“Every person can make a difference, and every person should try.”

– John F. Kennedy

WICE Board Members

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Rick Jones - PRESIDENT

Rick Jones joined WICE soon after moving to Paris in July 2018. Prior to that, he spent 20 years as a U.S. Naval officer, and then 18 years in various leadership positions in information technology, knowledge management, and data science. He has a BA in mathematics and philosophy, an MS in information technology management, and a graduate certificate in applied statistics. He's also a beginning Go player, and an aspiring jazz flutist.

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Jay van Wagenen - VICE PRESIDENT

Jay van Wagenen has been a full-time Paris resident since 2017. Before that she was founding partner and creative director of a boutique advertising agency specializing in direct marketing. Jay has been a member of WICE since 2018 and Co-Director then Director of WICE Languages since 2021. She attended Barnard College, majoring in American and English literature, and has a passionate interest in cinema, books, and fiberart.

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Nicki Tillinghast - SECRETARY

Nicki Tillinghast is originally from New York but has lived in France for over 40 years, teaching English at international schools and universities. Now retired, she is a volunteer for NGOs defending end-of-life options. Among her other interests are gardens and rescue animals. She joined WICE in 2022 and immediately became an active member, happy to make new friends, attend cultural activities, and, now, serve on the Board. 

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Nathalie Rodgers - TREASURER

Nathalie Rodgers was born at the gates of the U.S. capitol on Bastille Day many years ago. Her Burgundian artist mother and her Southern engineer father then moved the family to Southern California where she spent her formative years.  After high school, she relocated to France where she attended classes at the Sorbonne and taught English. After several years in Paris, Nathalie returned to the U.S. to finish her studies and raise a family.

In California, then in North Carolina and the Washington DC area, she enjoyed a long career in Financial Services as a Certified Financial Planner and Registered Investment Advisor.  In 2005, she decided to take a break from the madness of finance and returned to France where she met her husband.  Nathalie loves to travel to the sites of ancient civilizations, investigate the lives of her founding forefathers – both French and American – and spoil her three granddaughters.

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Ellen Feldman - BOARD MEMBER

Ellen Feldman lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts; she visits Paris 2-3 months every spring. She teaches the American Film Classics course at WICE, and holds a doctorate in cinema studies from New York University. Her passions include taking photographs in Paris streets and studying French. Ellen has been a member of WICE since 2014.

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Mary-Jo Reef - BOARD MEMBER

Mary-Jo Reef is a long-time member of WICE and the current Director of the French-English In-person Conversation groups. Before retiring to France, she was a professor of sociology at a state university. WICE was instrumental in her decision to retire to France, as many of her closest friendships originated through the WICE conversation groups.

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Kate Wolter - BOARD MEMBER

Like Josephine Baker, Kate has deux amours: living in Paris but always a New Yorker. In her life, she's been a singer, an executive assistant, a bookstore manager, a supernumerary, lived in a cabin (chop wood, carry water), a hat check, und femme de ménage, an actress, and now—after years of quilting—shes's teaching myself to sew. In all of it, there has been one consistent element, the people in her life. And she is thankful there are lots of wonderful ones here in WICE.