J. Sean Callahan, Ph.D., completed his doctoral studies in Gifted and Creative Education at the University of Georgia. Sean also teaches Psychology at Gainesville State College in Gainesville, Georgia and tutors student-athletes at the University of Georgia. He has taught and assisted in several education courses, including Educational Psychology, Educational Foundations, Gifted and Creative Education, and Adolescent Development. Sean’s area of expertise lies where hip hop culture intersects with gifted education. He has designed and delivered hip hop-infused curriculum for Upward Bound/Educational Talent Search and Project ASPIRE, a summer enrichment program for high potential middle and high school students from minority and culturally diverse backgrounds offered through the Office of Institutional Diversity at the University of Georgia. He has also used hip hop on countless occasions as an instructor in the college classroom. Sean works with classroom teachers to recognize high potential in youth’s engagement with hip hop (and popular culture) and to develop rigorous, culturally responsive curriculum that connects with the everyday lives of students. He is also a member of the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) and has presented at State, National and World Gifted Conferences.
Mary Ruth Coleman, Ph.D. , Principal Head Consultant. She is a Senior Scientist at the FPG Child Development Institute, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her IGET-Network membership began in 2007 as a teacher training consultant on recognizing and nurturing high potential. Dr. Coleman directs Project U-STARS~PLUS (Using Science, Talents and Abilities to Recognize Students – Promoting Learning in Underrepresented Students). Her projects have included: ACCESS (Achievement in Content and Curriculum for Every Student’s Success, a National Significance Project funded by OSEP and applications of RtI for young children through the Recognition & Response Project sponsored by the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation. Dr. Coleman has numerous publications including the 13th Edition of the seminal textbook, “Educating Exceptional Children” by Samuel A. Kirk, James J. Gallagher, Mary Ruth Coleman, and Nicholas J. Anastasiow (2010). She has served three terms (9 years) on the Board of Directors for the Association for Gifted (TAG), one of which she was President; three terms (9 years) on the Board of the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC); and two terms (6 years) on the Board of Directors for the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). She was president of the CEC in 2007.
Joy Lawson Davis, Ed.D., is an Assistant Professor of Education at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette-teaching courses in Gifted & Diversity Education. Dr. Davis’ IGET-Network membership began in 2007 as a registered cyberspace mentor and gifted education teacher development trainer. She holds two advanced degrees (Master’s and Doctorate) in Gifted Education from the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Dr. Davis is Chair – Diversity & Equity Committee of the National Association for Gifted Children and serves on the Advisory Board for Gifted Child Today. She is the author of the award-winning ‘Bright, Talented & Black: A Guide for Families of African American Gifted Learners’ released in January 2011 by Great Potential Press. As an expert consultant, Davis provides training in programming; identification; and family involvement for diverse populations. She is a Project U-STARS~PLUS model trainer and an expert in the Concept-Based /Integrated Curriculum model for gifted & high ability learners. Two unique tools -a ‘gifted characteristics’ checklist (for use by educators) and an ‘Achievement Motivation’ scale (for families) developed by Dr. Davis are also shared during consultations and teacher trainings. She has authored and co-authored articles and book chapters, with her primary focus being improved equity and access to gifted programs for culturally diverse populations. Dr. Davis has devoted her career to helping educators, families and communities better understand the academic and social-emotional needs of gifted learners, particularly those who are often overlooked and thus, underserved in school programs around the world.
Monita Leavitt, Ph.D., is International staff developer and independent consultant in gifted education. She is a member of the World Gifted Council, ECHA (European Council for High Ability) and a Board Member for the CT Association of Gifted Children (CAG). Dr. Leavitt works with classroom teachers to identify high potential children and provide challenging differentiated education and teaching strategies to reach all students. She has been a presenter at the National, Asian-Pacific, German Creativity, ECHA and World Gifted Conferences. Dr. Leavitt has consulted for the Athena School for Gifted (Denmark), University of Winnipeg (Canada), Oxford Brookes University (England), Lithuania, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Nord Anglia) in addition to school systems in the USA. Listed in Who’s Who of International Educators (2000), recipient of Moravian College Education Award (2009), she has authored Building a Gifted Program: Identifying and Educating Gifted Students in Your School (2007) and published in educational journals, including G/T International Journal (2009). Representing Gifted Education for the National Board of Professional Teachers Standards (NBPTS), Dr. Leavitt was an author of Exceptional Needs Standards, Second Edition (2010), which offers national certification for teachers in gifted education. Currently, Dr. Leavitt serves as a consultant for the Bavarian Gifted Children Center (Germany) and Academic Dean at the Summer Institute for the Gifted (SIG) at Yale University.
Sonya Porchèr, Ed.D., is a Language Learner Director (LLD) with Disney English in Hangzhou, China. She serves as center support for Chinese students agetwo to twelvein their acquisition of the English language. Dr. Porchèr was formally the gifted program coordinator in a large metroAtlantaschool system for six years. She also worked as a sixth grade assistant principal for four years and an elementary teacher for ten years.
Dr. Porchèr earned her Doctorate of Education in school reform at the University of West Georgia (2007), Masters of Education degree (elementary instruction) (1991), and Bachelor of Arts degree in educational studies and psychology (1990) from Emory University.
Dr. Porchèr’s focus is school improvement and program development in Gifted Education. Her work involves professional development and teacher training which encompasses gifted certification with an emphasis on differentiated instruction. She has presented at both the national and local level. Dr. Porchèr has submitted publication regarding the use of differentiated instruction practices for gifted students at the elementary level to Phi Delta Kappa. She is currently working with professors and assistant professors to develop a series of anthologies which addresses minority gifted students. She recently collaborated in the publication of a book titled, Multicultural Gifted Education.
Dr. Porchèr is a National Board Certified teacher and the recipient of a Fulbright to theUnited Kingdom. She is also a Phi Delta Kappa READ Scholarship in which she received an opportunity to visit schools in Finland and present the instructional practices at the local level. Dr. Porchèr is the 2011 recipient of the Georgia Association for Gifted Children (GAGC) leadership award.
Sonya is a member of the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children, the National Association for Gifted Children and the National Association for Gifted Children.
Deborah L. Rothenberg, MA., is Staff developer, independent consultant in gifted education and leadership coach. She is currently a Gifted Education Regional Consultant in Colorado and served as coordinator of a federally funded Javits Grant for the Colorado Department of Education (2005-2008), which focused on the implementation and impact of Project U-STARS~PLUS across the state. She continues to provide on-site training and continuing support to several schools and districts in Colorado who are implementing Project U-STARS~PLUS. Ms. Rothenberg has been a gifted and talented classroom teacher and GT Coordinator in the Douglas County Schools, as well as principal of a gifted magnet school. She has over 35 years experience working with gifted students and training teachers to work with gifted students. She has taught graduate level classes in gifted education, presented at both state and national gifted conferences and was recently awarded a state commendation for her work in gifted education (2009). She will be chairing the Graduate Education Credit Committee for the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Convention taking place in Denver, Colorado in 2012. She is a member of the Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented (CAGT), National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), Colorado Academy of Educators for Gifted, Talented and Creative (CAEGTC), and Council For Exceptional Children (CEC).
Sneha Shah-Coltrane, MA., is North Carolina’s Academically or Intellectually (AIG) Consultant for the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). Sneha’s IGET-Network membership began in 2007 as a teacher training consultant on recognizing and nurturing high potential. Before joining DPI in January 2009, Sneha was an elementary school teacher, gifted education specialist, professional developer, and researcher. As Co-Director of Project U-STARS~PLUS—Using Science, Talents and Abilities to Recognize Students, a Javits research grant project at the Frank Porter Graham (FPG) Child Development Institute –University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Sneha has trained school teachers and district personnel on the U-STARS~PLUS recognition and nurturing methods across the United States. In all of her work, she strives to meet and better understand the needs of advanced students, including those from culturally, linguistically and economically diverse backgrounds. Sneha also serves the gifted community in multiple roles, including being past Co-Chair of the Early Childhood Division of National Association of Gifted Children (NAGC) and currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Association of the Gifted, a division of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC).
