Susan Assouline

Susan G. Assouline is theBelin-Blank Center’s AssociateDirector. She received herB.S. in general science with a teaching endorsement, her Ed.S. in School Psychology, and her Ph.D. in Psychological and Quantitative Foundations, all from The University of Iowa. Upon completion of her doctorate, she was awarded a two-year post-doctoral fellowship at the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) at The Johns Hopkins University, and upon completion joined the Belin-Blank Center in 1990. She is especially interested in identifi cation of academic talent in elementary students and is coauthor (with Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik) of Developing Mathematical Talent: A Guide for Challenging and Educating Gifted Students. As well, she is co-editor with Nicholas Colangelo of the series Talent Development: Proceedings from the Wallace Research Symposia on Giftedness and Talent Development, and co-developer of The Iowa Acceleration Scale—2nd Edition, a tool designed to guide educators and parents through decisions about grade-skipping students. She is a leading expert on the decision-making process for acceleration and has consulted on over 100 acceleration cases. She has conducted numerous workshops for parents and teachers on acceleration, development of mathematical talent, and gifted/disabled students. Dr. Assouline has presented at national and international conferences. Currently, she is lead investigator on the Belin-Blank Center’s national study on twice exceptional
children.

Susan Baum

Susan Baum is a professor at the College of New Rochelle where she teaches graduate courses in elementary education and the education of gifted and talented students. Susan spends much time writing and consulting. Her publications include: Creativity 1,2,3; Chi Square, Pie Charts and Me; and To Be Gifted and Learned Disabled: From Identification to Practical Intervention Strategies. She is co-editor and author of several chapters of Nurturing the Gifts and Talents of Primary Grade Students and is one of three authors who has just completed a book, Multiple Intelligences in the Elementary Classroom: Pathways to Thoughtful Practice in collaboration with Howard Gardner. Her consulting takes her to exotic and not so exotic places around the world. From Zurich to Zimbabwe to Zagreb, from Colombia to Haiti to Nicaragua, from Prague to Helsinki to Estonia, and from Malaysia to Shanghai, you can find her spreading the word about talent development and stress management for adolescents. Susan serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association for Gifted Students and is the current secretary for the organization.

Christine Briggs

Chris Briggs recently completed her Ph. D. at the University of Connecticut in Educational Psychology, specializing in Gifted Education and Talent Development, with an emphasis in Multicultural Education and Professional Development. She has worked in education for sixteen years teaching middle school LD resource, 4th/5th grade multi-age gifted in the regular classroom, teacher coach/staff developer for gifted and reading programs, and elementary gifted coordinator in a large urban district. She has presented at state and national conferences and serves as co-chair of the NAGC Curriculum Studies Division Curriculum Competition. Her relaxation passions include collecting unusual objects at flea markets, pugs, and spending time in Isla Mujeres, Mexico.

Bonnie Cramond

Bonnie Cramond, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology at the University of Georgia. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association for Gifted Children, the editor of the Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, and the Interim Director of the Torrance Center for Creative Studies and Talent Development. An international and national speaker, she has published numerous articles and teaches classes on giftedness and creativity. She is particularly interested in the identification and nurturance of creativity, especially among students considered at risk for an alternative diagnosis (ADHD) or dropping out. She is a former elementary and middle school teacher and the parent of two. Most importantly, she is 1/4 Cajun and has retained the joie de vivre of that heritage.

Cheryl Friberg

Originally from the Pacific Northwest, and teaching in the western states of Washington, Oregon, California, and Arizona, Cheryl Friberg, considers herself a permanent transplant to the heart of Cajun country and culture. With 29 years of teaching experience, Cheryl is a Nationally Board Certified Teacher with an M. Ed. in Gifted Education from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She presently teaches gifted students in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, mentors candidates through the national board process, and has had experience in assessing candidate's work for national board certification. Cheryl was recently appointed National Board Certified Teacher-in-Residence at UL Lafayette for the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Cheryl is the mother/mother-in-law of four young adults, Michelle, Kayty/Gannon and Joshua. She is also the grandmother for two of the most wonderful little people in the world, Kaiser and Genevieve. Cheryl's hobbies include gardening, woodworking, and tent camping. Her favorite mottos are: "Live the life you love, Love the life you live," and "Look within, within you'll see." Cheryl's nutshell philosophy of education is: Children are the messengers we send to a time we will not see. Teach minds and touch hearts in a manner that will continue to make a difference 100 years from now.

E. Jean Gubbins

Dr. E. Jean Gubbins is Associate Director of The National Research Center on
the Gifted and (NRC/GT) and Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT. Dr. Gubbins is involved in research studies focusing on professional development and using gifted education pedagogy with all students, with a special emphasis on students
with high abilities. Her research interests stem from prior involvement as a classroom teacher, teacher of gifted and talented students, evaluator, educational consultant, and professional developer. She teaches graduate level courses in gifted education and talent development related to identification, programming, curriculum development, and program evaluation.

Tom Hays

Tom Hébert

Tom Hébert would like you to understand that his ancestors apparently were directionally challenged. They left Canada and took a wrong turn, settling in Auburn, Maine. They worked in the textile mills and shoe factories while the rest of the Hébert family headed south to Louisiana and had a great time! Tom would also like you to know that he is the self-appointed President of the Bobby Hébert fan club in Athens, Georgia. Tom is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology in the College of Education at The University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. He teaches graduate courses in gifted and creative education and is a Research Fellow for the Torrance Center for Creative Studies. He has been a teacher for thirteen years, ten of which were spent working with gifted students at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Tom has taught in Maine, Georgia, Connecticut, Alabama, and West Germany with the Department of Defense Dependents Schools. He is the recipient of the National Association of Gifted Children’s 2000 Early Scholar Award. He is a member of the NAGC Board of Directors and serves as Governor-at Large for The Association for the Gifted (TAG) Board, Council for Exceptional Children. Tom’s research interests include social and emotional development of gifted students, underachievement, and problems faced by gifted young men.

Gail N. Herman

Gail is affiliated with Garrett College, Lesley University, and Garrett County Schools as a professor of education, storytelling and dance/drama. In addition to consulting in the arts and gifted and talented programs, she performs as a storyteller and conducts workshops for teachers nationwide and for the Maryland State Arts Council. Gail coined the term, “organic storytelling” to describe her techniques of engaging students in creative ideas, musical sound effects and songs, and meaning making in the storytelling process. As a former primary teacher and K-8 enrichment/GT Teacher, Gail produced tapes, cds, videos in creative movement, mime and storytelling, and a cable TV show, “The Storyteller.” After completing the UConn Ph. D. Program, Gail co-wrote Kinetic Kaleidoscope: Exploring Movement and Energy in the Visual Arts, and Storytelling: A Triad in the Arts. Gail’s research interests include the oral history project called “Coal Talk,” underachievement, and the arts in the curriculum. She is a member of the board of AEGUS, which focuses on gifted underachievers, and the youth Special Interest Group of the National Storytelling Association. Gail is a contributing editor to Roeper Review.

DeAnna Jenkins

DeAnna is a Curriculum Specialist for Gifted and Writing Education with the Fort Worth Independent School District. A former classroom teacher she earned a masters degree in gifted education at the University of Connecticut. DeAnna was trained in service-learning by the Service-Learning Summer Teacher Institute sponsored by the National Youth Leadership Council. She enjoys working with and supporting teachers in developing classrooms that infuse depth and complexity and differentiation into their daily curricular lessons and activities. Her hobbies include: reading, boating, traveling, snow skiing, and spending time with her husband Clint and their beagle Jorge.

Karen Konnerth

Artistic Director of Calliope Puppets, Karen Konnerth has been building and performing with puppets for over twenty five years. Following an education from Tufts University and Rhode Island School of Design, and an initial career as a touring musician, her background in sculpture collided with study in classical mime. Puppetry was the natural result, when these were intermeshed with her life long love of traditional stories.

Performing solo, as well as with various skilled partners, sometimes including her family troupe, she has received recognition as a Louisiana State Roster Artist, as well as recipient of a State Division of the Arts Fellowship in Theater. CALLIOPE PUPPETS present over 200 shows a year, along with numerous workshops and residencies for children and adults on aspects of creative expression through puppetry, and also school curriculum based learning through this inspiring art form.

Hector Lasala

Hector is a Professor of Architecture. He received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from USL in 1973, and completed his graduate work at Texas A & M University in 1976. He has taught primarily design studios since 1974. His ongoing research interests are design pedagogy, in particular as it applies to beginners; and issues of meaning and ethics in postmodern culture. Hector has been the recipient of the following awards: the 2003 Award for Innovative Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Technology, given by the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, the 2001 Excellence in Teaching Award, given by the University of Louisiana Foundation, the 1998 Blue Key Faculty Excellence Award. He was also a nominee for the 2003 Ernest Boyer International Award for Excellence in Teaching. His award-winning architectural practice focuses primarily on residential, exhibit, and stage design (The Tempest, 2002; Eleemosynary, 1997; Cabaret, 1995). He has also participated in multi-disciplinary performances: Opening Bells, 2002, with poet Jerry McGuire, and composer Paul Tassin; and Seven Artists: Sixty Minutes, 1994. Hector is an advocate of education reform via the arts. He is a member, along with his two Louisiana partners (see “Acknowledgements”), of the Kennedy Center program Partners in Education since 1995. He has served this national program as a member of its Board of Advisors, 1996-1999, and as a member of the Nominating Review Committee, 1999-2000.

Stuart Omdal

University of Northern Colorado

Andre Prejean

André is a geophysical supervisor for Fugro International. He is a popular presenter at teacher workshops. For fun, André enjoys geocaching, swimming, metalworking, and woodworking.

Louise Prejean

Louise Prejean is an instructor at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette, specializing in technology courses for pre-service teachers. While teaching middle school students, she developed a variety of learning activities that utilize science, math, and technology to encourage the student to question and reach beyond the basic concepts. Louise presented learning activities at the National Science Teacher Conference, LA Science Conference, Louisiana Environmental Education Conference, and was a co-presenter at the National Computer Educators’ Conference and Tel-Ed Conference. Louise has developed in-services for utilizing handhelds and sensors to collect environmental data. As an ESTEP trainer, Louise has guided Middle School Teachers to integrate technology into the Earth Science Curriculum. Louise designed and sponsored Madeleine, a Web-based project that encouraged a cultural, scientific, and historical exchange between third grade students. Her middle school students created web pages to teach other students about a variety of topics including an environmental science site that teaches concepts through the adventures of Congette, a green tree frog.

Jim Whelan

Dr. Jim Whelan is an assistant professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a National Board Certified Teacher (Early Adolescent Science, 2000). He has spent eighteen years teaching in Louisiana schools and fifteen years as an informal science educator and museum director. His approach to learning is that it is often a muddy and dirty process with frequent piles of goo, slime, and other stimulating materials encountered along the way.

Cissy Whipp

Cissy Whipp is a John F. Kennedy Center national consultant on integrating
dance into the curriculum. She has been working as performer, choreographer, and dance educator for more than twenty-five years. She received her BFA in Choreographic Design from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and her MA in Performing Arts: Dance from the American University in Washington, D.C. She founded Louisiana’s first professional modern dance company, Moving South Dance, Inc. and has taught in college dance programs at SUNY: Potsdam and UL Lafayette. Ms. Whipp has served on the Louisiana Department of Education committee for developing arts assessment standards and for the revision of the state arts content standards and benchmarks. She is currently teaching creative movement and dance at the J. W. James Elementary Arts & Technology Academy in Lafayette, Louisiana.