Joan Franklin Smutny, M.A., is founder and director of the Center for Gifted and Midwest Torrance Center for Creativity. She directs programs for gifted children, teaches graduate courses, serves as editor of theIllinois Association for Gifted Children Journal, and is a regular contributor to theGifted Education Press Quarterly. The author of many books for teachers and parents, Joan has been honored with the National Association for Gifted Children’s (NAGC) Distinguished Service Award and was the 2011 recipient of the NAGC E. Paul Torrance Award for contributions in creativity. She lives in Illinois.
Consultant, author, and educator Sally Yahnke Walker, Ph.D., is an influential advocate for gifted children who has piloted programs, coordinated efforts to support gifted students in schools, and worked for federal and state legislation for gifted education. A former Illinois Education Administrator of the Year, she is the executive director of the Illinois Association for Gifted Children (IAGC) and serves on the Illinois Gifted Advisory Council for the Illinois State Board of Education. Sally lives in Illinois.
Ellen I. Honeck, Ph.D., has been involved in gifted education as a classroom teacher, administrator, gifted specialist, curriculum developer, consultant, adjunct professor, and associate director of the Institute for the Development of Gifted Education at the University of Denver. She is actively involved with NAGC’s Early Childhood and Special Schools and Programs Networks and presents at national and international conferences. Ellen is the dean of the Gifted and Talented Academy at Laurel Springs School. She lives in Colorado.
