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 recently finished her PhD in Art History, with a dissertation about Edward Steichen's "The Family of Man" photography exhibition of 1955. She has also studied at the Ecole du Louvre.

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.

Marya Osucha

Hailing from northern California, Marya relocated to Paris in 2008, having been indelibly charmed by its winding narrow streets, countless artistic treasures, and flavorful macarons. She holds a BA in Visual Culture and an MA in Art History, both from the University of California at Davis.

Marya first began to dream about moving to France at seven years old, when she read the children’s book Linnea in Monet’s Garden. Learning about art as a young girl was a way for Marya to understand that the world is open with possibility and rich with stories. “It’s incredible when you see a child’s world start to expand through art,” Marya says. “I’m really happy when I see art inspire a child to have a new curiosity about the world, the way it did for me.” Aside from sharing her enthusiasm for art with Louvre visitors of all ages, Marya can be found gobbling French sweets, attempting to grow a window-box garden, or strolling through one of Paris’ amazing parks.

Barbara Montefalcone

Born and raised in Abruzzo, a sunny little region of central Italy, Barbara visited Paris for the first time when she was just eleven years old. She dreamt of returning to live in the city one day. She often thinks about these first memories of Paris when she gives tours to children for Paris Muse, and tries to offer young visitors the same unforgettable experience she had.

Barbara has a BA in foreign literatures and art, and an M.A. and PhD from the University of Lyon in France. When she is not working as a Paris Muse educator, Barbara teaches in a French university and works as an independent author for magazines and exhibition catalogues. Barbara is also the author of two books of short stories in Italian and hopes that Paris will inspire her to write more. She loves sharing her passion for art with visitors to the Louvre, particularly in the Italian Renaissance galleries where she feels especially at home!

Rachel Helfand

While growing up under the California sunshine, Rachel nurtured her early Francophilia with New Wave films and self-taught French. Trained in classical ballet, she has taught ballet to dancers of all ages. Outside the studio, she worked as a preschool teacher, and spent a year in Rouen, France teaching English to primary school children, before receiving her BA in French and Art History at California Lutheran University.

Her MA degree in Art History at Richmond University led to a six-year stay in London. While there, she worked at the Victoria and Albert Museum, helping to organize exhibitions. In 2008, Rachel returned to her passion for French culture, with a move to Paris.

When she isn’t sharing the treasures of the Louvre with families, Rachel divides her time between art consulting and teaching an Art Market course to undergraduate students at the American University in Paris.

As Rachel explains, “I’m thrilled to be able to experience art on all different levels, whether with a client at an art fair or in the lecture room with university students. However, when introducing children to art I am truly connected to the fascination visual culture can inspire!”

Colleen Pearl

Colleen moved to Paris in 2006 for dissertation research, but ended up finding her home instead. From the numerous museums to the wafting smells of freshly baked bread, she also loves the city’s relationship between old and new, between history and possibility.

For Colleen, art is a means to explore cultures in new ways. She enjoys helping those cultures come alive for children when they see firsthand a related work of art in the galleries of the Louvre. The excitement and wonder she witnesses in children’s eyes when they connect art to a lesson learned in school confirms her belief in the importance of art in education. She loves to learn from children's questions and their imaginative interpretations of the objects they see.

Colleen received her PhD from the University of California at Berkeley in 2009, and she is currently revising her dissertation into a book manuscript. In addition to leading Paris Muse Clues tours, she teaches Comparative Literature and Critical Theory at the American University of Paris and at Parsons Paris. When she isn’t giving tours or teaching, Colleen enjoys exploring Paris’ streets and gardens, savoring exquisite gateaux and tartes, knitting, and finding new reasons to add to the long list of why she loves Paris.

Katie Hornstein

Originally from California, Katie Hornstein devised a career-path to satisfy her chronic Francophilia. As an undergraduate at the University of California Berkeley, Katie majored in Art History and French, and studied abroad in Lyon, France for a year. After graduating, she returned to France to teach English at a French high school and intern at the Centre Pompidou. She headed back to the United States in 2003 to begin a PhD at the University of Michigan which eventually allowed her to move back to Paris for dissertation research on a Fulbright Fellowship. After defending her dissertation in 2010, Katie received a post-doctoral fellowship and now spends her time revising her doctoral thesis into a book, and eating her way through Paris.

Christopher Back

A former California beach boy, Christopher lived and worked in Melborne, Australia and London, England before moving to Paris in 2001. While studying French language at the Sorbonne, he discovered his passion for art and art history, which lead to further study at Christie’s France.

A seasoned family tour guide with Paris Muse, his enthusiasm for sharing the stories behind the works of art is contagious to visitors of all ages. Since his own childhood at the beach is a long way from the museums of Paris, Christopher takes special pride in making art and architecture accessible to kids of all ages, to ignite in them the same fascination with art and history he discovered as an adult.

Jessica Fripp

As an art history major at the University of California, San Diego, Jessica came to France to spend an undergraduate year in Bordeaux. After several summers in Paris, she was able to move to the city full-time in 2009. Before that, she earned an MA in art history from Williams College. She has also worked in the Education Departments of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, the Williams College Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC and MassMoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts, giving tours and developing programs for visitors of all ages. Jessica is currently a PhD student at the University of Michigan focusing on eighteenth-century French portraiture. When not thinking about portraits or giving tours, Jessica spends her time looking for the best tarte au citron in Paris, watching rugby, and exploring the French music scene.

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