ABOUT US
Maruca Leach | Host &
Lead Set Designer
Born in Mexico City to Honduran father, and Mexican mother, who met in Mexico city while her father was studying medicine. During their 52 year marriage they lived in five different cities and three different countries, including Mexico, Honduras and Chile. Her father served as a Honduran Ambassador in Chile. Maruca grew up on the border of the US and Mexico and studied in the US. This has led to a life devoted to bridging cultures and communities. At the University of Arizona, she obtained her degree of Bachelors of Arts in History, in order to further her understanding of people, cultures, and cycles.
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She served for 30 years as a cultural liaison and to the CEO of the Americas’ Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to serving the underprivileged children of Tijuana, Mexico. She also served on the board of the Americas Foundation and the La Jolla YMCA. She is devoted to a yoga and meditation practice that values flexibility of body and mind. Nine years ago, she discovered a passion for Oil Painting, where she found a focus and a methodical training to explore her creativity. She seeks to cultivate a joyful and intentional attitude in all that she does. When Julia and Penelope were young children she dedicated herself to them and to cultivated a kind of mindful magical wellbeing that has inspired them all to share this way of living with many others. She and Robert maintained an open-door policy at their home throughout the many years of marriage, believing that everyone is richer for the exchange. She is inspiring, open-hearted, brave, infinitely generous, she always seeks the best in people and of life itself.
This recent move is providing abundant new challenges and opportunities to share her gifts and her family with the world. She is loving the pace of french living, and is slowly building a whole new life for herself in France.
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She is the ultimate hostess during retreats, conversing, getting to know each participant and gracing the dinner tables each night with her incredible tablescapes, floral arrangements, as well as sprinkling her magic touch in all staging throughout the Chateau.
Julia Leach | President & Founder
Julia has been dreaming of France since she was 14 years old. As the visionary of this Château dream and founder of the Lady of the Château, she is passionate about making Puy Vidal a beautiful retreat for those who long for another time- romantics and dreamers like her.
She grew up inspired by all that was old-world: stories of her ancestors told to her by her mother, and BBC period pieces that she would watch with her mother and sister. Over the years, as she took a gap year and spent time in France, Ireland, and Italy before college. She studied Anthropology at Barnard College in New York City and the entered the Film and Television world as a Camera Assistant. She met and fell in love with Caroline on one of her first film industry jobs, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Together they built a beautiful partnership that spanned love, life and work.
She went on to work as a Loader and then a 2nd Camera Assistant on period pieces such as Fosse/Verdon, The Knick, as well as Pose, Sneaky Pete, The Good Fight, The Tick and much more. When COVID hit in 2020, and the film industry shut down, she finally shared with Caroline into the long-coveted yearning she has always held of living in a historic property in France and turning it into a refuge for the artistic and history-loving souls of the world. Caroline took the leap, and they first moved to California to Julia's parents' home to wait out COVID, and slowly the dream expanded to the whole family, dreaming together of a different life.
Now at Chateau de Puy Vidal, she and Caroline seek to bring the world of cinema through its gates- to animate it as a cinematic venue, to develop storytelling retreats, and to produce their own film content. Indeed, in all their Creative Retreat programs at the Chateau, they seek to bring the spirit of storytelling and filmmaking into each guest's experience of this place.
Julia now serves as Co-Founder and President of the Lady of the Chateau. She is the principal brand architect and communications manager for the brand.
She and Caroline run all business partnerships, guest instructor partnerships, creative retreat design, sales, bookings, marketing, website design, in house photography and filming, youtube production, property management and the chateau team management and are both active hosts and logistics managers during retreats.
THE LADY OF THE CHÂTEAU CREATIVE TEAM
At Lady of the Château, we are a team of women, each bringing our own unique strengths, backgrounds, and creative visions to the table. Though our journeys and perspectives are diverse, we share a powerful bond rooted in passion, dedication, and a deep commitment to creating extraordinary experiences for our guests.
Together, we anchor into our collective power and love, transforming Château de Puy Vidal into a sanctuary of inspiration and beauty. It is this blend of individuality and unity that allows us to craft truly unforgettable retreats, where every detail is thoughtfully designed to uplift and inspire.
Robert Leach | Retreat Host
Born to Quaker parents in Media, Pennsylvania, Robert grew up in an open-minded liberal household. His family moved to Venezuela when he was two years old, where he attended school first in Spanish and then completely in French. Through this trying and immersive experience, he first was put into contact with the French language and culture, which he has felt very close to ever since.
Always excelling in math and science, he went on to study Physics at Princeton, and then get his PhD in Astronomy at Harvard University. He conducted research at several universities, and eventually developed CCD technologies as the image industry transitioned from film to digital imaging. He pivoted from his role at San Diego State University and launched his own business with his colleague. It was called Astronomical Research Cameras and it went on to furnish telescopes and research institutions around the world, from India, England, South America, to the Hubble telescope, to most recently the James Webb telescope with the ARC digital camera systems.
Now onto a new chapter, he looks forward to discovering a french countryside lifestyle, making new friends, embarking on the learning curve of renovating a historic Chateau, and meeting people from around the world that come through the Chateau gates. Dry sense of humor, keenly logical and the best martini maker in the west, he is one of a kind. He is also a race-winning long distance cyclist and looks forward to discovering the bike rides through the Charente.
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He is an active host during retreats, and enjoys getting to know people from around the world.
FIND BEAUTY WITHIN
Follow our Journey in France on our social media channels.
Caroline Ibarra | Director & Founder
Born in Queens, New York, as the second of five children to Colombian parents, Caroline’s life has been a vibrant tapestry of diverse experiences and evolving identities. Frequent moves eventually brought her family to Florida during her high school years, where each transition exposed her to new cultural landscapes. It was during this time that Caroline discovered her passion for cinema and storytelling, particularly her desire to bring queer stories to the big screen. Despite her parents’ preference for a more traditional path, she pursued a degree in Business at the University of Florida. There, Caroline fully embraced her queer identity and began honing her love for creative expression.
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Known for her warmth, passion, and nurturing spirit, Caroline naturally excels in collaborative environments, striving to make everyone feel seen and included. After college, she followed her dream and returned to New York City to pursue a career in film and television. Starting as a production assistant, Caroline quickly rose through the ranks, earning a place in the International Cinematographers Guild. Her impressive credits include working on acclaimed films like In the Heights, John Wick, and Tick, Tick... Boom!, as well as TV series such as Sneaky Pete, Y: The Last Man, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
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It was on the set of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt that Caroline met and fell in love with Julia. Their shared passion for storytelling led them to collaborate on various creative projects until they eventually took a leap of faith to bring their Château dream to life.
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As Co-Founder and Managing Director of Lady of the Château, Caroline wears many hats. She serves as YouTube director and editor, principal talent scout for new guest instructors and staff, and leads construction and renovation at the Château. Caroline also manages the garden and grounds team, all while overseeing business development, creative retreat design, sales, marketing, and website management alongside Julia. Together, they host and manage logistics during retreats, ensuring every aspect of the Château is infused with their passion for storytelling and community.
Meet the Retreat Staff
A FAMILY ADVENTURE
The Leach-Ibarra family, a dynamic group of five hailing from California and New York City, decided to embark on a bold adventure by making a piece of history their home. Combining their diverse backgrounds in filmmaking, star-gazing, data engineering, and oil painting, they took a collective leap of faith and moved to France.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, they made an offer from across the world, with the guidance and blessing of Stephanie Jarvis, a leading figure in the chateau community. Placing all their hopes on this venture, they prayed to the gods of adventure that they had chosen the right place to call home.
Château de Puy Vidal turned out to be everything they had hoped for—and more.
Lovingly maintained and improved over the past 50 years by the former owners, this family home is now set to enter a new chapter. The family’s vision is to return the chateau to its original purpose—derived from the Latin word castellum, meaning “fortified village.”
But instead of standing against invading armies, this chateau will serve as a fortified refuge from the stresses of modern life. It will become a creative village of sorts, welcoming travelers, artists, thinkers, and history lovers within its ancient walls, offering a place of magic, inspiration, and sanctuary.
Tune in to the first episode of our YouTube channel, Dreaming of a Chateau, where we share the origins of this extraordinary journey.
Penelope Leach | Systems Engineer
Penelope attended Oberlin College in Ohio with dreams of making the world a better place and graduated with a degree in Economics. She then studied Data Science and became a Data Engineer at start-ups and digital marketing agencies in New York City. Penelope saw how much joy there was to be shared by her family's Chateau dream and now works on the Lady of the Chateau team.
She and Julia grew up on a steady stream of period movies and fantasy novels, and they both now seek to incorporate magical, historical and immersive elements into the Chateau de Puy Vidal guest experience. Halloween is her absolute favorite holiday. Unique, powerful characters, spooky, atmospheric surroundings, and the magic of Disneyland make her wake up every morning passionate about sharing these experiences with fellow enthusiasts. She makes a mean Salmon Wellington, and a proprietary cocktail called the "Witches Brew", and has great plans of opening a Chateau Speakeasy. Penelope is an accomplished English horseback rider and aerialist who brings physical prowess into her life at the Chateau. In her free time she loves to travel to European cities, attending concerts and seeking a young international community.
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Penelope now serves as a systems engineer for the Lady of the Chateau- building out efficient backend systems for pricing, accounting and room inventory management. She also helps design retreat experiences, especially leading evening activities and immersive games. She is an active host during retreats, helping anticipate guests' every need.
Marie- Josephine Werlings | Retreat Chef
Trained as a Hellenist and historian, Marie- Josephine taught ancient Greek and Greek history at university for fifteen years. Until she finally gave into the call of her Bordeaux and Alsatian origins, and decided to become a professional chef.
She refined her skills at the esteemed Ritz Escoffier school and Alain Ducasse's academy, under the mentorship of Chef Guy Tardif at Les Vendanges, and earned her CAP certification.
Today, she journeys down to the Chateau from Paris to introduce you the delights of french cuisine. Each dish and each meal is conceived especially for you, depending on the weather, the themes of the day and the tastes of the group. She believes passionately that food is about connections.
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Learn more about her private chef business here:
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Aimee Bryant
| Retreat Server
Born to an English mother, and an Irish father, and raised here in the French countryside, Aimee considers herself more French now than British. One of four exceptional sisters, she joined the Chateau team this spring, and has excelled at welcoming our guests from around the world to this very special corner of France. An artist in both painting and tattoo artistry, we see a bright future for her and we are very happy to be part of her journey of discovering her calling.