Julien Pierre Icher is a 30-year-old French national, Founder, and President of The Lafayette Trail, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to mapping and marking General Lafayette’s footsteps during his Farewell Tour of the United States in 1824 and 1825. It aims to educate the public about the national significance of Lafayette’s Tour and to promote a broader understanding of Lafayette’s numerous contributions to American independence and national coherence in preparation for the 2024-2025 tour bicentennial celebrations.

Mr. Icher is the host and director of Follow The Frenchmen, a Youtube-based not-for-profit web series produced by The Lafayette Trail, Inc., exploring and interpreting the significance of Lafayette’s legacy. Over the past few years, he’s given over 70 lectures about Lafayette and the Farewell Tour.

He is a graduate of the Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, one of the few French Grandes Ecoles. He holds a bachelor’s degree with a double major in history and geography, as well as two master’s degrees: one in human geography, the other in digital geographies, with a focus on the integration of spatial data in web environments. Mr. Icher accompanied President Emmanuel Macron of France as the youngest member of the French Presidential Delegation during President Macron’s state visit to Washington, D.C. in April of 2018.

Join Mr. Icher for a special conversation with VFPA Board Member, Margot McGinley.