Anita is an educational consultant and founder of the HAGT Learners Collaborative. She leads professional development workshops, conducts comprehensive school audits, and provides courses and ongoing coaching for school leaders and faculty across private international schools with European and American curricula. She previously coordinated special education programs and created gifted education programs at the American School of Bombay, the American School of Doha, and Academia Cotopaxi. Before relocating abroad, she supported many schools as a program specialist in the Los Angeles Unified School District in California. She presents regularly at regional and global educational conferences and serves as a NEASC accreditation visitor, a professional mentor for AIELOC, an Advisory Board Member of the Parents Alliance for Inclusion, and a SENIA India Board Member.

With over 16 years of experience in education, Rodnella Turner has worked extensively with diverse student populations, including those in special education and gifted and talented programs. Her professional philosophy centers on empowering students to become effective self-advocates for their learning needs, regardless of their individual challenges or strengths. While her current administrative role has shifted her away from daily classroom instruction, she remains deeply committed to fostering direct student engagement. Rodnella continues to facilitate weekly enrichment sessions for middle school students, ensuring she maintains a hands-on connection to both learners and the art of teaching.

Kristopher Velez, known as Linus, has been an avid gamer, tinkerer, maker, and programmer since childhood. After beginning his career as a video game developer, he discovered a passion for education while teaching game development at iD Tech Camps. He later joined the Research and Development Department at the American School of Bombay, where he created prototypes that examined how making and tinkering shape student learning. His work led to two books titled Maker Minds and CodEd Teaching Coding in the Classroom. He went on to serve as Director of Maker Learning at Consilience, leading practical professional development in design, technology, engineering, and interest driven project work. His contributions include developing custom built solutions for schools and organizations, including makerspaces, integration models, and innovation programs. He now teaches design, technology, AI literacy, and engineering at the American School in Japan and co-heads the schools robotics team.

Seth Jaeger is an international educator, gifted program coordinator, and researcher specializing in gifted Third Culture Kids. With experience across the U.S., Colombia, Ukraine, Russia and Morocco, he combines practical leadership with scholarly insight. His work focuses on intellectual resilience, transcultural giftedness, and inclusive enrichment models. Seth holds a doctorate in educational leadership and presents globally on innovative approaches to gifted education in diverse, high-mobility contexts.

Ms. Cynthia Hogwood’s life began as a gifted and talented student, so it’s no surprise that she has a passion for Gifted Education.  She spent several years as the Gifted and Talented Coordinator at the Anglo-American School of Moscow, both creating and implementing the school's initial programming; she is also a high school IB English teacher, having taught the IB Switzerland (Leysin American School), Russia (AAS Moscow), and the Philippines (International School of Manila).  Cindi has a master's degree in Educational Leadership and Cultural Studies from the University of Houston and advocates for all learners, whether she is the classroom teacher or the specialist, and she looks forward to developing her understanding of how to accommodate and differentiate for gifted and talented students in whatever role she holds.

Dr. Selena Gallagher is a founding member of the High Ability/Gifted & Talented Learners Collaborative and has steered several international schools through the process of designing and implementing deliberate provision for highly able learners. She currently teaches at Cairo American College and previously served as the school’s Challenge and Enrichment Specialist. She has also co-authored a guidebook for international schools on highly able learners, and is a contributing editor for the Springer International Handbook of Giftedness and Talent Development in the Asia-Pacific.

Dr. Bade-White is a US-trained school psychologist and special educator. She has over 20 years of experience in student support services with specialties in MTSS, testing and assessment, giftedness, SEL, threat procedures, and inclusion, especially for students with the most intensive needs. She has taught at the university level and earned recognition for her work from both the APA and NASP. 

Desirée began teaching through Teach for America, while pursuing her masters in Curriculum and Teaching, serving on her district’s Teacher Leadership Cabinet, advocating for teacher voice through TeachPlus and collaborating with her colleagues as an instructional coach. Through her two Fulbrights, Desirée married her love of teaching and traveling. To date, Desirée has taught in elementary, middle and high school, currently teaching and serving as the ES Math Coordinator at the International School of Brussels.

Jessica Stargardter is an international educator with extensive experience teaching and supporting highly able learners in inclusive classrooms. She is certified in gifted education and elementary education. As a Fulbright scholar, she researched the Finnish education system and how it serves multicultural gifted learners. She has designed enrichment clusters, led professional learning for teachers, and developed practical strategies to extend and accelerate learning within diverse classrooms. She believes all students thrive when schools intentionally design challenge, choice, and purpose into everyday learning.

Karen Worley holds a Master’s in Gifted and Talented Curriculum and has spent thirteen years supporting highly able learners at NIST. Grounded in current research, she emphasizes that gifted students stand out through unique strengths and challenges and benefit from intentional support to thrive. Karen brings a multifaceted perspective as a parent, a former student, and a professional, which allows her to connect authentically with learners and educators while championing the tailored approaches gifted education requires.

Hannah Chhan is the Year 2–4 High Ability, Gifted and Talented teacher and Service-Learning Coordinator at NIST International School, where she has served for eight years. She brings a professional background in elementary homeroom teaching and learning support, and for the past four years has specialized in supporting high-ability and gifted learners. In her current role, Hannah is dedicated to advancing inclusive practices, cultivating student agency, and integrating service-learning to strengthen community engagement and global citizenship.