about us
This site is intended for all people, including non-members, who are interested in the activities of L'Union Alsacienne located in New York. You will find a sample of our activities, newsletters, and links to Alsace. Founded in 1871, L’Union Alsacienne is a vibrant organization of Alsatians living in the United States, of Alsatian-Americans, dedicated to upholding their Alsatian heritage, and friends of Alsace. For nearly 150 years L’Union Alsacienne has played an important role in the lives of newly-arrived Alsatian immigrants, providing them with a feeling of community and contact with others from their beloved province. More recently a new generation of Alsatian-Americans has created a wider base of membership. We are not only the native-born immigrants who came to the United States seeking new opportunities. We are also their wives and husbands, their children and grand-children, all holding Alsace close to our hearts, keeping Alsatian culture and heritage alive, and promoting knowledge and understanding of its traditions and products through L’Union Alsacienne.
Our BOARD MEMBERS
Andrea Markson
President
Andrea Markson was born and raised in Colmar, France. She became a Registered Nurse in France in 2008 and worked for a few years at the American Hospital of Paris and then at the Hospital Robert Debré where she specialized as a children/teenager diabetes educator. She moved to New York in 2011.
She learned English and took her Nursing Board exam to become a RN in the United States. She worked as a School Nurse at the Lycée Français of New York. After spending nearly a decade as a nurse, Andrea wanted to create her own company and become a professional organizer.
She started with her friend Ioana, Sleek Living NY to help people and businesses with various organizational projects, including: office and home organizing, room configuration and optimization, move-in / move-out decluttering and paperwork management (including transitioning to paperless). They believe in a new approach to help people organize their home, workplace and mind to feel calmer, more confident, focused and efficient.
Franck Litzler
Treasurer
Liliane Rubin
1st Vice-President
Liliane grew up near Place de la République in Strasbourg. She married James Rubin from Boston in 1969 and has two children and three grandchildren. She divides her time between the exquisite village of Mittelbergheim and the excitement of New York City.
She taught French at every level from K through AP for 32 years in both private and public schools on Long Island. While teaching she tirelessly took groups of her French students to France almost every year, receiving students from France in New York as part of an exchange. She loves to be active and helpful to others, and so, as soon as she retired, she joined l' Accueil New York to welcome francophone families to the city. She also helps with the elderly who are members of L’Age d'Or, which is organized within the French Consulate.
Despite these involvements, Liliane’s heart is with L'Union Alsacienne. She first heard about the Union in 1990 through friends visiting from Strasbourg. She promptly joined in 1991. Since her retirement, nearly 10 years ago, she has organized almost all of the Union’s Spring lunches and Christmas dinners. She adores Alsace and rejoices when she can speak her native Alsatian on Saturdays at the local market near Mittelbergheim. There, too, she belongs to the S’Tulipel, a civic association that helps enhance in the life of the village, for example, making tartes flambées during weekly events, arranging tastings of vin nouveau, and showing an outdoor movie every summer—the last one being about the wonderful Alsatian illustrator Tomi Ungerer.
Francis Dubois
Event
Francis Dubois was born and raised in Strasbourg, and had a very distinguished career with the United Nations. He started his career in Uganda, then served at Headquarters in New York before being assigned to the Palestinian Territories as the Deputy Coordinator of the UN Secretary General. Francis was then posted to Iraq as the Head of the UN Office (with the rank of Ambassador ), and subsequently in Algeria , and Tunisia in the same capacity. Since his early retirement, Francis is an active member of several non-governmental organizations: he is a member of l'Union Alsacienne since 1983.
Renée Pecot-Xenakis
2nd Vice-President
Renée is a native New Yorker who works as a Compliance Officer for a foreign bank in the city.
With her parents born in Europe, she was raised in a polyglot household teaching her the love of languages. Her undergraduate work included French and German as well as Economics, she, also, possesses an MBA in Economic Crime Management.
During summer vacations in her youth, Renée traveled to Soultz (next to Guebwiller) where her grandmother was born and neighboring Germany to visit other relatives. Renée’s father was born in Paris and her grandfather is Breton. Being passionate about Alsatian culture and the region Renee was happy to find Union Alsacienne of New York marching in the Steuben Parade in 2016.
Since 2019 she has been helping with activities and recently joined the Board. She is excited to assist the organization in various capacities, reaching more members and making new friends.
Marc Seybold
Trustee
Marc Seybold joined the UnAl in order to make sure that the association continue to exist and is here for the next generation, to be part of something that helps keep a cultural connection alive and that continues its mission.
At a personal level both of his parents come from Alsace and the rest of my family are all there so UA helps maintain a connection to family roots.
James H. Rubin
Trustee
A long-time member of l’Union Alsacienne (along with his wife, Vice-Présidente Liliane Rubin-Braesch), James Rubin is emeritus professor of art history from the State University of New York (Stony Brook) where he headed his department and graduate program for over 20 years. He is the author of 16 books and over 70 essays on French artists of the 19th century, especially Courbet, Manet, Monet, and Cezanne. He lives in Manhattan and Mittelbergheim, Alsace.
VACANT
Secretary
VACANT
Website, Newsletter Editor & Social Media
VACANT
Trustee
OUR BY-LAWS
