Eight Outstanding Laureates Honored at the 2026 Trophies for French Nationals in the Eastern United

What do a dancer, a real estate agency, digital healthcare, Franco-American relations, and
community support have in common ? The Trophies for French Nationals in the Eastern
United States, of course !

Discover the inspiring journeys of the winners of the fourth edition of the Trophies for French Nationals in the Eastern United States, whose achievements are helping France shine across the Atlantic. Their stories were celebrated on October 1, 2026, at the Consulate General of France in New York, in the presence of Cedrik Fouriscot, Consul General of France in New York.
 

Joseph and Nathaniel Raberin Holder, high school students and founders of Alley-Oop (New York)

Youth Award, presented by LyFEL

In New York, Joseph and Nathaniel lead an almost ordinary life as high school students. Classes at the French Lycée of New York, basketball practices, and plans for the future fill their days. But since a trip to Senegal, the two brothers have also been devoting part of their time to a project that goes far beyond themselves.

During their stay, they discovered Village Pilote, an organization supporting young people in vulnerable situations. Sport already plays an important role there, with educators using sporting activities to promote values such as teamwork, effort, and self-confidence. The experience resonated with the two teenagers, who are both passionate about basketball in New York. “We kind of fell in love with the idea of building a court there for children who didn’t have one ” Joseph recalls. The idea for Alley-Oop was born. For the two brothers, the goal was not simply to send equipment or make a one-time donation. They wanted to help create a real place where young people could play.
“Our ambition for basketball is much bigger than simply making a donation ” Joseph explains.
 

De New York à Dakar, des jumeaux français font du basket un projet solidaire

To fund the project, Joseph and Nathaniel organized their first fundraiser in New York in May 2025. Their family and the French community rallied around the initiative. Items were auctioned, including a jersey signed by Victor Wembanyama, and donations gradually allowed the project to grow. The online fundraiser had a $20,000 goal and ultimately raised $20,505 through 46 donations. Alley-Oop did not stop there. The brothers are also thinking about how to make their initiative sustainable, including creating clothing and accessories, with part of the proceeds going toward the project.

“We don’t really see this project as work ” they explain. The initiative has also given them the opportunity to discover another side of their passion: entrepreneurship. Through their brand and the various initiatives surrounding Alley-Oop, the twins are learning how to communicate, manage a budget, organize events, and advocate for a project they believe in.

A trip to Senegal in July 2026 allowed them to see the project’s progress firsthand. Construction of the basketball court had begun, with the concrete slab being prepared.For Nathaniel, however, the most memorable part of the trip was meeting the young people from Village Pilote. “It was very moving because the children were so welcoming and enthusiastic ” he says. He also remembers how involved they were in the construction work. In the future, the two brothers even envision creating a team representing Village Pilote, complete with its own identity and jersey: the “Dragons de Village Pilote.”
 

Juliette Fisbein, founder of Women4Women (New York)

Women Empowerment Award, presented by Carexpat

In Brooklyn, Juliette Fisbein has made supporting women who are victims of domestic violence the heart of her commitment. In 2021, she founded Women4Women, an organization dedicated to supporting vulnerable women and their children, particularly those rebuilding their lives after an abusive relationship.

The idea was born during the pandemic. A friend introduced her to Fathema, a young mother from Bangladesh raising a seven-year-old boy. The two women became friends in a park. Juliette soon discovered the challenges Fathema was facing: finding housing, providing for her child, and handling all the steps required to build a new life on her own. “I found it horrible that she had to rebuild everything herself ” Juliette recalls. The encounter made her realize how complex the journey can be for women leaving relationships marked by violence.
 

Juliette Fisbein, l’avocate française qui accompagne les femmes de Brooklyn vers une nouvelle vie

Women4Women supports women through two programs, All In and Referrals. The organization helps them identify their needs and connects them with professionals or organizations that can provide support. Housing, employment, education, physical and mental health, childcare, and financial management are among the areas covered. The organization also supports women as they return to work, resume their studies, or rebuild their personal stability. Its beneficiaries are known as “Thrivers ” a term highlighting their ability to move beyond survival and take control of their lives again.

Juliette Fisbein emphasizes the collective nature of the mission. Women4Women relies on a team of volunteers and a network of professionals she has developed over the years in Brooklyn. Social workers, psychologists, legal professionals, and local organizations can step in depending on each woman’s needs. Businesses have also offered their support. These partnerships help beneficiaries regain access to services they may otherwise struggle to obtain, while also reconnecting them with activities that contribute to their well-being. Juliette hopes to continue developing prevention initiatives and partnerships with law firms and other organizations, particularly through programs supporting victims of domestic violence.

The organization now aims to strengthen its human and financial resources. It currently has a social worker and a clinical supervisor, and Juliette also hopes to develop recurring donations so that more families can be supported. Her goal is to support up to 30 families each year. “The organization doesn’t save these women. They do it themselves, through their own determination and strength” she says.
 

Renaud de Tilly, founder of De Tilly Real Estate (New York)

French Influence Award, presented by MSGL by Jade Fiducial

On March 2, 2016, Renaud de Tilly arrived in New York with his family. He was already familiar with real estate and the luxury sector in France, but the New York market was completely new to him. During his first few months, he trained, obtained his license, and began working for an international real estate agency. He quickly discovered a market where days could be filled with back-to-back viewings. He gradually built a network and quickly took on more responsibilities. Just over a year after arriving, he became director of the agency’s New York office. For nearly three years, he managed a team of agents and developed the business.

Then his personal circumstances changed completely. His divorce also resulted in the loss of his visa. Without authorization to work, he had to leave his position as director. He also had to find a new home while dealing with being separated from his four children. “At that point, I was really at the lowest point in my life ” he recalls. To remain in the United States, he chose an entrepreneurial path. In February 2018, he founded De Tilly Real Estate and began preparing his application for an E-2 investor visa. He had to raise funds, hire employees, and demonstrate that his business could operate sustainably. In November 2018, the visa was finally approved. A few days later, he was reunited with his children and had a company to build.
 

Renaud de Tilly, la résilience française à New York pour une réussite à l'Américaine

Renaud de Tilly quickly chose to focus on French and French-speaking clients. His experience also allowed him to identify a recurring challenge for expatriates : the U.S. real estate process does not always match French expectations and practices. The agency therefore developed its business around providing support throughout the process, from preparing applications and documents to negotiating deals. But Renaud de Tilly does not want to limit his business to French clients. His knowledge of both markets has become one of his main strengths. Over the years, referrals have played an increasingly important role in the company’s growth. Today, the agency works with individuals and families as well as investors and family offices.

Renaud de Tilly has also developed a business in Paris with Marius Coulon, who previously worked as part of his New York team. The goal is to support American clients looking to purchase property or invest in the French capital. The Paris office therefore extends the work carried out in New York, serving clients who move between the two countries. Miami now adds another dimension to the network through a partnership with a local broker. For Renaud de Tilly, these different locations reflect an increasingly common reality: some clients are no longer focused on a single market and may have projects in New York, Paris, or Florida. Describing himself as a “Lifestyle Expert” he is always looking ahead. His goals for the coming months include strengthening his New York team and recruiting experienced American agents. After building a largely French-speaking clientele, he now wants to further expand into the local market.
 

Leïla Bessila, astrophysicist and co-founder of Projet Matilda (Chicago)

Education Award, presented by FASNY

At 28, Leïla Bessila has already built a career spanning mathematics, physics, and astrophysics, taking her from France to the United States. Having moved to Chicago a few months ago, she continues her research at Northwestern University and also works with the Flatiron Institute in New York. Her research focuses on asteroseismology, a field that uses stellar oscillations to study the interiors of stars.

To explain her work, the researcher prefers a simple image : “I often describe asteroseismology as the song of the stars.” Stars produce oscillations that scientists can analyze. These signals can then reveal what is happening inside them. “We are able to detect these sounds, which allow us to understand so many things happening inside stars.” Behind this almost poetic image lies highly technical research. Leïla Bessila works in particular on connecting data collected by space missions with the models needed to interpret them. “My job is to connect observations from space missions with what we can actually learn from them about stars ” she explains. Her research will notably benefit from data collected by the European Space Agency’s PLATO space mission, scheduled to launch in early 2027.
 

Leïla Bessila, du chant des étoiles à la transmission des sciences avec le Projet Matilda

Leïla Bessila has also been teaching for several years. She first began tutoring while studying before making education a genuine part of her professional journey. “I have always loved teaching.” This experience gradually led her to question access to science and the way scientific subjects are presented to younger audiences. During her PhD, she co-founded Projet Matilda with two colleagues. The organization aims to bring science closer to young people, particularly girls and students from less privileged backgrounds. The project seeks to “make science more accessible, less elitist, less academic, and a little more fun.” Over three years, Projet Matilda has reached nearly 100,000 young people and now has six employees. The organization runs workshops, conferences, and science outreach initiatives. It has also created the traveling exhibition “Lumière sur les Femmes de Sciences,” highlighting ten female scientists and their discoveries.

Beyond her astrophysics research, Leïla Bessila has made science education a central thread running through her career. Between the stars she studies through their oscillations and the young people she seeks to inspire, her work ultimately rests on the same desire: to understand, and then to share.

Rose Barbantan, dancer (New York)

People’s Choice Award, presented by Banque Transatlantique

At 25, Rose Barbantan has already spent much of her life away from France. At 14, she moved to Portugal, where she undertook an intensive dance education. Training there focused heavily on technique, precision, and body control. A few years later, she continued her journey in New York. She joined the Certificate Program at the Alvin Ailey School, a three-year professional program from which she graduated in 2022. Ballet and modern dance played a central role in her training. But her American experience gave her much more than a new way of working. It also taught her to approach dance differently. In New York, she discovered greater freedom in interpretation. “I also learned how to sell myself ” she explains. In a profession where auditions and collaborations shape careers, knowing how to advocate for your work can be almost as important as technical ability.

Since graduating from the Alvin Ailey School, Rose has worked as a freelance professional dancer. She collaborates with several companies and choreographers, including Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet, SHIFT Dance Company, Accent Dance NYC, and Caterina Rago’s CRance Company. “My schedule is organized around their needs, rehearsals, and performances ” she explains. This way of working requires flexibility as well as the ability to move quickly from one project to another.
 

Rose Barbantan, danser pour trouver sa place à New York

Rose recently performed at the Battery Dance Festival in Lower Manhattan. She danced with one of her companies before ending the performance with a solo in front of the Statue of Liberty. The performance held a special meaning for her. When she arrived in the United States eight years earlier, she had attended the festival and promised herself that one day she would perform there. “It feels a little like everything has come full circle ” she says.

Although New York has become the center of her professional life, Rose continues to return to France to take part in creative projects. For the past two years, she has worked with choreographer Richard Bonnosaltek. She performed at the Théâtre antique d’Arles in 2024 and returned in July 2026 for the production Amours. These French projects extend her American journey without interrupting it. They allow her to work with other artists, reconnect with her family, and maintain a tangible connection with her home country.

Alongside her stage work, Rose teaches ballet and modern dance in New York public schools through a partnership with a dance company. She also teaches at a private school in New Rochelle. Teaching is about more than correcting positions or repeating movements. She wants to pass on the energy and confidence she wishes she had experienced during her own training. “I hope I can give them some of that passion as a young artist ” she says. Her next engagement is already scheduled : a tour in France with one of her companies from November 1 to 8, 2026, including a stop in Paris. As for the future, she prefers not to plan too far ahead. “I just hope I can keep dancing and enjoying myself in New York for as long as possible ” she says.
 

Alexia Sibony, Founder and CEO of Loyalbee.ai (Boston/Miami)

Social and Humanitarian Award, presented by the Caisse des Français de l'Étranger

For more than 15 years, Alexia Sibony has built an international career at the intersection of healthcare, technology, and patient support, with experience spanning France, Monaco, Switzerland, Ireland, and the United States.

After beginning her career as a physical therapist and quality auditor, she quickly became involved in transforming healthcare pathways. In 2015, she co-founded and chaired the Connected Health Monaco Congress, which brought together more than 500 participants and 100 sponsors over five years around the challenges of digital healthcare. After moving to Boston in 2016, she joined several international healthtech companies, including Orbita, MindMaze, and BewellConnect, contributing to the development of connected healthcare, artificial intelligence, and digital rehabilitation solutions.
 

Alexia Sibony, de la kinésithérapie à l’IA pour prolonger le soin

Her commitment also extends to supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem and promoting French expertise in the United States. In 2018, she co-founded La French Tech Boston, bringing together more than 100 tech entrepreneurs and organizing a monthly event for two years. She became a French Foreign Trade Advisor in 2020 and Vice President of the Boston and New England CCE office in 2022. She is also a mentor for the MIT Sandbox Innovation Program, where she supports more than 10 startups. In 2025, she founded Loyalbee.ai, a digital health startup addressing a very concrete problem: between medical appointments, patients are often left alone to manage their symptoms, exercises, treatments, and questions. “Loyalbee.ai is also a project born from personal experience: a loved one with Parkinson’s disease. Despite my clinical expertise and tech experience, I wasn’t able to help them stay engaged in their care journey. That painful realization fuels every line of code on our platform, so that one day no patient will be left alone when it comes to their rehabilitation ” she explains.

The platform uses artificial intelligence to maintain a personalized connection between healthcare professionals and their patients, support adherence to recommendations, and facilitate continuity of care, without replacing healthcare professionals. The goal is to improve patients’ engagement with their care while allowing healthcare providers to remain connected with their patients without adding to their workload. “Loyalbee.ai is the result of more than 15 years of hands-on experience, iterations with professionals and patients in Europe and the United States, and a clear vision: to humanize technology in order to strengthen the therapeutic relationship ” she says. The startup aims to support 2,000 patients by the end of 2026.
 

Patrick du Tertre, Founder and President of The French Will Never Forget (New York)

Lifting Up Legacy Award, presented by Delta Air Lines

Born in the Limousin region of France, Patrick du Tertre grew up in a family deeply shaped by war and by the decisive role played by the United States in the liberation of France. His connection to America began in childhood: the “Made in USA” products that appeared after the war, the support provided through the Marshall Plan, the arrival of the polio vaccine, as well as jazz, blues, westerns, and Hollywood gradually fueled a fascination that would eventually become a lifelong commitment.

In 2003, at a time when Franco-American relations were going through one of their most difficult periods, Patrick du Tertre decided to take action. France’s decision not to participate in the Iraq War triggered a significant wave of “French bashing” in the United States. At the time, a New York Post cover featured a white cross from an American cemetery in Normandy alongside the words: “The French Forget.”
 

Patrick du Tertre et The French Will Never Forget, 20 ans pour rappeler que la France n’oublie pas

For Patrick du Tertre, the claim was deeply unfair. “I knew that nothing could be further from the truth. Just because we considered the war objectionable in several respects did not mean we had forgotten America’s decisive assistance to France twice during the previous century ” he explains.

Together with three friends, Jean-Pierre Heim, Paul Bensabat, and Christian Millet, he founded The French Will Never Forget, an organization whose mission is to promote Franco-American friendship and remind Americans of France’s gratitude toward the United States. 

For more than 20 years, the organization has organized commemorations, events, and initiatives designed to preserve this shared history. Highlights have included events commemorating D-Day and September 11, creating opportunities for French and American communities to come together on both sides of the Atlantic.

The organization’s work has also received significant media exposure, generating tens of millions of impressions across the press, broadcast media, and outdoor advertising. Patrick du Tertre measures the impact of this commitment through a particularly symbolic evolution. In 2003, at the height of “French bashing,” only 34% of Americans had a favorable opinion of France, according to Gallup, which ranked France 54th among countries considered friends of the United States. Twenty years later, in 2023, France ranked third, with 84% of Americans expressing a favorable opinion. “I know that a significant part of those 50 points gained over 20 years is a direct result of the work of The French Will Never Forget. That is my greatest source of pride ” he says.