We are honored to present the previous recipients of the Victor Obadia Humanitarian Trophy:
they follow Victor’s principles of generosity and without them, we could not fulfill our mission to help people in need in our area.
2025: Marianne Hart
The 2025 Victor Obadia Humanitarian Trophy marked the fifth anniversary of Victor Obadia’s passing. The ceremony on December 8, 2025 included a special moment to show our gratitude to all Comité Tricolore’s donors and supporters.
The 2025 Victor Obadia Humanitarian Trophy laureate is Madame Marianne HART
For more than 25 years, Marianne Hart has devoted a significant part of her life to humanitarian and volunteer work.
Based in Bucharest between 1998 and 2006, she was struck by the poverty she discovered just a two-hour flight from Paris. She quickly got involved and contributed to the development of Second Chance Romania, a new NGO dedicated to revitalizing the disadvantaged rural community of Berceni, south of the capital. After leaving Romania in 2006, she continued her involvement from the Netherlands until 2010, notably by placing products from the Romanian workshop in shops in Amsterdam.
Based in Washington, D.C. since 2011, she continues her involvement with several local associations, including the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC) and Friendship Place, for which she regularly organizes collections and fundraisers. In 2016, she created the Charity Club within Washington Accueil. A committed Christian in the community of Saint-Louis-de-France, she managed the Virtus program for five years, ensuring that all volunteers complied with child protection guidelines.
In 2015, with the help of Marie Yasmine Auclert, she founded Le Piano Bar pour Une Belle Cause, quickly joined by pianist Laurent Cardot, a musical and solidarity initiative that, for ten years, has raised funds for concrete projects supporting organizations such as Ayuda in Washington, the Comité Tricolore, Beit El Baraka in Lebanon, the Maison des Femmes in Marseille, AMAPO in French Guiana, House of Ruth, The Inn at NIH, Baan Dek Foundation in Thailand, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Arlington.
Guided by kindness, creativity, and a deep belief in everyone’s ability to change the world, Marianne Hart finds both joy and intellectual fulfillment in volunteering.
Marianne Hart’s more detailled biography in English and in French:
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2024: Marie-Claude Genovese
The 2024 VOHT Award Ceremony and cocktail hour took place on December 2 at 6 PM at the Maison Française, Embassy of France in Washington, DC.
The 2024 Victor Obadia Humanitarian Trophy laureate is
Madame Marie-Claude Genovese
About the Victor Obadia Humanitarian Trophy laureate for 2024: Marie-Claude Genovese
Having lived in the United States since 1988, I joined the Lycée Rochambeau in 2001, where I worked in the school’s Vie Scolaire department for 22 years. Community service has become a new vocation for me: fundraising walks for the homeless with Friendship Place, donations to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital thanks to the Talent Show, food drives for Manna Food Center, yellow coin drives for Tracy’s Kids, which offers art therapy to children with cancer.
In addition, numerous student and teacher initiatives have led to donations for Emergency USA, NIH Children’s Hospital, UNICEF, Haiti, Congo, Malawi, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Lebanon and many others. It was the enthusiasm and energy of the children and teachers, and the support of the families, that carried me through this mission.
Marie-Claude Genovese was nominated by Mme Christiane Ciccone, retired teacher from the Lycée Rochambeau and member of the Comité Tricolore.
An example of Marie-Claude’s work: For the 15th annual food drive for Manna Food Center, the Rochambeau students collected 1,542 lb of food
2023: David Deshaies
The 2023 Award Ceremony took place on November 13, 2023
The 2023 laureate of the Victor Obadia Humanitarian Trophy is: Chef David Deshaies
Chef David Deshaies, a 2023 James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic, grew up working in his uncle’s restaurant in the Loire Valley of France. He worked in Michelin-starred restaurants across France and Spain before heading to the States in 2001 to join celebrated chef Michel Richard at his flagship Citronelle in Washington, DC, where he eventually rose to executive chef.
In 2017, he opened Unconventional Diner in D.C.’s Shaw neighborhood, earning a Bib Gourmand designation from the Michelin Guide the following year and several RAMMY awards since, including Deshaies being named Chef of the Year by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) in 2020.
In fall 2021, Deshaies opened glam Italian restaurant L’Ardente in downtown D.C. It was recognized by RAMW as a 2022 Best New Restaurant finalist, and in 2023, L’Ardente ranked No. 3 on Washingtonian’s well-respected list of the area’s 100 Very Best Restaurants and won a RAMMY award for Upscale Casual Restaurant of the Year. Then in May 2023, Deshaies opened Love, Makoto—an ambitious Japanese culinary collection with two full-service restaurants, a bar and a fast-casual spot—He is also the managing partner of Central Michel Richard, a French brasserie in Downtown DC. Deshaies lives in Alexandria with wife, Ana—the award-winning pastry chef of Unconventional Diner—and their daughter, Vikki.
David was a great friend to Victor Obadia (here with Victor Obadia at the Dîner du Siècle in 2019) and supported the Comité Tricolore’s charitable mission for two decades. Since his arrival in the DC area approximately 20 years ago, he has always devoted his personal time to numerous charities including St Jude’s hospital and Bread for the City. He has cooked many dinners in the DMV area for charitable organizations and donates many meals to residents of a Friendship Place Home.
This year’s special ceremony offers guests
an opportunity to celebrate as
Madame Jacqueline Abrams
is presented with France’s National Order of Merit, one of the highest honors provided by the French government.
Madame Abrams was a dear friend of Victor Obadia’s and a dedicated member of the Comite Tricolore. Victor was a member of France’s National Order of Merit and President of the AAMFOM, organization representing awardees in the USA.
Jacqueline Abrams Bio in french and in English:
Jacqueline Abrams at work at the Church fair in October 2023 ans as Mother Christmas for WAA in December 2022
2022: Anne Stein-Schneider
The second Award Ceremony took place on Dec 12, 2022
Mrs Anne-Stein-Schneider is the Victor Obadia Humanitarian Trophy laureate for 2022
Anne Stein-Schneider was born and raised in France; she arrived in the United States in 1962. She has served the French community in Washington, DC with her whole heart and enthusiastically for the past 60 years. As the wife of Pastor Herbert Stein-Schneider, she helped their fellow compatriots and Francophiles members of the French Protestant Church until Herbert’s death in 1990.
She then continued volunteering for the French Protestant Church, the Wednesday lunches, Le Cercle Français, The Club de l’Amitié France-Internationale, Vielles Maisons Françaises, Washington Accueil Association and has been part of the Board of the French Protestant Church for the past 20+ years.
Anne received in 2010 from France the decoration of “Chevalier de l’ordre national du Mérite” (Herbert also received the “Chevalier de l’ordre national du Mérite” in 1987).
Anne Stein-Schneider’s Biography "A life of Giving":
The 2022 Victor Obadia Humanitarian Trophy was awarded to Anne Stein-Schneider by the president of the Comité Tricolore at the French Embassy on December 12,2022. Opening remarks by M. François Penguilly, Consul -General of France.
2021: Marie-Yasmine Auclert
The first Award Ceremony took place on Nov 2, 2021
Marie-Yasmine Auclert is the Victor Obadia Humanitarian Trophy laureate for 2021.
Marie, a French citizen, is rewarded for her voluntary work for three different organizations.
She is co-leader of GRE (Groupe Reflexion Ecoute), a support group for French and francophone expats in the DC area and she is co-leader of the Piano Bar for a good cause, which raises money for various causes.
She is a volunteer local representative for Mayan Hands, a nonprofit dedicated to providing economic and educational opportunities to Mayan women and girls in Guatemala.
Marie’s biography:
The 2021 Victor Obadia Humanitarian Trophy was awarded to Marie-Yasmine Auclert by the president of the Comité Tricolore at the French Embassy on November 2, 2021. Opening remarks by M. François Penguilly, Consul -General of France.
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