Candidates for Convention Co-Chair
Chasidy has been a member for the past 8 years. This year Chasidy has taken on the role of the GAGC Regional Representative. She participated in the Regional Fall Gifted Meeting where she successfully represented gifted students from Murray County. Chasidy has attended the GAGC conference for many years. She often comes a day early to volunteer to decorate and help get the conference space ready for the hundreds of conference attendees.
Chasidy recently earned her specialist degree from the University of Georgia in Instructional Technology. While at UGA she chose to take the courses to earn a gifted endorsement even though she already held that certificate. She took those extra courses because she knew of the advantage she would get from the quality instructors at UGA. She is constantly learning and improving herself professionally for the benefit of the students she teaches. As the gifted resource teacher for her school, she has led the way in Murray County by implementing an effective Talent Development program named “Explorers” to identify underrepresented students.
Chasidy’s experiences in education, her community involvement and her previous work in the corporate realm make her an excellent candidate for GAGC Convention Co-Chair. She is a community leader and brings enthusiasm and attention to detail into any project she takes on. If obstacles present themselves during a project, she is able to find great solutions through creative problem solving and collaboration with team members. For all these reasons and many more Chasidy Hulett would be an outstanding GAGC Convention Co-Chair.
Bailey Nafziger
Bailey has been a member of GAGC for one year She moved to Georgia in the Fall of 2022 for a position at Georgia Southern University. Although involvement in GAGC has been limited due to the short amount of time lived in the state.
Bailey was previously an elementary gifted specialist in Arizona. In the year and a half Bailey has been in Georgia, she has worked to integrate topics such as critical thinking, creativity, and differentiation into her elementary science methods teacher preparation courses and has been a guest lecturer in Special Education internship courses to help preservice teachers navigate the complexities of identification, particularly related to 2E students.
Bailey would be an excellent candidate for the GAGC Executive Board because of her dedication to gifted education and desire to provide opportunities for teachers to learn more about these unique learners. She has served on multiple conference committees and very much enjoys attending conferences to learn and engage with others. Her work as both an elementary gifted specialist, middle level honors teacher, and current position in higher education gives her a unique perspective on the needs of teachers and students.
Stephen has been a member for the past 4 years and has attended the annual GAGC conference each year. He increased his involvement by presenting at the virtual conference in 2021 with his colleague Mary Thompson and did so for the next two years. Also, Stephen serves on the Coalition for Equity and Access Professional Learning working group, designing and presenting materials, including The “Elite Eight”. He also helped maintain and design the association's landing page.
Aside from his contribution to the association, at his school, he worked to expand the representation of diverse populations, both gifted and talented, within the program and advanced content. Stephen also spearheaded the initiative to develop extracurricular opportunities at his site and model it for schools across the district. At a district level, he served on the gifted committee for Coweta County, reviewing policies and ensuring they aligned among the schools and with the state handbook.
Stephen would be an excellent candidate for the position of Convention Co-Chair because of his drive, standard for excellence, and ability to collaborate with others. Being responsible for one of the primary events for the association takes advanced planning. The person holding the position has to ensure that processes happen each year to secure vendors, keynote speakers, and breakout sessions. Doing this takes efficiency and being self-motivated. As a gifted education specialist and now an assistant principal, you continually work to find opportunities and ways to improve processes without being directed. A convention co-chair must work through the obstacles to defy the status quo and develop the best programming for the state's gifted educators and for these reasons, Stephen would make an excellent Convention Co-Chair.
Lela has been an active member of GAGC for the past eight years. She currently serves as a GAGC Regional Representative which she has done for the past seven years. When looking at the attendance of our Regional Fall Gifted meeting at the area RESAs, Lela is always in attendance. She is the contact for New Gifted Chapters providing resources and assistance as they start their chapter. During past GAGC conventions Lela has volunteered selling t-shirts and lending a hand wherever it is needed.. She is currently serving her second year as convention co-chair planning and implementing GAGC for 2023 and 2024 conventions. She has presented at GAGC for three years with a focus on Creativity.
Lela is an outstanding spokesperson for gifted learners. She serves as the Director of Gifted in Liberty County. She works effortlessly to ensure there are equitable opportunities for all children to be tested and served. As part of the summer workshops at several RESAs, she presented with the Georgia Department of Education focusing on creativity. Lela is all about being an advocate for gifted children, as a result she was recognized by GAGC with the 2020 Leadership Award and was also awarded a Mini-Grant the same year. Her passion for gifted education is evident as she teaches the Gifted Endorsement for First District and Middle Georgia RESAs for the past few years impacting teaching strategies and understanding of the gifted learner.
Lela is passionate about gifted learners and advocates earnestly for the gifted. She has the best interest of this subgroup in decisions and planning she provides with her district. Her passion and love for the gifted are traits that serve as important characteristics for leaders. She works tirelessly to ensure the love for teaching gifted students transcends into all facets of their learning. Her work and experience with students, parents, teachers, administrators and state organizations provides an avenue to advocate for gifted learners. These characteristics which she has demonstrated during her years of membership in GAGC alone, makes her an excellent candidate for Convention Co-Chair.
Candidates for Legislative Liaison
James has been an active member of GAGC for one year. He has been involved with GAGC and has presented a couple of times at the convention on gifted models in high school. James teaches AP at his high school and takes students during the summer to different places overseas which is a wonderful experience for students.
Being an advocate first and foremost being an attendee learning from the vast knowledge of other professionals. He has professionally worked to advocate as a presenter at the last previous conventions regarding the Gifted Collaborative Model.
As a gifted educator, and actively participating in GAGC over the previous years to further enhance the opportunities to educators and our students. Furthermore, a proven track record of showcasing leadership through a multitude of positions like the Gifted Contact at his school, Department Chair and STAR Teacher 2023 demonstrates the commitment to collaboration, communication and dedication necessary to be successful. With a proven track record of experience makes James an excellent candidate for Legislative Liaison.
Eric Calvert has been an active member of GAGC for the past three years. including annually presenting at the GAGC conference since joining the organization. Eric Calvert has been an active member of the GAGC Coalition for Equity and Access since it was formed. He has also conducted volunteer presentations to education leaders on research supporting the use of local norms to increase equity in gifted identification, lobbied Georgia's representatives in Washington to support and expand funding for the Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program, and assisted low-income families in pursuing scholarship support through the Jack Kent Cooke Young Scholars program.Eric Calvert is an experienced educator, researcher, and advocate who has worked with and on behalf of gifted students at every level of the education system from teaching students directly in public schools and university-based programs, administering youth programs for Purdue University's Gifted Education Research and Resource Institute, developing innovative policy and administering gifted education programming statewide at the Ohio Department of Education. He has also served on the governing boards of the Ohio Association for Gifted Children, and the Illinois Association for Gifted Children where he chaired the Policy and Advocacy Committee and helped craft and pass legislation reforming identification practices, removing barriers to academic acceleration, and making identification of and services for gifted students visible on the state report card. These are just a few examples Eric has advocated for gifted education.
Eric is currently an editorial board member for the Journal for Advanced Academics and reviewer for Gifted Child Quarterly and the Journal for the Education of the Gifted. He has designed and led three Javits projects focused on developing innovative practices supporting equity and access for underrepresented students in gifted services and also serves as a volunteer advisory board member to Project Universal Plus. He is a former member of the Council of State Directors of Programs for the Gifted For the previous reasons, Eric is an excellent candidate for Legislative Liaison.
Mona has been an active member of GAGC for the past 2 years. In addition to performing her job as Coordinator of Gifted and Talented Education for Atlanta Public Schools at an exemplary level, Mona demonstrates an extraordinary commitment to Gifted Education. Mona takes it upon herself to provide exceptional support and service to new faculty, staff and students. She discerns quickly their individual needs and moves efficiently to provide key information, recommendations, or direction. Mona has always shown a love for gifted education.
Mona is a wonderful ambassador for gifted education in assisting faculty, parents, students and staff as they navigate through gifted education and services. She is an educator with 26 years of experience, much of which has been in gifted education. She completed her gifted endorsement in 2000 and became an endorsement facilitator in 2003. Mona has supported approximately 400-500 adult learners between candidates in Fulton County Schools and Atlanta Public Schools.
Mona is fantastic teammate and team player. She is helpful, caring, organized, resourceful, and happy to offer service no matter the task. She often performs above and beyond in all tasks put before her. Mona is always cheerful and exceptional in everything she does. Her quick wit, attention to detail, and loyalty to gifted education have endeared her to her colleagues. She is a true champion for gifted education with a tireless commitment to serving our gifted students.Mona has already exemplified the mission for gifted education and has positively impacted the students in Atlanta Public School. For the reasons listed above, Mona would be an excellent candidate for Legislative Liaison.
Candidates for Treasurer
Robins has been an active member of GAGC for the past nine years. She serves as a regional representative for Metro RESA. For the last two years she has chaired the GAGC Awards Committee.
Robins wears many hats in her district. She currently is the Director of Gifted, Federal Programs, ESOL, School Improvement and Summer School for Wayne County. She has made a positive change in the gifted program for Wayne County by advocating for gifted students by enhancing their Talent Development program which increased gifted identification for underrepresented students. She teaches the gifted endorsement for RESA and is constantly supporting her gifted teachers and students. She initiated summer programs for gifted and high achieving students.
Robins works well as a team. She is dedicated to GAGC and the Gifted program. As stated earlier, Robins wears many hats in her district. Her current duties provide for extensive budget experiences. She is trustworthy and committed to the success of GAGC. Her experience managing numerous budgets for the district and meticulous attention to detail are just a few reasons why Robins makes her an excellent candidate for Treasurer.
Charlie has been an active member of GAGC for the past two years. Charlie is the Advanced Studies Program Administrator of Teaching and Learning. He regularly attends conferences and conventions so he can learn more to make sure that our gifted learners are being served. He is the voice of gifted programming for all students in the Richmond County School District. He also advocates for the importance of gifted education in Georgia while serving in local civic groups. He has attended GAGC, GGCC and the regional meetings hosted at local RESAs by GADOE.
Charlie is currently leading a curriculum cadre to review and revise the Richmond County School System's Gifted Resource curriculum. He is in the second year of leading a team to review and revise the honors/gifted programming at the middle school level. He has successfully worked with schools in his district to have a significant number of teachers complete either the gifted endorsement through their local RESA or the 10-hour professional development course on the nature and needs of gifted learners and curriculum differentiation for gifted students. Charlie is also leading an effort for resource classes to collaborate with local organizations which provides an avenue for advocacy for Georgia gifted learners.
Charlie is enthusiastic, energetic, and eager to volunteer his time and service to GAGC. He has a wonderful personality and he has served as a Treasurer for various organizations before. Charlie’s enthusiasm, eagerness to grow and learn, and his level of engagement alone makes him an excellent candidate for Treasurer.