Meet Our Team of Family Educators

Carrie Bisbee

Originally from the land of cows and corn in the middle of the US, Carrie made Paris her home in 2004. She holds a BA in education and French and an MA in Museum Studies. Her thesis research, comparing French and American art museum education, now helps her to craft quality experiences for English-speaking visitors navigating French museums. Before moving to France, Carrie worked at the Milwaukee Public Museum and the Illinois State Museum.

Carrie researched and developed our “If Buildings Could Talk” walking tour for families. She loves to share her passion for Paris with inquisitive children and parents. Her favorite moments are when parents are ‘wowed’ by the perceptive things children always have to say.

When not teaching, Carrie likes to cook, or explore the maze of tiny streets in the Marais. She is also the assistant director of Paris Muse.

Kristen Gresh

Originally from New England, Kristen adopted Paris as her home in 1997 when she came as a Fulbright Scholar to study the work of French photographer Claude Cahun. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and French Literature from the University of New Hampshire and a Masters in Art History from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, where she is currently finishing her PhD in Art History. She also studied at the Ecole du Louvre. Her dissertation is about Edward Steichen's "The Family of Man" photography exhibition of 1955.

Kristen first came to Paris as a thirteen year old to spend the summer with her French pen pal and immediately fell in love with the city and did everything she could to come back. Today, she loves sharing her favorite city with travelers young and old. She has taught in Cairo, Egypt and Paris to both high school and college students and today loves having Paris as her classroom.

Mary Johnson

Born and raised in Africa by American missionary parents, Mary has traveled extensively throughout the world. She received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in architecture from Georgia Tech. After practicing as an architect for several years, Mary discovered her true vocation while teaching: “I love seeing art and architecture through the eyes and imagination of young people.” She moved to Paris in 2005 to research her dissertation on the Maison de Verre, a modern architectural icon in the 7th arrondissement.

Growing up in a family of professional artists gave Mary a strong sense of the vital role that creativity plays in bringing families together. She enjoys developing ideas for new family programs with her own teenage daughters. In addition to being a mother, PhD candidate, and teacher, Mary is also director of the Paris Program for Catholic University of America’s School of Architecture and Planning.

Kristen Laakso

As the mother of two young daughters, Kristen loves nothing more than helping children discover the secrets hidden behind every corner and doorway of Paris.

"It's all too easy for kids to see Paris as a city of dusty history, but it's so much more vibrant than that," she says with enthusiasm. "Renaissance buildings, Gothic cathedrals, ancient sculpture, mysterious monsters and gargoyles... there's so much here to spark a child's imagination when you tell the story in the right way.

"When you see kids striking a Venus de Milo pose or mimicking the images they see of ancient warriors, you know that they're hooked," she explains. "They're not just looking at art on the wall, they're living a piece of history!"

A seven-year veteran of Paris Muse, and now the company's director, Kristen has enjoyed creating and leading family tours since 2003. After stints in Los Angeles, the South Pacific, Cambridge, England -- and a brief foray into North Dakota -- Kristen landed in Paris in 1997, armed with undergraduate and graduate degrees in French literature from the University of Southern California.

When she's not taking families on scavenger hunts in the Louvre or deciphering the facade of Notre Dame for clients, she loves taking her own children to play in the gardens of the Palais Royal.

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