Carmody, Heather

Mann, Rebecca

Cash, Richard M.

Mendaglio, Sal

Castellano, Jaime

Miller, Rachelle

Dixon, Felicia A.

Palmer, Jack

Duncan, Daphne

Pereira, Nielsen

Fogarty, Elizabeth

Peters, Scott

Friedman-Nimz, Reva

Peterson, Jean

Gates, Jillian

Reis, Sally M.

Gentry, Marcia

Shepson, Melissa

Housand, Angel

Simms, Kevin

Housand, Brian C.

Steele, Kathy

Jackson, P. Susan

Turpin, Tom

Kolloff, Penny Britton

Vaughn, Vicki L.

Lacina, Benjamin

Weisman, James

McAnallen, Rachel

Yang, Yang

Mann, Eric

Heather Carmody splits her time between Purdue University and teaching middle school in Indianapolis. She is a doctoral student in the GERI program. She is also a seventh grade mathematics teacher and the middle school curriculum coordinator at Park Tudor School. Heather taught seventh grade for five years in public schools in Indianapolis and in Champaign, Illinois. Her master’s degree is from the University of Illinois in Special Education with a concentration in cultural diversity. Her teaching emphasizes real world application of mathematics and opportunities for student choice in the classroom.

Richard M. Cash, Ed.D., is the Director of Gifted and Talented Programs, K-12, for the Bloomington Minnesota Public Schools, and teaches graduate level courses at Concordia University and Hamline University in St. Paul, MN. Prior to his work as a district administrator and college-level instructor, Richard taught first and sixth grade in an urban elementary school for gifted children. Richard also worked for many years as a children's theater director. He is co-author of four highly acclaimed children's plays with Claudia Haas.

Richard was elected as a US delegate to the World Council on Gifted Education and has presented workshops at the International Biennial Conference on Gifted Education. Nationally, he is actively involved with the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) serving on its Membership Committee and is a frequent presenter at the annual NAGC convention. Richard is also involved with the International Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) where he serves on the Leadership Council and has presented at the ASCD annual convention and exhibit. Locally, Dr. Cash is the President of the Minnesota Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (Mn ASCD) and Past-President of the Metro-Chapter for the Minnesota Educators of the Gifted and Talented (MEGT).

Dr. Cash also works as a private consultant for many school districts around the U.S.  Most recently he was a featured speaker for the Lake County, Illinois Annual Conference on Differentiated Instruction. His areas of expertise are gifted learners and programming, curriculum development, differentiated instruction, creativity, and brain compatible classrooms. Richard is widely known for his theatrical and engaging presentation style, as well as his informative workshops.

www.nrichconsulting.com

Jaime Castellano is one of our nation’s leading experts in the field of gifted education for low-income, diverse students; with particular expertise working with gifted Hispanic students, English language learners, and those gifted students who live in poverty. Dr. Castellano has additional expertise in the field of instructional leadership, serving as a national consultant, practitioner, and model; assisting schools and districts in aligning curriculum standards with instructional strategies, methodologies, and processes designed to engage, motivate, and emphasize critical thinking and problem solving skills. 

Besides his leadership responsibilities with the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), the Arizona Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (AZASCD), the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), and the Arizona Association for the Gifted and Talented (AAGT), Dr. Castellano also served on the staff of Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida as a Visiting Professor in the Graduate College of Education’s Educational Leadership program. For Florida Atlantic University (FAU) he served as an Adjunct Professor in their master’s degree program in educational leadership, and in English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). He is also an Adjunct Professor for Arizona State University (ASU)-West, teaching in the Graduate School of Education’s gifted education endorsement program.

Dr. Castellano is currently employed as a program specialist with the Arizona Department of Education’s (ADE) Office of English Language Acquisition Services. He also works closely with the Director of Gifted Education and Advanced Placement.

Felicia A. Dixon is associate professor of educational psychology at Ball State University . She directs the master's degree program in educational psychology and the license/endorsement in gifted education. She received her doctorate from Purdue University and specializes in gifted education. Author of more than 20 articles and chapters, Felicia Dixon received the Early Scholar Award from NAGC in 2004. She is a member of the Board of Directors of NAGC. Her research interests include critical thinking, cognitive abilities, self-concept of gifted adolescents, perfectionism, and curriculum. Her special interest is in the advancement of gifted education for secondary students. E-mail: fdixon@bsu.edu.

Daphne Duncan is currently a doctoral candidate in Educational Psychology at Purdue University. Her primary and related areas of study are Gifted Education and Engineering Education. Prior to coming to Purdue, Daphne completed a B.S. in Elementary Education at Florida State University, and an M.Ed at NC State University. She also taught third grade, in Virginia, for 5 years. Daphne currently works with the Institute for P-12 Engineering Research and Learning (INSPIRE) coordinating and facilitating professional development for teachers in an effort to bring engineering curriculum to elementary children. She also serves as a Teaching Assistant for the undergraduate class, Creating and Managing Learning Environments. Daphne’s dissertation research involves the development of a quantitative instrument to measure elementary students’ knowledge and perceptions of engineering.

Elizabeth Fogarty is an Assistant Professor of Elementary Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at East Carolina University. Her primary research interests include the education of gifted learners, differentiation, and effective professional development practices. Before coming to East Carolina University, she worked at the National Research Center of the Gifted and Talented assisting with a large Javits Grant to study the effectiveness of using gifted pedagogy with all students in teaching reading. This project, the SEM-R (Schoolwide Enrichment Model – Reading Project) has enabled her to study differentiation in reading classrooms. She intends to continue her research with an emphasis on effective educational practices for use with rural gifted students. Dr. Fogarty was named a 2006 Doctoral Student of the Year in gifted education by the National Association for Gifted Children.

Reva Friedman-Nimz, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Curriculum and Teaching at the University of Kansas, where she has been responsible for degree and graduate certificate programs in gifted/talented/creative child education for over 30 years.   A former high school teacher and teacher of gifted students, she continues to educate general education and gifted education teachers about the learning and personal needs of gifted and talented students, to counsel bright youngsters and their families, and to collaborate with teachers K-12. Her writings focus on the psychological factors that impact the development of gifted young people and on inclusive education models that emphasize students' talents and strengths. She has served on the boards of the National Association for Gifted Children and The Association for the Gifted. She is a board member of the Kansas Association for the Gifted, Talented, and Creative.

A lover of American “roots”music, Reva plays the string bass in the Euphoria Stringband and Peghead. She also enjoys hiking, gardening, contradancing, unraveling mysteries, and spending time with her family and dogs.

Jillian Gates is a Frederick N. Andrews Fellow and doctoral candidate at Purdue University where she is pursuing a Ph.D. in Gifted Education. Jillian’s primary research interest is in the area of giftedness and ADHD and the possibility of misdiagnosis. Jillian has taught both undergraduate and graduate classes at Purdue University while pursuing her research interests, coordinating the Project HOPE grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, and assisting in the coordination of the Gifted Education Resource Institute’s DISCOVER! Institute. Jillian also provides professional development workshops for educators around the state of Indiana.

Marcia Gentry is Associate Professor and Associate Director of the Gifted Education Resource Institute at Purdue University . She came to Purdue in 2004 after 8 years as a professor at Minnesota State University where she directed graduate programs in gifted education and taught research and gifted education courses.

She is a member of the National Association for Gifted Children's board of directors and recipient of its 2002 early scholar award for her significant contributions in conducting and reporting research regarding the education of gifted children. Marcia has focused her work on the use of cluster grouping and differentiation, the development of student attitude measures that address constructs central to meaningful learning, using gifted education ideas as a means of improving general education while recognizing and advocating for special services required to educate gifted and talented youngsters, and applications of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model. She is currently in the middle of an extensive qualitative study in which she is investigating a vocational technical secondary school that emerged in her instrument development research as exemplary.

She is a frequent contributor to the gifted education literature and a regular participant and regional, state, national and international venues gifted education and educational research. She serves on the editorial boards of 3 journals in her field. Prior to her work in higher education, Marcia taught math, science, general curriculum and gifted education to middle and elementary school students. She also served as coordinator of gifted programs, math and science, professional development, and curriculum for a regional area in Michigan.

Angela M. Housand, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina – Wilmington. Angela graduated from the University of Connecticut with a doctorate in educational psychology with an emphasis in talent development and gifted education.  As a former middle school teacher, she brings an applied focus to her research interests, which include, self-regulated learning, program planning and design, and attributes of advanced performance.

Brian C. Housand is an assistant professor in the department of Curriculum and Instruction at East Carolina University. Dr. Housand earned a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut with an emphasis in both gifted education and instructional technology. He is the chair of NAGC’s Computers and Technology Network, and his column, Technology Untangled, appears in the NAGC publication Teaching for High Potential. He is currently exploring ways in which technology can enhance the learning environment and striving to define creative-productive giftedness in a digital age.

P. Susan Jackson is the Founder and Therapeutic Director of "The Daimon Institute for the Highly Gifted" in White Rock, British Columbia, Canada . She is also the District Coordinator of “Programs to Support Gifted and Talented Students” in Langley BC Canada . She has extensive educational and mental health response background in all areas of gifted education. Her research interests and clinical experience focus on development, mental health and educational response for highly and profoundly gifted learners. She is an international speaker and consultant who specializes in advanced development and differential diagnosis and treatment for disintegrative states such as depression and anxiety. Sue has great interest in dual exceptionalities and personality development. She has studied both Jung and Dabrowski extensively. Sue is a poet, a nature lover and mother of two highly gifted children.

Penny Britton Kolloff is retired from the faculty at Illinois State University.  She completed her Ph.D. at Purdue University and served as Assistant Director of the Gifted Education Resource Institute.  She also directed the Program for Academic and Creative Enrichment (PACE) based on the Purdue Three-Stage Model. From 1981-1990, Penny was a faculty member at Ball State University and director of the Center for Gifted and Talented. She worked with the Indiana Department of Education to implement several state-wide initiatives for gifted children and their teachers.  Penny served two terms on the board of directors of the National Association for Gifted Children and received both the Early Leader award and the Outstanding Research Paper award from NAGC.  She is past president of the Illinois Association for Gifted Children and a member of advisory boards for the Gifted Education Resource Institute at Purdue University, the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University, and the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics and Humanities.  She publishes book chapters and articles on curriculum and programs for gifted, literacy, and gifted females. 

Benjamin Lacina is the Curriculum Integration Coordinator at Fred Moore Middle School Center for the Arts in Anoka, Minnesota, where he specializes in being extremely busy and overextended. Over the past seven years he has developed and produced more than 10 original interdisciplinary musicals with elementary school students. In 2003 he was commissioned by Anoka Children's Theatre to compose lyrics and an original score for "Dreams of a Cobbler's
Son: A Musical Fantasy on Young Hans Christian Andersen". Benjamin is founding Musical Director and Director of Education and Outreach for the Youth Arts Initiative in Saint Paul, Minnesota, an organization whose mission is to bring the creative world of performing arts to at-risk youth across the Twin Cities. He is a member of the Educational Advisory Board for the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts and recently completed his Master of Science Degree in Gifted Education and Talent Development with a focus on interdisciplinary curriculum.

Known simply as Ms. Math to children across the country, Rachel McAnallen  has devoted her life to sharing the joy and beauty of mathematics with learners of all ages. A professional educator for 48 years, she travels the globe teaching her subject at every grade level.

In addition to her experience in the classroom, Rachel has served as a department chair, a school board member and a high school administrator. She claims the latter position is responsible for the majority of her gray hairs.

She has a passion for teaching, golf and mathematical modular origami, though not always in that order. A life-long learner, Rachel approaches the world around her with a boundless curiosity and a playful sense of humor that is reflected in her teaching style.

When Rachel turned 70 years old in February 2006, she made a decision to go back to school to pursue her doctoral degree. At the present time she is doing her studies at the University of Connecticut in the field of gifted and talented. She is loving the statistics course.

Eric L. Mann is an assistant professor of Educational Studies.  As part of Purdue’s Innovations in sTEm Education initiative his work involves the development of new ways to increase student interest in engineering, technology, mathematics and science in grades P-12. 

He completed his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with specializations in Gifted and Talented Education and Mathematics Education at the University of Connecticut.  Prior to his doctoral studies he was a middle school math and science teacher, a 5th grade classroom teacher and a gifted and talented coordinator in New Hampshire and Connecticut.  He is retired from United States Air Force; have served 21 years prior to becoming a teacher.

Rebecca L. Mann is an Assistant Professor and Co-Director of the Gifted education Resource Institute of Purdue University. Her interest in students with high intellectual ability and concomitant learning disabilities led her to earn a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with specializations in Gifted and Talented Education and Special Education.  As a research associate with the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, she worked with a team on a national study designed to increase achievement in underachieving high-ability students. Prior to her doctoral studies she was a gifted and talented coordinator and resource teacher and an elementary classroom teacher in Colorado and New Hampshire, where she was named the 2001 Educator of the Year of the Gifted. Becky’s published works reflect her interest in students with high spatial ability.

Saal Mendaglio, PhD, is a professor in the Faculty of Education, University of Calgary.  For over twenty years, he taught in the Department of Educational Psychology contributing to the preparation of psychologists.  For the past ten years, he teaches in the Division of Teacher Preparation in which he held the position of Assistant Dean.  Sal also offers graduate courses in gifted education in the Graduate Division of Educational Research. He is a co-founder of the Centre for Gifted Education, which has recently celebrated its 20th anniversary.  He currently holds the position of research associate with the Centre.  His passion is counseling gifted individuals, which he began over thirty years ago.  Models of counseling gifted youth and Dabrowski’s theory of positive disintegration are topics of his recent publications.

Rachelle Miller - Rachelle Miller is a doctoral student who works at the Gifted Education Resource Institute at Purdue University. She is currently the coordinator for Super Saturday and Super Summer, which are enrichment programs for high ability students. After teaching gifted and non-gifted students for four years and receiving her master’s degree in gifted education, her passion for gifted students drew her back to school to pursue her PhD in Educational Psychology with a specialization in gifted education. Her research interests include acceleration and the social and emotional issues of gifted students.

Jack Palmer is a full-time high school teacher and department chair at Stoughton High School in Stoughton, WI. He also heads up the innovative mentorship program where students choose an area of interest to pursue under the guidance of a community mentor. Jack has presented both locally, at the state level, as well as nationally. He also works as the Talented and Gifted Coordinator for his school as well as the Academic Teams coach.  

Nielsen Pereira is a doctoral student in gifted education at Purdue University, where he is also coordinator of student programs for the Gifted Education Resource Institute. He holds a Masters degree in Applied Linguistics from Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil. He taught English as a second language in Brazil for 12 years before coming to Purdue. His research interests include identification and programming options for gifted English language learners, issues in language testing, and evaluation of gifted programs.

Scott Peters is an Assistant Professor of Educational Foundations at the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater where he teaches courses related to educational measurement and assessment. He received his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 2009 specializing in gifted and talented education with secondary areas in Applied Research Methodology and English Education. Before completing his Ph.D. he administered gifted and talented student programs for grades K-12 at the Gifted Education Resource Institute. His research interests include educational research methodology with particular focus on advanced measurement techniques as well as nontraditional giftedness and secondary student programming outcomes. He frequently contributes to the gifted education literature and conferences and serves on committees of the National Association for Gifted Children and the American Education Research Association.

Jean Peterson is currently the coordinator of school counseling at Purdue University, was a classroom teacher or gifted-education teacher in South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Berlin, Germany, for 24 years prior to doctoral work at The University of Iowa in counselor education. Her long-time efforts related to the social and emotional development of gifted adolescents became her research focus. During her doctoral work and during her first position as a counselor educator, she was involved in private-practice family counseling, substance-abuse evaluation and treatment, alternative schools, and Head Start. She is a licensed mental health counselor in Missouri and Indiana and is a National Certified Counselor. In her 10 years as a counselor educator, she has developed and led school counseling programs in two institutions, has contributed 70 publications to the school counseling and gifted education literature, and has won awards in teaching, scholarship, and service. Over 40,000 of her two Talk with Teens books are being used nationally by professionals in schools and counseling centers.

Sally M. Reis is the Distinguished Professor and Teaching Fellow of the Educational Psychology Department at the University of Connecticut where she also serves as Principal Investigator of the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. She was a teacher for 15 years, 11 of which were spent working with gifted students on the elementary, junior high, and high school levels. She has authored more than 130 articles, nine books, 40 book chapters, and numerous monographs and technical reports.

Her research interests are related to special populations of gifted and talented students, including: students with learning disabilities, gifted females and diverse groups of talented students. She is also interested in extensions of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model for both gifted and talented students and as a way to expand offerings and provide general enrichment to identify talents and potentials in students who have not been previously identified as gifted.

She has traveled extensively conducting workshops and providing professional development for school districts on gifted education, enrichment programs, and talent development programs. She is co-author of The Schoolwide Enrichment Model, The Secondary Triad Model, Dilemmas in Talent Development in the Middle Years, and a book published in 1998 about women’s talent development entitled Work Left Undone: Choices and Compromises of Talented Females. Sally serves on several editorial boards, including the Gifted Child Quarterly, and is a past President of the National Association for Gifted Children.

Melissa Shepson is currently the Science Education and Outreach Coordinator in the Department of Entomology at Purdue University. She joined the department in the fall of 2006 after graduating from the College of Education at Purdue University with an MS Ed in Curriculum and Instruction. She received her undergraduate degree in Environmental Design from North Carolina State University. As a graduate teaching assistant she taught Media for Children, Social Studies in the Elementary School, and Literacy and Language in the Elementary School. Previous to her return to graduate school, she was a teacher at the Montessori School of Greater Lafayette for six years.

Kevin Simms served nine years in the U.S. Navy before turning to teaching as a career. For fourteen years he has worked with urban and rural school districts developing programs for children with behavioral issues and as a math teacher stretching the mathematical minds of young people. His passion for gadgets has made him a regular at Confratute at the University of Connecticut, where he teaches a strand on Digital Technology. He is a graduate of the Three Summers Masters program from the University of Connecticut and currently a gifted coordinator for Salem City Schools, in Salem VA.

Kathy Steele is the Superintendent of the Crawfordsville Community Schools in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Her career in education has included the roles of elementary teacher, coordinator of the gifted and talented, curriculum coordinator and visiting lecturer at Purdue University and Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis. For the last six years, she has served as the Chair of the Advisory Board for the Indiana School Safety Specialist Academy and has been a trained School Safety Specialist since 1999. Crawfordsville Community School has benefited from her grant writing ability by receiving the following federal grants: Technology Challenge Innovation, Crisis Management, Character Education, Carol White Physical Education and a Safe Schools Healthy Students. She is the author of two books Involving Parents in Schools and Creative Teaching: A Practical Approach. Being a true Boilermaker, she received her B.A (1970), M.S. (1972), Ph.D. (1981), Gifted and Talented Endorsement (1986) and Administration Certification (1996) all from Purdue University. She was awarded the Distinguish Alumna Award from the Purdue School of Education in 1991 and the Crystal Apple Award in 1996. The National Association for Gifted and Talented presented her with the National Educator of the Year in 1996. Locally, she serves as a member of the Main Street Advisory Board and the Montgomery County Community Foundation Board. Her husband, John, works as a computer programmer for the Crawfordsville Schools and her son, Matt, attends IU with a concentration in visual arts. Kathy enjoys photography, gardening, and stained glass.

Tom Turpin is a Purdue University professor of entomology and Cooperative Extension Service entomologist. Turpin created “Bug Bowl” in 1990 to demonstrate insect mobility to his students; the annual event now attracts more than 35,000 people as well as worldwide media attention. A popular speaker, he gives presentations on a variety of agricultural-related topics to audiences of all ages and has been featured in national magazines, on network television shows, and talk and call-in radio programs. A dedicated teacher, he has received numerous teaching honors, including Purdue’s top undergraduate teaching award.

Vicki L. Vaughn is principal of Edgelea Elementary School and Coordinator of Gifted Programming for the Lafayette Indiana School Corporation. She is Second Vice President of the Indiana Association for the Gifted, editor for the state gifted journal Images, and serves on the Indiana Department of Education's Integrated Services Team. She currently serves or has served as an editorial reviewer for Roeper Review, Gifted Child Quarterly, and The Journal of Secondary Gifted Education. Dr. Vaughn is an instructor of graduate courses in gifted education for Purdue University . She presents at local, state, and national conferences and presents professional development inservices for many schools and has published several articles in the field of gifted education.

Jim Weisman, D.V.M, is a Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Director of the Veterinary Technology Program in the School of Veterinary Medicine.  Jim received his undergraduate and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees from Purdue University.  Jim was in private practice in Evansville, Indiana for 10 years, before returning to Purdue University.  During his practice career, Dr. Weisman was a frequent speaker and in-class presenter to students in grades K-12.  His involvement with many science classes as well as many programs related to 4-H  and Extension have given him a broad base of experience in working with youth.  During his time here at Purdue, Dr. Weisman has led many of the youth related programs in the School of Veterinary Medicine.  The Boiler Vet Camp, a week long in-residence camp for veterinary medical science 8th and 9th graders, is one such program led by Dr. Weisman.  His work with other educators across the state and country to connect the resources of the Veterinary School with the expertise of educators in schools is a key initiative of his.  Collaboration with educators to develop programs to foster the interest of youth in science is important to him.

Yang Yang is a doctoral student in the Gifted Education Resource Institute at Purdue University. Yang got her bachelor’s degree in English in Zhengzhou University, and was once a university English teacher for two years. Her research research areas include early childhood giftedness recognition and talent development.