The French Cultural Center is pleased to announce that Joyce Grippen will be joining as Director of Development.

Founded in Boston in 1945 as the French Library, the French Cultural Center (“the Center”) is a venerable membership-based organization created to ensure the vibrant growth of French language and culture in New England. Located in a beautiful French Revival townhouse in Boston’s historic Back Bay, the Center has three areas of activity: French language education for students of all ages; French-themed artistic and cultural activities throughout the year, and a library that houses some 30,000 French-language books, periodicals and electronic media, making it the second-largest private French library collection in the U.S.

In this Director role, Joyce will serve on the senior leadership team and lead all fundraising and membership efforts to increase the visibility and impact of the Center as the innovative leader in French language, education, and culture in New England.  Reporting to Executive Director Barbara Bouquegneau, Joyce will build and sustain an ambitious major gifts program, shape the Center’s communications, marketing and community outreach activities, and foster a culture of fundraising excellence.

Joyce comes to the Center as a highly accomplished development professional and leader. She served most recently as the Director of Major Gifts at the American Cancer Society where she was recognized as a top performer in her region. Prior to her time at ACS, Joyce was Director of Development at the Charlton College of Business at UMass Dartmouth, and the Vice President of Association Advancement at the Old Colony YMCA, where she led development strategy for 11 YMCA locations.