Past Speakers Bio
2021 Keynote Speakers
Thursday Keynote- Dr. Todd Kettler
Todd Kettler, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology in the School of Education at Baylor University. He teaches courses in gifted education and talent development, creativity, and the history and systems of psychology with educational applications.
Dr. Kettler conducts research on access to advanced academic learning opportunities in schools, including access to gifted education. He studies the features of learning designs that support outcomes of exceptional performance including the development of critical thinking and creative capacity. His book, Modern Curriculum for Gifted and Advanced Academic Students (Prufrock Press, 2016) won the Legacy Award for the best scholarly book in the field of gifted education in the United States in 2016. That text articulated Kettler’s four-level approach to elite talent development in academic domains.
Dr. Kettler studies learning designs that combine advanced content, complex thinking, conceptual understanding, and the development of intellectual character. His work in complex thinking has specifically focused on developing students’ abilities to think both critically and creatively within domain-specific traditions. His book Developing Creativity in the Classroom: Learning and Innovation in 21st Century Schools (Prufrock Press, 2019) explores systematic development of creative capacity in learning organizations. Kettler’s research has appeared in the leading journals in the fields of gifted educational and creativity including: Gifted Child Quarterly, Journal of Advanced Academics, Journal for the Education of the Gifted, Creativity Research Journal, Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, Creativity Research Journal, and Thinking Skills and Creativity.
Currently Dr. Kettler serves as editor of the Journal of Advanced Academics, and he is the chair of the Texas Commissioner of Education’s Advisory Council for Gifted Education in Texas. He is actively involved in the American Educational Research Association and the National Association of Gifted Children. He began his professional journey as a middle school and high school English teacher and spent more than a decade designing and leading advanced academic programs in public schools in Texas.
Friday Keynote- Dr. Susan Johnsen
Susan K. Johnsen, Ph.D., is Professor Emerita of Educational Psychology at Baylor University. She is editor-in-chief of Gifted Child Today and coauthor of Identifying Gifted Students: A Practical Guide, Using the NAGC Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Programming Standards, Independent Study Program, and more than 300 articles, monographs, technical reports, chapters, and other books related to gifted education. She has written three tests used in identifying gifted students: Test of Mathematical Abilities for Gifted Students (TOMAGS-2), Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (TONI-4), and Screening Assessment for Gifted Students (SAGES-3). She is past president of The Association for the Gifted (TAG), Council for Exceptional Children, and past president of the Texas Association for Gifted and Talented (TAGT). She has received awards for her work in the field of education, including NAGC’s Ann Isaac’s Award, NAGC’s President’s Award, and CEC’s Leadership Award.
2021 Breakout Session Speakers
Sarah Bright, Ph.D.
Sarah Bright, PhD, is a research associate at Northwestern University’s Center for Talent Development. Her research focuses on the role of educational technology in gifted education, including issues of equity of access and the role of motivation, engagement, and creativity. She is the co-author of Integrating social and emotional learning with content: Using picture books for powerful teaching in K-3 classrooms(Prufrock Press, forthcoming) and a contributing author to Contemporary challenges in teaching young children: Meeting the needs of all students. (Routledge, 2019).
Jennifer V. Callison
Jennifer V. Callison has been in the field of education for twenty years, including teaching and training on the English Language Arts units developed by the College of William and Mary Center for Gifted Education. After having taught elementary and middle school students, she currently trains teachers, writes and edits curriculum, and lives in St. Petersburg, FL with her husband and two sons.
Eric Calvert, Ed.D.
Eric Calvert is an Associate Director at Northwestern University's Center for Talent Development. Previously, he was Assistant Director for the Ohio Department of Education Office for Exceptional Children where he oversaw state initiatives related to gifted education , acceleration, and twice-exceptional students; and, Director for Youth Programs at Purdue University's Gifted Education Resource Institute. He has also served as Policy and Advocacy Co-Chair for the Illinois Association for Gifted Children, as a governing board member for the Ohio Association for Gifted Children, and currently serves on the Access and Equity Task force for the Georgia Association for Gifted Children. His has co-authored four grants exploring the potential of online learning to narrow opportunity and excellence gaps, and frequently consults with K-12 schools and state agencies on service model design, policy development, identification issues, and program evaluation.
Ashley Y. Carpenter, Ph.D.
Dr. Ashley Carpenter is the coordinator of the National Curriculum Networking Conference, an assistant professor of gifted education, and director of professional development at the Center for Gifted Education at William & Mary. Dr. Carpenter was a middle school science teacher for 14 year, the last 6 in a gifted magnet in Florida.
Kathy Carpenter
Kathy Carpenter is a Gifted Resource Teacher at Kate Waller Barrett Elementary School in Stafford, Virginia. She is a graduate of the University of Mary Washington and is a National Board Certified Teacher. The 20- 21 school year is her 6th year as a GT teacher, but she has also worked as an elementary classroom teacher, Educational Diagnostician and administrator during her 26 years in education. She currently serves on the Gifted Advisory Committee for her district.
Patricia Costis, Ph.D. 
Patricia Costis is the Program Coordinator for NORSTAR, a gifted STEM program in Norfolk Public Schools. She received her doctorate at William and Mary in Educational Leadership/Gifted Administration. She has researched the identification of gifted students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and developed a team model for meeting the needs of 2e students in NPS. She has presented at state and national gifted conferences on topics including the IEP process for 2e students, 2e identification issues.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patty-costis-phd-7202187b/
Richard D. Courtright, Ph.D.
Dr. Richard D. Courtright is a lifelong educator with more than forty years of experience in PreK-12 public education and consulting. Rick has been an elementary and middle school classroom teacher, gifted resource teacher, and the district’s gifted program administrator for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools in North Carolina. Rick formerly held positions as Gifted Education Research Specialist for the Duke University Talent Identification Program (Duke TIP), as well as lecturing fellow in the Duke University Program in Education, and adjunct assistant professor in the School of Education at Elon University. He earned his A.B., M.Ed. and Ph.D. degrees in education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Rick has co-written and co-edited several works, has taught a variety of courses and workshops in gifted, general and special education; he has presented at state, regional, national and international conferences. Rick has provided consultation and professional learning opportunities to numerous schools and districts interested in delivering quality differentiated programs for gifted and talented students. He received the NCAGT Distinguished Achievement Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2015.
Jennifer Riedl Cross, Ph.D.
Jennifer Riedl Cross, Ph.D. is Director of Research at the William & Mary Center for Gifted Education. She is co-editor, with Tracy L. Cross, of the Handbook for Counselors Serving Students with Gifts and Talents, soon to be out in its second edition. Dr. Cross is a member of the leadership team of the newly created W&M Institute for Research on the Suicide of Gifted Students. She and Dr. Tracy L. Cross co-authored the second edition of Suicide among gifted children and adolescents and an article on clinical and mental health issues for a special issue of the Journal for Counseling and Development on gifted individuals. Dr. Cross guest edited, with Dr. James Borland, a special issue of the Roeper Review on gifted education and social inequality. Her research in the field of gifted education emphasizes its social and psychological foundations.
Tracy L. Cross, Ph.D.
Tracy L. Cross, Ph.D., holds an endowed chair, Jody and Layton Smith Professor of Psychology and Gifted Education, and is the executive director of the Center for Gifted Education and the Institute for Research on the Suicide of Gifted Students at William & Mary. He has published more than 200 articles, book chapters, and columns; made more than 300 presentations at conferences; and published 13 books. He received the Distinguished Service Award from The Association for the Gifted (TAG) and the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), the Early Leader, Early Scholar and Distinguished Scholar Awards from NAGC, and in 2009 was given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the MENSA Education and Research Foundation. He has edited seven journals and is the current editor of the Journal for the Education of the Gifted. He presently serves as president of TAG and is president emeritus of NAGC.
Kimberley Daly, Ph.D.
Dr. Kimberley Daly has more than 25 years of experience in educational and academic environments and currently serves as the coordinator for Project E-Ignite, a Jacob K. Javits federally-funded grant that works with teachers, students, and schools to investigate problem-based learning as a screening tool to identify culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse students for gifted coursework. She cooperatively works with the leadership team, graduate and undergraduate research assistants, the evaluator, and other stakeholders as well as manages data analysis and research approvals. Additionally, Dr. Daly teaches graduate education coursework to pre- and in-service teachers at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Since 2009, she has been affiliated with Mason’s College of Education and Human Development and the Advanced International Baccalaureate (IB) Studies and Research Program, the first American IB teacher award program authorized by the International Baccalaureate. She has presented widely on educational methods and IB programs and is an expert concerning IB recognition at universities. Her research interests include problem-based learning and professional learning, advanced academic programs, human rights education, and international-mindedness.
Amanda Deeter
Amanda Deeter is a Professional Clinical Counselor specializing in children and adolescents. Throughout her career she has worked with children in both the clinical setting and the school setting, providing therapy, education, collaboration with educators, administrators, Juvenile Court and Children’s Services. Currently she is a Social Emotional Learning Specialist at the Montgomery County Educational Service Center providing training, coaching, and curriculum development.
Magdalena Fitzsimmons
Magdalena Fitzsimmons has worked as a staff development teacher for the past 5 years as part of the Baltimore County Public Schools S.T.A.T. Program in Towson, MD. She is a graduate of the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, the City University of New York, Brooklyn College, and the University of Calgary, Canada. Ms. Fitzsimmons regularly presents at national and state conferences on the topics of curriculum for gifted students, arts integration, problem-based learning, creativity, and technology integration. She has also written and edited reading language arts curriculum for gifted and talented students for the Baltimore County Public Schools, the Maryland State Department of Education, and is the author of Challenging Common Core Language Arts Lessons: Activities and Extensions for Gifted and Advanced Learners in Grade 5 published by Prufrock Press. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at Towson University in instructional technology.
Chandra B. Floyd, Ph.D.
Chandra B. Floyd, Ph. D. is Assistant Professor of Gifted Education at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, GA. Prior to her current position, she served 24 years in K12 schools as an English teacher, a gifted resource teacher, and a district coordinator for gifted programs. Currently, she teaches graduate courses leading to a gifted endorsement in GA.
Stacy Hayden, M.A.
Anne K. Horak, Ph.D.
Anne K. Horak, PhD, is the Co-PI and Project Director of of Project E-Ignite, a Jacob K. Javits federal grant funded in 2019. She is a Research Professor at George Mason University in the College of Education and Human Development. Dr. Horak’s research interests focus on teacher professional learning, culturally, linguistically and economically diverse students, and PBL curriculum instructional interventions that promote equity and access to advanced and gifted programs. She has written multiple book chapters, articles and contributed to the development of award-winning PBL curriculum units. Dr. Horak has received or directed research totaling over $5 million. Her professional career in education has spanned 25 years. Prior to her appointment at Mason, Dr. Horak taught middle school and served as a K-12 education school administrator supervising advanced programs. Dr. Horak can be reached at ahorak@gmu.edu.
Dr. Mihyeon Kim
Mihyeon Kim is the Director of the Precollegiate Learner Programs at the Center for Gifted Education, William and Mary. She develops and implements academic services for K-12 students for various student populations, including Saturday, summer, and residential programs. Under her leadership, K-12 programs at the Center for Gifted Education, William and Mary expanded their educational services to international students. Her passion to serve diverse students led her staunchly committed to providing educational opportunities to disadvantaged students. She is eager to make a difference in the lives of high-ability students that may not have been given out-of-school educational opportunities.
Katie Kooiman
Katie is a 6th grade Math teacher in Stafford, VA. She has been teaching for 5 years, spending the first four teaching fourth and fifth grade. She received her undergraduate degree from Virginia Tech, where she played soccer. Afterward, she received her Master's Degree from the University of Mary Washington in Elementary Education. Katie is currently pursuing a Master's Degree from Northwest University in International Community Development. She is a National Board Candidate. Katie believes in children and their power to think critically and intentionally, as well as their ability to do difficult things. She is currently figuring out how to teach virtually, hybrid and otherwise.
Jessica Lawson
In her 14th year as an educator, Jessica Lawson currently serves as an Instructional Technology Resource Teacher for Gloucester County Public Schools where she trains and supports teachers in technology integration. She’s a former 4th grade and Technology Learning Lab teacher who enjoys developing a variety of curriculum resources for her school system. Jessica earned her PK-6 elementary teaching licensure and Sociology degree from The College of William & Mary, where she later returned to complete her Gifted Education endorsement. This semester concludes her M.Ed program in Curriculum & Instruction with a Gifted Education emphasis through UVA before she continues on to ODU for an Ed.S. in Educational Leadership this summer. Jessica’s interest in Gifted Education is founded in her childhood as a gifted learner, her dedication to advocate for her own gifted and 2e sons, and her desire to enlighten her fellow educators and parents while enhancing the education of gifted learners. She strives to use her passion for gifted education, technology integration, and curriculum development to continue working as a leader in supporting other educators.
Blane McCann, Ph.D.
Blane McCann served as a teacher and school administrator for 40 years. For 17 years, he led three school districts, the School District of Shorewood, Shorewood, Wisconsin, Westside Community Schools, Omaha, Nebraska and Piper USD 203 located in Kansas City, Kansas. Blane retired in June of 2020.
Blane is a systems leader who focuses his work on collaborative leadership. He learned from and worked with both Stanford University and the University of Connecticut through the Accelerated Schools Project and The Renzulli Center for Creativity, Gifted Education and Talent Development since 1993.
From these collaborations, Blane developed and scaled personalized learning in all schools and districts that he led by implementing a systems approach to leadership along with a School Design Process he developed from his studies and experience. He is passionate about co-creating strengths-based learning organizations. Blane is a certified Gallup Strengths where he coaches and mentors educators to do their best work on a daily basis. Blane presents on various topics including the future of schooling, systems leadership, School Wide Enrichment, and School Design with a focus on personalized learning.
Kate Park, MEd.
Kate (Kyounghye) Park, MEd is a research assistant for Project E-Ignite and a doctoral student at George Mason University specializing in literacy and reading education and multilingual and multicultural education.
Kimberly Phillips Solomon
Kimberly Phillips Solomon has been an educator for over twenty years. Kimberly has taught in private, public, parochial and private schools settings in Michigan, Georgia, and Texas. In her long career as an educator, she created safe classrooms focused on equity, diversity, STEM education and gifted education. She has founded two charter elementary schools and one private elementary school.
She currently serves as the Executive Director of Gifted and Talented Education Programs with Detroit Public Schools Community District. In this new role, Mrs. Solomon has created a gifted student identification process and is working to implement support for all DPSCD students. She supports administrators, counselors, teachers and parents in understanding the unique needs of gifted children. In her role she has collaborated and presented with William and Mary and the Roeper Institute in A Matter of Equity, a collaborative project with The Roeper School and DPSCD teachers to create a cohort focused on equity and gifted education.
Stephen T. Schroth, Ph.D.
Stephen T. Schroth is a Professor of Early Childhood Education/Gifted & Creative Education at Towson University, where he also serves as Graduate Programs Director. He has published broadly on gifted education, creativity, teacher education, and environmental and sustainability education. He is the Vice President of the Maryland Coalition for Gifted and Talented Education (MCGATE) and is Past Chair of the NAGC Arts Network and the Conceptual Foundations Network.
Mrs. Candice Sears
I am currently serving as the Director of Instructional Services at the Montgomery County ESC in Dayton. This is my seventh year working with the MCESC. I also supported the ESC as a Gifted Supervisor. Prior to coming to the Montgomery County ESC, I worked at Valley View Local Schools for several years. There my time was spent in a variety of roles such as Junior High Principal, Curriculum Director, Gifted Coordinator, and educator. I spent seven years working with the University of Cincinnati as Director of Professional Development in the College of Education and Coordinator of their Online Gifted Endorsement Program.
Del Siegle, Ph.D.
Del Siegle is the Lynn and Ray Neag Endowed Chair for Talent Development in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut, where he was honored as a teaching fellow. Prior to earning his PhD, Del worked as a gifted and talented coordinator in Montana. He is past president of the National Association of Gifted Children and has served on the board of directors of The Association for the Gifted. He is also past chair of the AERA Research on Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent SIG. He has been co-editor of the Journal of Advanced Academics and Gifted Child Quarterly. He writes a technology column for Gifted Child Today. Del’s research interests include web-based instruction, motivation of gifted students, and teacher bias in the identification of students for gifted programs. Along with Gary Davis and Sylvia Rimm, he is an author of the popular textbook, Education of the Gifted and Talented (6th and 7th ed.). He is the Director of the National Center for Research on Gifted Education (NCRGE), which replaces the former National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented (NRC/GT).
Mary Slade, Ph.D.
Dr. Mary Slade is a professor in the Department of Early Childhood Education in the College of Education at Towson University. Mary’s teaching in educator preparation includes early childhood education as well as gifted, talented, and creative education. Mary is one of the inaugural FACET teaching fellows for the university. Most of her teaching fellow responsibilities focused on student engagement as well as online course design and implementation.
Through scholarly endeavors, Dr. Slade has shared over 200 professional learning workshops to educators in Pre-K-12 education, as well as more than 175 professional presentations. Mary has published widely including more than 100 articles, book chapters, and reports in addition to three books. Mary’s primary scholarship interests lie in gifted, talented, and creative education; however, other interests include teacher education preparation and community engagement. Mary has held several leadership positions on state and national boards of directors in the field of gifted education. Mary received the Early Leader Award from the National Association for Gifted Children.
Andrew Sytsma
Andrew Sytsma is a student at W&M, a gifted resource teacher for Norfolk Public Schools, and an adjunct English instructor for Tidewater Community College. He has engaged in research as a student and as an educator and has experience in K-12 schools and higher education.
Janice Robbins, Ph.D.
Dr. Janice Robbins is an adjunct assistant professor of education at William & Mary. As a professional consultant, her focus is on curriculum development and assessment as well as the evaluation of gifted programs. She has a number of published works in the field on a variety of topics in gifted education with a primary focus on advanced academic content and curriculum development and evaluation. Dr. Robbins has been a district coordinator, a principal of elementary and middle school centers for gifted education, a curriculum chief with the Department of Defense Education Activity, and an interim director of the Center for Gifted Education at William & Mary.
