The gifted education professionals who participate in PG Retreat share presentations that are lively and interactive. They know many of us and we know them, or have been eager to meet them. Roundtables and more casual conversations over lunch, on a bench beside a path, or in a hallway provide opportunities for us to ask questions, chuckle over anecdotes,
and experience their wisdom and guidance in a direct, personal way.
We are lucky to have Dale Stuart, P. Susan Jackson, and Storysmith® Susan Marie Frontczak as our 2010 keynote speakers.
Dr. Stuart will be discussing
Multi-Potentiality and Making Difficult Choices.
She will also be working with our teens in a session including
career choices.
Dale Stuart, Ph.D. Sc.D. wears the title of Clinical Psychologist, with a private practice specializing in working with gifted individuals. Her own diverse range of prior interests and careers tell the story of a person fulfilling dreams and living life with intensity and passion.
It’s a common struggle for gifted individuals – you have so many interests in such widely different areas, you can’t decide which one to focus on. You feel like you need a dozen lifetimes to do all the things you want to do in life! Dale Stuart faced this dilemma – with diverse interests in science, aerospace, sports, and flying from the moment she was born. Dale will share what she has learned from her personal journey as a gifted female growing up feeling passionate about many things and making difficult decisions about what to pursue.
P. Susan Jackson in the Founder and Therapeutic Director of “The Daimon Institute for the Highly Gifted” in White Rock, British Columbia, Canada. This international institute offers service to highly and profoundly gifted children and adults supporting the educational needs and overall development of this exceptional population. She is an internationally recognized expert in the field and the author of numerous articles and chapters in the gifted education literature. Sue is currently the Chairperson of the Counseling and Guidance Network of the National Association to Support Gifted Learners, a member of the Advisory board for SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted) and the Vice President of the Gifted Children’s Association of British Columbia. She is also the District Coordinator of “Programs to Support Gifted and Talented Students” in Langley BC Canada. Sue is a poet, nature lover and mother of two exceptionally gifted children.
She will be leading a session titled Close to the Bone: Character and Temperament of the Highly Gifted.
Storysmith® Susan Marie Frontczak brings history and literature to life, creates stories from thin air, and hones personal experience
into tales worth telling again and again. She has presented to university, corporate, school, family, and theater audiences across 34 of the United States, Canada, and Europe. Whether inventing stories
off the cuff, infusing poetry with fresh breath, or presenting a honed dramatic performance, Susan Marie lives up to her motto, "Give me a place to stand, and I will take you somewhere else." For more
information see http://www.storysmith.org.
She will be Mary Shelley.
Other speakers and instructors to be announced.
PREVIOUS SPEAKERS/INSTRUCTORS
Speakers at PG Retreat 2009 included:
Susan Marie Frontczak,
Joan Smutny,
Ms. Bobbie Gilman,
Michele Kane,
Dan Tichenor,
Catherine Zakoian, Victor Roberts,
Paul Hildebrandt, Dr. Rebecca Theobald, and Dr. Steven Jennings.
You can see other details at the 2009 Parents' program.
Michele Kane, Ed.D. is an Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Master of Arts in Gifted Education Program at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. Michele is also is the President-Elect of the Illinois Association for Gifted Children and the Chair-Elect of the Global Awareness Network of the National Association for Gifted Children. A major focus of Michele's work is related to the social/emotional needs of the gifted. Along with her husband Dan, she is the parent of six gifted adult children.
Dan Tichenor has had an affinity for nature ever since he and his buddies would spend hours on end at Motlong's Pond. He has had experiences as a journalist, editor, storyteller, teacher of students with special needs and gifted students, as well those of a dad of six gifted (now adult) kids. He has been active in summer programs for gifted kids including those at a private school for gifted, a college program for gifted kids, and Yunasa camp for the highly gifted. Dan is a firm believer in the notion of "taking it outside" and his activities are firmly rooted in being outdoors and in learning from the environment.
