Board Members

Dr Romain Lorentz

Board President, term expires September 2026
romain.lorentz@notreecole.org

Being a bi-cultural and bilingual household, my family has always valued immersion education. Our daughter attended a French school from preschool through 5th grade and she had a wonderful experience.
I grew-up in France, near Orléans (on the Loire river), where I earned my initial law degree. I then earned my Master's degree and Doctorate in Comparative Law at the Sorbonne, where I taught US Law for a couple of years. I met my wife in Minneapolis 20 years ago and I moved permanently to  Minnesota in 2005.  I have been teaching Business Law at the University of St Thomas Opus College of Business for many years. I served on the Board of Directors of the Alliance Française of Minneapolis/St Paul for several years as well as on the French Académie's School Council as a parent representative. I currently serve on the Board of Directors of Chloe's Fight Rare Disease Foundation
It has been an honor to have been part of the Notre École project since the beginning. My goal as a board member is to foster a strong and mind-opening education through both French immersion and STEAM.

Erica Barnes

Jean Noel Kouame

Vice President, term expires September 2024
erica.barnes@notreecole.org

Ms. Barnes is a certified speech-language pathologist who administers the Minnesota Advisory Council on Rare Diseases. She has over a decade of board experience, having co-founded with her husband Philip Chloe’s Fight Rare Disease Foundation in honor of her late daughter, as well as public education experience. In addition to her role as Council Administrator, Ms. Barnes chairs the NIH funded Global Leukodystrophy Initiative Clinical Trials Network (GLIA-CTN) and serves on the advisory council for Optum Frontiers.

Treasurer, term expires September 2026
jean.noel.kouame@notreecole.org

I am a native French speaker (growing up in the Ivory Coast and France) and was immersed in the french school system throughout high school. I moved to Minnesota almost 30 years ago and had a chance to pursue higher education (BA at Augsburg College Minneapolis and MBA from the University of MN) and work in the field of finance and IT (currently at the University of MN). Together with the French language, the Ivorian and French cultures have remained fully anchored in my family here. My two sons have benefited from formal education in French at local french schools and Alliance française around the Twin Cities. This is a benefit that my sons have and through Notre Ecole, other kids will be able to have the same benefits.

Cheryl Field

Member at large, term expires September 2024
cheryl.field@notreecole.org

I am a native Minnesotan that lived and worked in France for over seven years. My husband is French and our children have benefited from the French immersion school experience. Access to quality education is extremely important to me. I have a Master’s degree in Leadership in Student Affairs and have dedicated over 12 years of my professional career working in multiple support structures that help students construct meaning and move toward their goals with confidence. Currently I work in admissions for Minneapolis College and connect with students throughout the greater Twin Cities area. I see firsthand how impactful quality early education has on student success in high school. I am excited about the growth of Notre Ecole as it is a unique, tuition free, French immersion charter school.

Rashid J Massie Jr

Jean Christophe Ricaud

Martine Laroche

Mamady Konneh

Member at large, term expires September 2025
rashid.massie@notreecole.org

Hi, my name is Rashid Jamal Massie Jr. (RJ) and I’m a current student at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. I’m in my last semester and will have my bachelors degree, December 2022, in Theatre Arts with a minor in French studies. I will be an after school teacher at Notre École for the school year of 2022-23.
I am from Brooklyn Center, Minnesota so that means I was born and raised in Minneapolis. I attended Armstrong high school in Plymouth, Mn. During my youth education, primarily middle school, that is where I was introduced to the language of French. I, also, loved the idea of speaking French and that instantly drew me into learning the language.
During my tenure at the University of Minnesota, I have studied abroad three times. In Montpellier, France (south of France) two different times doing two different educational tracks and Dakar, Senegal (West Africa). Between all those experiences, I have gained a lot of insight and perspective about life in general and learned the true values in life. 

Onto my hobbies and likes ! I am a lover of football, and no I don’t mean American football, I mean the world’s sport. As well as American football lol. I’m a comedian too, I perform stand-up comedy at various comedy clubs/open mics around the Twin Cities. I’m ecstatic to be a part of the Notre École team and can’t wait to meet everyone and get started.

Member at large, term expires September 2024
jean.christophe.ricaud@notreecole.org

Member at large, term expires September 2026

Member at large, term expires September 2026
Mamady Konneh is a Cybersecurity thought leader, specializing in Identity and Access Management, with more than a decade of experience across diverse sectors, including Software as a Service (SaaS), healthcare, finance, hospitality, and retail. His leadership and successful deployment of identity and access management programs at previous organizations paved the way for his role as the Lead of Identity Governance and Administration at Okta, the world's premier identity and access management company.

During his academic journey at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, where he earned his master’s degree in Security Technologies, Mamady embarked on a mission, where he undertook research and masterminded the development of a secure digital identification program for an entire West African nation. His visionary work in this domain earned him the privilege of presenting his thesis at the Smart Security Week, a global identity conference held in Marseille, France, in 2018.

In addition to his professional endeavors, Mamady is the founder and Executive Director of WeNetworkNow, a non-profit organization that is on a mission to empower individuals of diverse backgrounds by facilitating networking and opportunities through its professional development and mentorship programs. The impact of WeNetworkNow in the community has been nothing short of remarkable, earning Mamady the esteemed Minnesota 2021 Outstanding Refugee and Immigrant Awards, a testament to his unwavering commitment to fostering positive change.

Mamady’s passion for community service has deep roots in his upbringing, from assisting his parents with household chores, spending his vacation time working alongside his grandparents on the farm, to taking care of his siblings at an early age. For Mamady, serving his community is the driving force that motivates him each morning.