History & Leadership

After teaching and completing a doctorate in cognitive psychology and individual differences in France, Linda, a native Swede, spent 13 years in American higher education (Yale and Tufts universities), and now puts this dual European and U.S. experience to use for the Paris College of Art international community. She has explored most facets of higher education, including admissions, curriculum review, new degree development, accreditation, and faculty development, while simultaneously pursuing education research to further our understanding of how students optimally learn.

The majority of Linda’s research and peer-reviewed publications have focused on designing, implementing, and evaluating the effectiveness of educational interventions in a wide range of settings, including K-12 and higher education in the United States and Africa. Recognized as a leader in the field, Linda has served as a consultant to elite preparatory schools (e.g., Choate Rosemary Hall) and universities (e.g., MIT) on issues of learning, assessment and admissions.

In her 8 years as Dean, she worked alongside PCA’s academic and administrative teams to improve facilities, secure re-accreditation, develop new undergraduate majors, and launch PCA’s graduate school, the latter under the leadership of Associate Dean Klaus Fruchtnis.

As of July 15, 2019 Linda serves as President and Chief Academic Officer of PCA.

In my new role I will continue to strengthen our academic offering while maintaining our commitment to pluri-disciplinarity, diversity, and the importance of the role that artists and designers play in shaping our societies. In a world of increasingly complex issues that affect us all, the creativity and problem-solving skills that our excellent faculty nurture in our students is key to positive change and progress.

Michael Meere was educated in the United States and France, receiving a BA from Northwestern University, a maîtrise from Université Lumière Lyon 2, a Master 2 from Sorbonne Université, and an MA and PhD from the University of Virginia.

Michael’s academic research focuses primarily on the performing arts, and he has published nearly four dozen books, edited collections, journal articles, book chapters, translations, critical editions, and book reviews on early modern and contemporary francophone theater and performance. Michael has also received numerous fellowships, including a Fulbright to France, a Chateaubriand fellowship, two “visiting scientist” research grants at the Università di Padova, and a fellowship to participate in the Mellon School for Theater and Performance Research at Harvard University. 

Michael has dedicated his professional life to higher education in Europe and the United States. He is currently the Resident Director of the Vassar-Wesleyan Program in Paris and Associate Professor of French and Medieval Studies at Wesleyan University, a top-tier liberal arts university based in Connecticut, USA. At Wesleyan, he has acted as Head of the French Section of the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, served on the advisory boards of the Wesleyan Programs Abroad Committee and the Fries Center for Global Studies, co-founded the Queer Studies Research Collective, and spent several years as Chair of the Board of the Friends of the Wesleyan Library. Prior to Wesleyan, Michael worked at King’s College London, Columbia University, Princeton University, SUNY-FIT, LIM College, and Fordham University.

As of July 2023, Michael will serve as Provost and Vice-President of Academic Affairs.

“I am excited to bring my international background in education and administration to Paris College of Art. I aim to foster a collaborative, innovative, and supportive environment that allows our student-artists to make a meaningful impact on our increasingly interconnected world through their art and design. I look forward to supporting the faculty and students as we strive together to maximize the student experience and to enhance the reputation of the school on the global stage.”

Award-winning entrepreneur and designer David Peck received his BFA in Fashion Design in 2006 from PCA (known at the time as École Parsons à Paris) after a career as a classical cellist. After time at renowned fashion houses Paco Rabanne, Junichi Hakamaki, and Robert Normand, David’s work continued in New York before moving to Houston in 2010 where he operates his own line.

David chairs the Paris College of Art Board, is a member of the Advisory Board of Directors for Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS), the Fashion Design and Merchandising Advisory Board for Houston Community College, and is the Fashion Chair at PS One Portfolio School in Beijing, China. He previously chaired the Fashion Task Force for the Greater Houston Partnership.

Named one of Houston Chronicle’s Most Interesting People and a Rising Star by the League of Women Voters, he has chaired/co-chaired many events including the Alley Theatre Ball After Party, Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS), the Judy’s Mission Possible Luncheon, and served three years as the Creative Director/Producer for the KNOWAutism Gala. 

David directed the uniform design of the JW Marriott Houston Downtown, Hotel Ylem, and Oxbow 7 at  Le Méridien Houston Downtown. He has been a guest artist at Interlochen Center for the Arts. He has styled for film and television. His work has been exhibited at the Ellen Noel Art Museum “Texas Now” exhibition in Odessa, Texas and at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.

David’s work has been featured on the cover of Women’s Wear Daily; in publications such as Teen Vogue, Lucky, Marie Claire, InStyle, and People Style Watch; and on popular television shows Hart of Dixie and E! News. David has dressed celebrities such as Kate Bosworth, Jaime King, Giuliana Rancic, Mayim Bialik, Maggie Grace, Ashlan Gorse, Rose McGowan, Esperanza Spalding, Lauren Conrad, and Taylor Swift.

Christel des Royeries is currently Director of External communication at Air Liquide, a world leader in gases, technologies and services for Industry and Health, heading the influence team in charge of media relations and social media.

Christel des Royeries has started her career working in the finance industry in New York, working in event planning at Seligman Advisors and Société Générale.

Returning to France, Christel has been working for a non-for-profit organization, handling fundraising as well as organizing a musical tour in France and Belgium, managing communications, logistics, and internal mobilization of up to 250 volunteers.

Prior to joining Air Liquide, she held various communication roles, such as media relations manager at Engie, an energy company, as well as in industrial companies, serving as head of media relations at Lafarge, and as Director of Communication Europe at Constellium.

An American citizen, Christel was born in the United States from French-Haitian parents and was educated in both France and the US. She holds a BA in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Business and Institutions Communication, she also has an MBA in Luxury Communication & Strategy.

Annie Cohen-Solal is an academic and a writer, tracking down the interactions between art, literature and society. After Sartre : A Life (1987) became an international success, she became the French cultural counselor to the US (1989 to 1992). In New York, Professor Cohen-Solal’s encounter with Leo Castelli led her to shift her interest to the art world, publishing Painting American (2001) ; Leo Castelli & His Circle (2010) ; New York Mid Century (2014) with Paul Goldberger and Robert Gottlieb ; and Mark Rothko (2013).

In 2013, she became special advisor at the Ecole Normale Supérieure for the Nuit Sartre ; in 2014, as general curator of Magiciens de la terre 2014, at the Centre Pompidou, she published Magiciens de la terre : retour sur une exposition légendaire, with Jean-Hubert Martin. She has held positions at Tisch School of the Arts (NYU), Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (Paris), University of Caen, Ecole Normale Supérieure (Paris), the Freie Universität Berlin and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

She is currently preparing a book on Picasso, the Foreigner.  Born in Algiers, Cohen-Solal now lives between Paris and Cortona, Italy.

Reginald de Guillebon was born in the United States to French-Haitian parents and was educated in both France and the US. In 2000, after working in the world of finance and business, Mr. de Guillebon redirected his career into art education with the founding of Hildegarde, a French media and higher education group.

In 2006, Mr. de Guillebon became the President of the former Parsons Paris, and transformed the school into Paris College of Art.

Today the Hildegarde group owns 26 companies including for example Les Armateurs, an award winning animation production company based in Paris, and Le film français, the leading French entertainment trade magazine.

Cristina Grasset is the Director of Spain Education Programs, an organization she founded in 2008, and the President of Profesionales por la Educación Internacional, a non-profit that promotes quality and access to a global education in Spain and LATAM countries.

She has combined a long trajectory in international education with the management of a family-owned collection of European Master’s paintings, and board memberships at a non-traded real estate investment trust and a real estate management company.

Cristina holds a Doctor of Education degree in Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development from the University of Minnesota; a Master’s in Educational Leadership from Saint Leo University; the degree of Asesor de Inversión y Financiación from Universidad Complutense de Madrid; and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Loyola Marymount University.

Jeffrey Nesin has held leadership positions at colleges for more than four decades. A longtime proponent of creative cooperation among colleges, Mr. Nesin is the current president of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, the US national accreditor for art & design.

He was a founder of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design, has testified before Congress on education policy and as an advocate for the arts in civic life, and has consulted internationally in Qatar, in China, France and the United Arab Emirates.

President Emeritus of Memphis College of Art and Provost Emeritus of School of Visual Arts, Nesin is currently President of the Visual Arts Foundation and Special Consultant to the President of SVA. 

Visual artist & publisher Kaamna Patel graduated with a BA in English Literature in 2009 from the University of Mumbai and a BFA in Photography from PCA (known at the time as École Parsons à Paris) in 2014. In 2020, she received a Postgraduate Diploma in Aesthetics, Criticism & Theory from Jnanapravaha in Mumbai. Alongside her artistic practice, Kaamna has been the Alumni Ambassador for PCA in Asia and the Middle East since 2015, and is pleased to be a member of the PCA Board since January 2021.

Her work has been exhibited in festivals, solo and group shows in various parts of Europe and Asia since 2013. Her book In Today’s News: Alpha Males & Women Power, published in 2019, appropriates images from Indian print media to comment on gender & patriarchy. After its launch in Mumbai, the book was first sold during Les Rencontres d’Arles photography festival in France and is currently available in bookshops and libraries worldwide. Her upcoming book Dori is scheduled to release in February 2021 with Offset Projects as part of the Printed Matter Art Book Fair, New York. Her work had been shortlisted for the Kassel Dummy Award in 2019 & the Paris Photo PX3 award in 2018 and she will complete a residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris in July 2021.

Kaamna has contributed to conversations around photography in India through talks, workshops and curations. Her imprint JOJO has expanded to acquire a photobook library of over 300 titles in Mumbai which is freely accessible public resource.

James L. Sintros is Chairman of Nexus Frontier Tech, Ltd., and is Managing Director of Sintros Motorsports LLC. For many years he served as Senior Advisor to the Chairman and CEO of the Monitor Group, now Monitor Deloitte, and he is a Director of the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis, and President of the Joseph W. Stilwell Institute Foundation.

Throughout his professional career, Sintros has been involved with international higher education, and he is the longest serving Director of the Hult International Business School, and a member of the governing body of Ashridge Business School.

He is very pleased to join the board of Paris College of Art, an institution which he greatly admires, and has been familiar with for many years.

Mark Havlicek (PMP, CSM, PRINCE2) has over thirty years of entrepreneurial and executive-level leadership experience in public, private and not-for-profit organizations.  Mark graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in Political Science and is currently a Vice President and Senior Manager in Enterprise-wide Customer Experience Data and Analytics at Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., and is President of U.S. based Arsenal Consulting Group, LLC.

Before joining Wells Fargo, Mark held strategic leadership roles with a variety of public, private and non-profit organizations including, President of Digital Data Resources, Inc. (DDR), PMO Director at WR Berkley Corp, and EDMS Director for Harland-Clarke.

Mark also serves as Treasurer for the Studio Arts College International in Florence, Italy (SACI-Florence) where his business acumen and passion for art education helped lead the historic institution through the COVID crisis.  Mark divides the remainder of his time travelling the world and contributing his entrepreneurial and professional talents to a variety of educational and advocacy boards.