Directors

His research program, which incorporates various topics relating to gifted adolescents (with a particular focus on their education and career-related decisions) has been published or presented on more than 100 occasions in the form of journal articles, book chapters, editorials, conference presentations or books in international outlets including Gifted Child Quarterly, British Journal of Educational Psychology, Research in Higher Education, Instructional Science, Journal of Career Assessment, Australasian Journal of Gifted Education, the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, the AAEGT conference, and the WCGTC World Conference. His research has been recognized with awards from the American Educational Research Association (including the 2023 Path Breaker Award), the U.S. Mensa Education and Research Foundation (including Awards for Excellence in Research in 2015, 2022 and 2023), and the Society for Vocational Psychology, and research grants from the Australian Research Council, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the New South Wales Department of Education, Catholic Education South Australia and Sydney Catholic Schools. He is the current editor of the Australasian Journal of Gifted Education, a member of the Executive Committee of the Asia-Pacific Federation on Giftedness, and the president of the Australian Association for the Education of the Gifted and Talented (AAEGT).

Advocating for the academic and socio-emotional needs of gifted children, Lynda’s other passion is mentoring preservice and early career teachers in how to meet the needs of gifted students and gifted students with disability in their schools and classrooms. 

Lynda is a presenter at many state, national and international conferences, and delivers professional learning to teachers and parents. She is currently a committee member for GTCASA (Gifted &Talented Children’s Association, South Australia).

Lynda is the parent of a highly gifted son, and twin gifted grandchildren, with diverse learning needs who fluctuate between home schooling, unschooling and part time school attendance.  She has a Graduate Certificate in Gifted Education (COGE) (Distinction) from UNSW and a Master of Education (Ed Psych) from University of Sydney.

Melanie is a medical journalist for national medical publications, and has held communications roles in the pharmaceutical industry, medical education, government and not-for-profit organisations in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Melanie has previously served as the Gifted Children’s Coordinator with Mensa Queensland, where she supported gifted young people and their families through information and connection. She has also supported families as a child play and behaviour therapist. As a parent of gifted children herself, Melanie is committed to improving understanding of giftedness and ensuring gifted learners are recognised, appropriately challenged and supported to thrive, both academically and emotionally. Melanie brings to the Board strong skills in plain-language communication, strategic messaging and stakeholder engagement, alongside formal qualifications in Science, Journalism and Psychology (BSc/BA Science Communications, GradDipPsych, BPsychSc(Hons) pending).

Bohdan has been a public school leader and teacher for over two decades with experience as a Deputy Principal, Head Teacher and science teacher across a diverse range of high schools, including within fully and partially academically selective HSs and comprehensive HSs. He has been involved in gifted education for nearly 25 years, culminating in his involvement in developing the NSW Department of Education’s High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE) Policy. Through 2020-2021 he led a small team with system-wide responsibility for overseeing and supporting implementation of the HPGE Policy across NSW Public Schools. During 2022-2024, Bohdan worked across all 9 public school directorates alongside Executive Directors and Directors Educational Leadership, facilitating coordinated strategic planning, leadership capacity building and evaluative practices to accelerate and deepen HPGE Policy implementation across our 2218 NSW Public Schools. In 2023, he was invited to join the Office of the Deputy Secretary Public Schools as a HPGE Coordinator, and from the middle of 2024 he was seconded as a leading member of the HPGE Taskforce.  He is now a leading member of the new HPGE business unit in the NSW Department of Education. Bohdan has a MEd (gifted), a Certificate of Gifted Education, (COGE), MTeach (science), a Grad Dip Education (Outdoor Education) and BSc (biomedical science).

She has been a teacher and leader in gifted education in K-12 public and independent schools in Australia and New Zealand for over 20 years, successfully developing school-based talent development programs and increasing the capacity of in-service teachers to support the holistic needs of gifted students. 

Helen holds a PGDipEd (Gifted & Talented) from Massey University, New Zealand, and MEd (Gifted Education) with Excellence from UNSW. Currently, Helen is employed by GERRIC, UNSW teaching Mini-COGE and supports the annual GERRIC Student Programs as Curriculum Coordinator. She also offers gifted education consultancy as ‘Bright and Beyond’ working alongside students, parents, schools, and systems, providing the full range of services from case-managing complex multi-exceptional student needs to program auditing to whole-school, multi-year professional learning programs. A highlight of Helen’s recent consultancy work has been writing the NESA ‘Developing talent’ teaching advice for the new NSW syllabuses. She is also the founding host of the Canberra ‘Gifted Awareness Week’ Symposium, an annual event promoting best practice, collaboration, and advocacy in gifted education. Helen is also the parent of gifted young adults who are happily pursuing their passions in life.

Kate is also the founder of My Neurodivergent Child, an online learning and support platform for parents of gifted children; previous Chair of Complex Trauma WA; and the principal co-founder of GiftedWA. She is also the parent of two, now adult, twice-exceptional children, which resulted in navigating everything from homeschooling to radical acceleration in a gifted and talented program.

With two decades of experience in the fields of giftedness, twice-exceptionality and complex PTSD, Kate is known for her practical, compassionate approach and deep understanding of the nuances required to unravel complex presentations. She holds a doctorate focusing on the intersection between giftedness and trauma, and her work has been featured in The Guardian, ABC, SBS and other national media, where she regularly advocates for the needs of gifted learners, particularly in the area of social and emotional development.

Stacey's passion for the field is driven by both her professional role and her personal experience as a parent of gifted children, giving her a deep understanding of the advocacy journey for families. She has a strong focus on twice-exceptionality and the practical, on-the-ground implementation of effective evidence-based provisions and supports that empower diverse learners, their parents and their educators. Stacey has a Bachelor of Learning Management (BLM) and MEd. 

Hayley is passionate about bridging the gap between educational assessments and effective classroom practice. She works with schools to build teacher capacity in meeting the needs of their gifted and talented students, and to strengthen existing extension and enrichment programs. She also supports families in advocating for their children and understanding new diagnoses. Prior to this, Hayley taught and led Gifted Education programs in Victorian schools, developing curriculum and coordinating a range of competitions and programs. She holds a Master of Gifted Education (Monash University).

As Manager of Inclusion Support Services at Catholic Education Northern Territory, Neeti has held leadership roles in curriculum development, strategic program implementation, and advisory teaching.

Neeti holds a Master of Special Education and is passionate about creating educational environments where all students can thrive and reach their full potential. She advocates strongly for twice-exceptional students and the intersection of giftedness and disability. Neeti is committed to advocating for greater understanding and support for twice exceptional learners, and ensuring that gifted and talented education is accessible and equitable across all contexts, especially in regional and remote areas like the Northern Territory.