help identify future Hoyas among the applicants from this great country, please contact Jon Lillian (guaap-france@jhlco.com) the Chairman of APP France supported by William Holmberg, (wch@georgetown.edu).

4) Learn about events organized by American University Clubs of France (AUC France). GU is one of 40+ American University/ college clubs in France. The 2 major annual events are:

• Traditional AUC Thanksgiving Dinner in November.
• Annual reception / cocktail typically held at the Tallyrand Center in coordination with the US Embassy to France in late June or early July.

5) Learn from past events which were recorded and posted on the Club’s Youtube channel.

If you have any specific comments or questions, write to guclubfrance@georgetown.edu.

FALL 2024

September 26, 2024: The 2024 US Presidential Election: debating the issues

Following the first virtual presidential election debate in 2020, animated by Amy Porter National Communications Officer, Democrats Abroad France debating Randy Yaloz, President, Republicans Overseas Action (Worldwide) and France and Republicans Overseas France, The GU Club of France aimed to cover not just 3 primary issues (the Economy, crime and immigration) but also touch on issues affecting expats abroad including France. William Holmberg moderated, seeking to balance equal air time for both speakers with some guidance to keep remarks both ‘on topic’ as well as ‘factual’. While informative as well as entertaining.  Link to recording.

December 5, 2024: Investment, Tax and Estate Planning for Americans Living in France

Bringing together 2 experts, Vincent Berthier de Bortoli on tax and Robert Levitt from Levitt Capital Management on wealth management, the speakers addressed a ‘sold out’ event held in the office of TOBAM on avenue des Champs-Elysées. The speakers covered a range of topics including compliance with French tax authorities on US domiciled bank and trust accounts to identifying ways for mitigating high taxes on gifts, distributions and capital gains as well as specific implications of the Bilaterial US-France tax treaty of 1996 (link here). Following Q/A, attendees continued discussions with the speakers over food and drinks while strategizing on how best to address their individual tax goals and constraints. To learn more, reach out to the speakers directly using the links above.

WINTER & SPRING 2024

March 19, 2024:  Spring Cocktail

Hosted by Belinda Gaudimar SFS’83, P’16 tonight (March 19)

Saturday, May 4, GUAA’s 11th Annual Hoyas Give Baxa

3 volunteers offered to support the food drive and companionship service for the homeless in Paris coordinated at the American Cathedral on Avenue George V.

Friday, June 28: US- French corporate financing: legal, governance and sustainability issues

Mr. Seth Engel (J.D. ’12) and Jean-Guillaume de Tocqueville (L.L.M. ’84) both hosted and led the presentation and discussion on  Cross-Border Capital Markets and ESG ‘Environmental, Social and Governance’ Issues. The forum supported the audience in better understanding the implications of these matters for French companies, how M&A transactions in this field unfold as well as the threat to wind back progressive ESG related US legislation. Jones Day kindly hosted the event, which is based in the historical Talleyrand building where the Marchal Plan was administered.

FALL 2023

October 24, 2023: Whiskey tasting: a unique American brand for the French market
The Georgetown and Yale Clubs of France hosted their alumni and friends to attend a Whiskey tasting event at The Travellers Club in Paris during which Ashley Donahey, president of Two Worlds Whiskey, presented and described different diverse whiskies, explained the history of American Whiskey and its French origins as well as the story behind the creation of the first luxury American Whiskey created for France named to honor Marquis de la La Fayette.

November 14, 2023: Managing taxes and investments as a US citizen in France: a workshop
Close to 30 alumni from various US alumni clubs came to the offices of Sekri Valentin Zerrouk in central Paris to hear 4 experts address the topic of Managing tax and investments as a US citizen in France. Our host, Jerome Assouline, tax advisor @ Sekri Valentin Zerrouk, opened the presentation on tax reporting obligations for US citizens that are resident in France to the French tax authorities. Diego Pajaro & Adam Myers, Executive Directors, London & Capital, a wealth management firm, complemented those remarks, including a case study/ example and thus allowing the audience to compare and contrast their potential profile and tax compliance issues to the profile in this illustration. Finally, John Zolidis, president of Quo Vadis Capital, a wealth management firm, presented some key observations and factors to consider when selecting how best to invest in equities over the long term and important issues to support the decision of how exactly to do it. Watch the replay via this link.

EVENTS- SPRING 2023 

March 29, 2023:  Spring Cocktail
hosted by Belinda de Gaudemar, member of the Board, Georgetown Club of France hosted a dozen alumni at her residence to offer a social event to welcome the change of season and first gathering since winter.

April 11,2023: Transatlantic Challenges: The View from Paris
More than 20 attendees comprising not only Georgetown alumni but also those of other APSIA schools (Professional Intl Affairs) including Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Duke, Tufts/ Fletcher, GW and others) gathered in the office of Dentons close to the Madeleine in central Paris to hear and respond to remarks made by Amy Schedlbauer (GU BSFS 1995, Princeton MPP 2008), Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs, Environment, Science, Technology & Health as well as  Liam Wasley, (Brown AB 1988, GU MSFS/ MA History 1991) Minister Counselor for Political Affairs.    Both long term career foreign service offices based at the U.S. Embassy around the corner, they led an off-the-record discussion and interaction session with the audience or a range of topics, from responses to political and economy consequences of heighten tensions between US-China, US-Russia and the Ukraine conflict to Climate policy and investment, the reinvigorated role and responses of NATO, noting its newest member Finland, to its pivot back to preparedness for state on state conflict after 2 decades of exclusionary mission capabilities and much more. Hosted by Pascal Chadenet, Partner at Dentons and Board member of the GU Club of France, the group pivoted from formal remarks and Q/A to continued debate and discussion over cocktails and food until late evening.

June 26,2023: the history of political division in the US and a roadmap to address it
On a sunny late June evening, 40+ attendees representing many university clubs with chapters in France gathered at the offices of Gide Loyrette Nouel in the 8th arrandissement to listen to Seth David Radwell (MPP Harvard, BA Columbia) present the key findings in his book: American Schism: How the Two Enlightenments Hold the Secret to Healing Our Nation. The book has received received wide-ranging praise from across the political divide and has been an a #1 Amazon Bestseller in Politics and Government. The talk was moderated by Yannick Mireur (graduate, Sciences-Po, a Fulbright scholar, MA & PhD from the Fletcher School at Tufts University) who offered his expertise as a distinguished French specialist on the US and a regular guest of French news channels on US and international affairs to the audience.  Our co-hosts, the leaders of the Fletcher and Tufts clubs did a great job coordinating the event, logistics, invite and more. It was a great capstone event for the 2022-2023 academic year!  TO WATCH THE REPLAY, CLICK HERE

EVENTS- FALL 2022

September 15: Welcome to the Neighborhood– social event held near Bastille

October 6: Founding Fathers’ Walking Tour of Paris: Jefferson, Franklin & the American Founding Fathers: The tour began on the Concorde square where Benjamin Franklin signed the Treaty of Alliance and France was the first to recognize the independence of the U.S. Led by Brad Newfield of Paris Walks, an historian, has earned a doctorate in Franco-American relations and it shows at his gives deep insights during his walks.

November 29:  Update on Paris as a place for international dispute resolution: round-up about the most recent and debated French court decisions on international commercial arbitration.

Related events:

A)  Annual AUC Thanksgiving diner event November 22 hosted by AUC at the Ecole Militaire. Photos of the event are available here: https://www.facebook.com/AUCFrance/photos

B) note: in October, the International Trailblazer Awards, organised by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) and in partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Paris, honored three courageous leaders who embody GIWPS’ mission. the event took place at the residence of the US Embassador to France.

You can watch some events which have been recorded on demand via this link on the Club’s Youtube channel