Marie Woodall (née Luquet) was born and raised in France, where she met and married her husband, Sam, and subsequently moved to the US. She has been living in Washington, D.C. for over 30 years. She studied foreign languages and Political Economy at the Université de la Sorbonne and, after graduation, worked in the Parisian office of an international bank. She also worked for several years at Agence France-Presse upon her arrival in the US.
Marie is deeply interested in art, cuisine, history, music, and travel. She embodies the Foundation’s mission of highlighting France and America’s shared culture, and a way of life that emphasizes independence, creativity, and excellence. She enjoys serving on the Board as the Foundation’s French representative as well as its Treasurer.
Marie’s passion for travel and languages has also inspired a keen interest in the etymology of words and their evolution over time. Always with a dictionary at the ready (usually Le Dictionnaire Larousse), she is passionate about the relationship between language and culture. This, in turn, has led her to instill in her three children, all born in the US, the French “art de vivre.” She diligently taught her children French grammar and culture through in-home lessons. Transmitting France and all it stands for, through language, has allowed her children to understand what it means to be both French and American. This truly is one of Marie’s proudest accomplishments.