Thank you for your service, Jeff!

We are deeply grateful to Jeffrey Hudson for more than 15 years of dedicated service to 优蜜视频 including his leadership as a board member and Chairman of the Board. Jeff鈥檚 steady guidance, openness to new ideas, and enduring commitment to 优蜜视频鈥檚 mission have been instrumental in shaping the organization鈥檚 growth. His inspiring collaborative spirit and belief in the potential of young people have left a lasting impact on our staff, families and the gifted students we serve.

Jeff is an accomplished operations and project management professional whose career spans over two decades across engineering, entertainment, and education sectors. Most recently, he served as Director of Operations for the California office of Celtic Engineering, Inc. Prior to that, he held leadership roles at TMT International Observatory, LLC鈥攁n independent Caltech laboratory鈥攁s well as at Walt Disney Imagineering, The Walt Disney Company, and Disney Entertainment.

Jeff brought to 优蜜视频 a deep well of experience in finance, human resources and large-scale project management. His strategic thinking and dedication to innovation earned him the respect not only of colleagues across industries but also of his fellow board members and the 优蜜视频 staff.

As Jeff concludes his term on the 优蜜视频 Board of Directors, we extend our heartfelt thanks for his many years of service and leadership. We wish Jeff, his wife Krystiel and their son Turner many more exciting adventures ahead and continued success in all future endeavors.

Welcome, Cheryl!

A seasoned leader with over 25 years of experience guiding global business transformations across a wide range of industries including finance, healthcare, logistics and consulting, Cheryl Dong brings strategic insight and a deep appreciation for the power of community.

She currently serves as Program Manager and Assistant Vice President at Capital Group, where she leads large-scale initiatives focused on innovation, efficiency and impact. While much of her career has centered on creating new revenue streams and scaling operations, Cheryl is most inspired by helping others see possibility in change and empowering individuals to recognize their unique potential.

Originally from China, Cheryl holds degrees from Zhejiang University, the University of Nebraska, and an MBA from the University of California, Irvine. As the parent of a Yunasa and Caroline D. Bradley Scholar alumna, she understands both the joys and challenges of raising a gifted child. She and her husband, Tony Qian, have been part of the 优蜜视频 community for many years and are deeply grateful for the role 优蜜视频 has played in their daughter Annie鈥檚 journey.

With a heart for education and a strong desire to serve, Cheryl is excited to give back by supporting 优蜜视频鈥檚 mission. She looks forward to expanding alumni engagement and helping strengthen the 优蜜视频 community for future generations of gifted learners. We are honored to welcome her to the Board.

Welcome, Julianna!

Julianna Hanlon is a seasoned litigation attorney licensed in Massachusetts with nearly a decade of experience advising clients across a range of legal matters, including mediation, trial and negotiated settlements. She has served both as in-house counsel and as a law firm associate, with a focus on healthcare, real estate, construction and business disputes. As managing counsel, she has provided strategic legal and compliance guidance to healthcare executives, including the president of a local hospital. Julianna currently serves on the Melrose Zoning Board of Appeals and the Melrose Human Rights Commission, and holds leadership roles with the Association of Corporate Counsel and the Boston Bar Association.

A graduate of Northeastern University School of Law and Simmons College, she brings to 优蜜视频 a thoughtful, analytical perspective and a passion for supporting mission-driven organizations. In her free time, she enjoys weightlifting, painting and exploring the outdoors through hiking and triathlons.

Julianna is excited to serve on 优蜜视频鈥檚 Board to help champion the needs of gifted children and youth, and to raise awareness around the importance of advocacy and specialized support for this exceptional population.

PASADENA, CA 鈥� 02/20/2024 鈥� The (优蜜视频), a national nonprofit dedicated to the intellectual, creative, and personal growth of our nation鈥檚 gifted and advanced learners, has announced the upcoming retirement of its president and co-founder, Elizabeth Jones. Jones will remain in her current position until a new president has been hired and will then transition to a senior advisor role to support leadership and the Board of Directors.

Since the nonprofit鈥檚 founding in 1998, 优蜜视频 has become a pillar in the gifted education community as a place focused on the whole gifted child. Now recognized as one of the nation鈥檚 leading thought leadership organizations supporting the needs of gifted youth, 优蜜视频 offers enrichment classes and learning opportunities, teacher trainings, consulting services, support groups, summer camps and scholarships for gifted learners. Over 12,000 students have benefited from the organization鈥檚 work.

鈥淎s we enter a new quarter century at 优蜜视频, the organization is strong and has tremendous promise for the future,鈥� said Elizabeth Jones, president and co-founder, Institute for Educational Advancement. 鈥淏uilding this organization that is filled with heart and a commitment to excellence is what makes us special. I am proud of our accomplishments, am honored to have been a part of the lives of so many gifted students and am grateful for the support of our ever-growing community.鈥� 

Giftedness exists in every demographic of society and is often overlooked and underfunded in many education systems. Jones created 优蜜视频 to fill that gap and be a resource for families and educators alike. Under her guidance, 优蜜视频 advocated for gifted education locally and nationally and commissioned the first-ever national survey assessing the American public鈥檚 views on gifted education. This research continues to influence national policy and is used by organizations across the U.S. in advocating for gifted youth. 优蜜视频 operates 

With the support of 优蜜视频鈥檚 Board of Directors, Advisory board and staff, Morris & Berger, an executive search firm with a specialty practice that reaches across the nonprofit sector, will seek a new president to continue the nonprofit鈥檚 mission of meeting the unique needs of gifted children, their families and educators and overseeing the organization鈥檚 business needs and fiscally sound operating budget. 

鈥淪ince Elizabeth founded 优蜜视频, we have stayed true to our mission of serving gifted youth, exponentially growing our flagship programs: our Academy enrichment classes, our Award-winning Yunasa Summer Camp, and our unique Caroline D. Bradley merit-based high school scholarship,鈥� said Byron Lichtenstein, 优蜜视频 Board Chair. 鈥溣琶凼悠� has served gifted children with passion and dedication. I know, because I am one of those young people. We on the board, our community, and the field of gifted education are indebted to Elizabeth for her engagement and the organization’s success.鈥� 

Qualified candidates are invited to online and apply here: .

For more information about 优蜜视频鈥檚 programs and services, visit .

About the Institute for Educational Advancement

The Institute for Educational Advancement (优蜜视频) is dedicated to the intellectual, creative, and personal growth of our nation鈥檚 gifted and high-potential youth. Central to the mission of 优蜜视频 is a commitment to the development of the whole child through engaging educational experiences that promote optimal challenge, mentorship, exploration of ideas, and recognition of personal potential. 优蜜视频 seeks to connect gifted individuals through dynamic and engaging year-round programming. Additionally, 优蜜视频 supports a diverse community that creates a sense of belonging and affirmation. For more information, visit .

Contact

Kat Kirsch

Institute for Educational Advancement

(626) 403-8900 or kkirsch@educationaladvancement.org

I write today with bittersweet news. After more than 25 years of incredible service, Betsy Jones has decided to begin her transition from President of 优蜜视频 to Senior Advisor starting later this year. While we as a board will miss Betsy鈥檚 daily leadership of the organization, we are greatly supportive of her decision and excited for her well-deserved next phase. We are proud and grateful for the work and accomplishments she has made as Co-Founder and President of 优蜜视频 and are humbled by the opportunity to shepherd and grow this organization through the next 25+ years of serving our community.  

Since 1993, 优蜜视频 has served 11,600 gifted children with passion and dedication. Our programs touch and change lives both locally and nationally, are award-winning in their field, and unique in their approach to serving all parts of a gifted child鈥檚 being. Our research continues to influence policy nationally, and to be used by organizations across the US to advocate for gifted youth. As we journey ahead, Betsy has built an unparalleled platform on which to evolve and scale to reach even more children. She will remain deeply committed to ensuring we accomplish our mission of holistically supporting each child in our community.  

I have known Betsy for 21 years since I became a Caroline D Bradley scholar in 2002. I will personally miss Betsy鈥檚 everyday presence, and I know I am not alone. While this is a big change for the organization, 优蜜视频 is blessed by talented and long-tenured 优蜜视频 staff, an Advisory Board that is deeply embedded within the gifted ecosystem, and a Board of Directors composed of individuals that have known and served 优蜜视频 together for decades. We have known about and planned for this day and have already been working with Betsy to set up the structures necessary for new leadership to be successful.  

The Board of Directors is committed to making this a smooth transition. We have hired Morris & Berger, a nationally recognized, Pasadena-based search firm that specializes in non-profits and educational institutions. They will work with the board search committee which is made up of experienced and passionate board members. Betsy will remain in her current role until the next President officially starts. We have also asked Betsy to continue to work with us as Senior Advisor to the new leadership and the organization.  

Please join us in wishing Betsy well in this next phase鈥攚e are deeply grateful for her inspirational leadership and her impact on the lives of thousands of students.  

Sincerely, 

Byron Lichtenstein 

Board Chair, Institute for Educational Advancement聽聽

Read Betsy’s letter announcing her retirement.

My relationship with 优蜜视频 began in 2002 when I was a seventh grader. I grew up the product of 40-student classrooms and overworked teachers in a large California public school system. At age 7, my father passed away and my mother struggled to figure out how to reenter the workforce and maintain some normalcy for her two sons. With so much to handle, she left my brother and me in charge of our own education. For years I struggled between unmotivated teachers who ignored me because I was “doing fine” and amazing teachers who were too shackled by overcrowding and underfunding to provide full academic support. There were times when I felt like leaving school – when it wasn’t聽 worth the boredom of just sitting there or the discipline of detention for distracting other students聽 when I finished work early.

But then 优蜜视频 came into my life. They worked hand-in-hand with me to identify and send me to a highly rigorous and highly creative high school. And from attending the summer camp to discovering a deeper love of architecture through their program, 优蜜视频 fueled an intellectual fire within me that at times had felt like just an ember. They provided me opportunities that I could never have found on my own and that my mother could never pay for. At a time in my life when I needed a mentor, they were there.

There are two areas where I believe 优蜜视频 makes a real difference in students’ lives: enabling them to find an academic area that inspires them to learn, and building the emotional support system that allows them to succeed.

I believe that one of the most important aspects of education is teaching students that what they learn in school is not only applicable to the classroom but also to the situations they encounter every day and to the passions they may one day pursue. However, it is an aspect that is often overlooked and – without the necessary mentors to show them – an aspect that is hard for students to fully understand. 优蜜视频’s and programs introduce this real-world application aspect to the learning environments of young students. By creating exciting alternative-learning environments or matching industry professionals with high颅 achieving children, these programs enable students to directly see their education applied to the world and gain the appreciation for learning necessary to achieve academic excellence. These programs give the required personalized attention that allows students to delve deep where their interests lie and also motivates them to succeed and grow beyond where books and hypotheticals could take them.

But it’s not only intellectual and academic stimulation that these programs provide; it is also a social and emotional foundation necessary to maintain their academic performance. Each and every 优蜜视频 program builds a community of intellectually curious and academically motivated students to form the emotional and social foundation to push students to their full potential. Programs like Yunasa allow students to be surrounded by peers who share a love of learning and create an environment where students can be comfortable with themselves and their minds. I remember attending Yunasa as a 12-year-old – interested in nature and slightly awkward – and for the first time feeling like I could talk about anything with anyone. 优蜜视频 helped build my confidence and made me feel like I could explore what I loved. It connected me to a group of friends that bolstered my curiosity and my belief that I could achieve whatever I put my mind to. That community and that inspiration have been key to my development and I believe that they are key to every child’s development. They are essential to helping young students maintain their motivation for education and ensure that they are excited to continue learning.

The Institute for Educational Advancement has been and continues to be an integral part of my life. They have been there for every major decision from choosing the right high school to deciding to go to Harvard. I know that I am the person I am today because of them.

Since joining 优蜜视频 as a Caroline D. Bradley Scholar in 2002, Byron has participated in multiple programs with 优蜜视频 and for the last four years has served as a selection committee member for the CDB Scholarship. As of 2017, Byron serves on the Board of Directors. Currently, Byron is a Vice President at Insight Venture Partners, a venture capital and growth equity firm based in New York. Prior to Insight, Byron worked at Bain & Company as a management consultant and also at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of their Global Health Discovery team. He graduated from Harvard College with degrees in Biomedical Engineering and Economics.

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Each year the Institute for Educational Advancement (优蜜视频) awards the (CDB) to approximately 30 highly-gifted students. The scholarship provides funding to attend a high school best suited to meet their unique intellectual and personal needs as well as individual support, educational advocacy, and access to a network of like-minded peers. The program, which began in 2002 and is generously funded by The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, is the only merit-based, need-blind scholarship of its kind in the U.S. To date, 优蜜视频 has awarded 235 scholarships and our alumni are already making their mark on the world.

Several alumni are currently volunteering their time and talents in support of 优蜜视频:

Byron Lichtenstein

As member of the CDB Class of 2002, Byron was one of the program鈥檚 very first scholars. He attended the Lick-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco and then Harvard College. Byron is also an alumni of and .

Byron is presently a Vice President at Insight Venture Partners, a venture capital and growth equity firm based in New York. He focuses his time at Insight on new software investments as well as on strategy and operations within their portfolio of companies. Prior to this position, he worked at Bain & Company as a management consultant and also at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of their Global Health Discovery team.

Coming full circle, in January 2017 Byron became a member of the , where he has already made significant contributions as a member of the Audit Committee. Byron says, 鈥淚 owe a lot to the 优蜜视频 community as they have been there at every major step in my life and I am looking forward to the opportunity to give back. 鈥�

Jianna Lieberman

As a 2004 CDB scholar, Jianna attended Riverdale Country School in Bronx, New York for high school, where she thrived in the liberal arts program. She went on to attend the Maryland Institute College of Art, earning a BFA in Graphic Design.聽 Of the CDB program, Jianna says, “Riverdale taught me so much in the way of humanities that I could take the time to cultivate the creative side of my brain, and that wouldn鈥檛 have been the case without the Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship.鈥�

Jianna currently works in advertising where she focuses on web and app design, social media content design and calendaring, and overall digital marketing strategies.聽She is also in the process of applying to graduate school where she will pursue an MBA. In wanting to give back to 优蜜视频, she served on the 2017 CDB West Coast Selection Committee and is lending her expertise to further 优蜜视频鈥檚 marketing efforts.

Paul Cresanta

2008 CDB scholar Paul Cresanta is from Colorado, but found that The Thatcher School in Ojai, CA was the best match for his high school experience. After Thatcher, he enrolled in Pomona College where he double majored in Russian and European Studies and Linguistics. In May he earned his B.A. from Pomona and is currently spending the summer interning with 优蜜视频 before he begins his career as a language analyst at the Department of Defense.

At 优蜜视频, Paul is assisting in the 2017 CDB finalists鈥� interviews. Since he has been on the other end of the process, he helps put the students at ease and is able to answer questions from the point of view of a program scholar. He is also lending support to the Yunasa program as a coordinator and counselor. Paul says the CDB scholarship was 鈥淟ife Changing- with a capital L,鈥� and that is why he wanted to do his part to give back to 优蜜视频. 鈥淚, like so many of my fellow alumni, want to use what I have been given to make a positive impact.鈥�

优蜜视频 is so thankful for Byron, Jianna, and Paul as well as all of our alumni who are making contributions to their communities and the world!

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When I first began working with gifted kids in 1978, I had no idea that I’d still be doing so 36 years later. Those first gifted 4th-5th graders I taught in Stafford Springs, Connecticut are now closer to their retirements than their college graduations. That should make me feel old (OK鈥 am old!), but thanks to a decision I made more than 20 years ago, my vitality remains. That decision?: to never be more than a week away from teaching gifted kids.

My career trajectory led me from the elementary classroom to the college lecture hall, a much easier place to teach. There are no parent phone calls to return while teaching college, and discipline problems are minimal. Still, I found something lacking in teaching my graduate students. It wasn’t that they weren’t sincere in wishing to earn their degrees, it’s just that they were all so鈥redictable. And if there’s one thing I learned while teaching gifted kids, it was that predictability was not a quality that many of them possessed. “Quirky” (yes, that would fit), “spontaneous” (鈥aybe that’s why I could never get through my intended lesson without several student-led detours) and “intense” (couldn’t any of them, just once, practice the fine art of intellectual moderation?). The longer I worked with gifted kids and teens, the more I came to appreciate that the vigor they displayed while engaged in learning something new and relevant had an unexpected impact on me–their excitement became a non-prescription elixir that served as my personal fountain of youth. Thanks to gifted kids, I may look my age, yet I neither think nor act it. Thanks to gifted kids, I feel like Peter Pan.

If they’re lucky, parents of gifted kids retain this same degree of youth when they interact with their children. I mean how can you not giggle out loud when your 4-year-old daughter asks, “If butter melts yellow, and chocolate melts brown, why doesn’t snow melt white?” It’s a perfectly fine question, based on observational data your gifted kid picked up simply by being alert to the world. The answer to this question may evade you, but just the thought that someone so young has so much intellectual power and curiosity helps keep you mentally robust and alert. And how about when your 15-year-old son wants to engage you in an “oxymoron contest”, with some of his entries being “cafeteria food”, “authentic replicas”, “bigger half” and “Congressional wisdom”. Even if you can’t top these “instant classics” (another oxymoron), the banter between the two of you is bound to make you feel younger than your years.

Three and a half decades of gifted kids have introduced me to countless characters who have changed–indeed, enhanced–my life. I continue to cling to my youth today by doing part-time teaching of highly gifted 9th graders who are enrolled in college and by serving as a “Fellow” at 优蜜视频’s camp every July, working with gifted 10-14 year olds at a YMCA camp in Michigan. Yeah, my soon-to-be-ancient bones ache when the alarm rings at 5:15 a.m. so I can get to school on time, and sleeping on a plastic-covered camp bed does little to enhance my burgeoning arthritis, yet underneath these physical discomforts remains one of the best feelings in the world: a continuing connection to gifted kids who keep my spirit alive and well.

Seek your own eternal youth: surround yourself with as many gifted kids as you can find.

About Jim Delisle:

Jim Delisle serves on the Board of Directors of 优蜜视频 and interacts with gifted kids frequently. His upcoming book, Dumbing Down America: The War on Our Nation’s Most Capable Youth, will be published in August, 2014.

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In reading the article 鈥溾�� a few days ago, I began to reflect on and evaluate how we at 优蜜视频 invite parents to take a seat at the table.

I decided to discuss the topic with our staff. Kate Duey, a parent of 3 gifted daughters and a consultant for 优蜜视频, was in the office and had a few compelling comments about how she felt as the mother of gifted children.

She said that she did not feel particularly 鈥渋ncluded鈥� in most of the past gifted organizations in which her daughters participated. 鈥淎t one large summer program for gifted kids, I dropped my daughter off at the dorms, and that was pretty much it,鈥� Kate recalled. 鈥淣o one who administered the program was available for me to talk to. I got to talk to her dorm advisor for a few minutes that day, but that was it. When the program was over, I was to just pick her up and take her home, nothing more. I had no opportunity to speak with anyone running the program nor a way to learn about what happened while she was in attendance. I was a means of transportation more than anything.鈥� That was disconcerting for her, and this was not an isolated incident.

I wanted to see what she would say about us 鈥� after all, she is a consultant here to assist our organization. She said, 鈥淎t 优蜜视频, the parents are included in everything from the Apprenticeship presentations, to the Bradley Seminar, to talking with the staff and Fellows at Yunasa, to parent support groups, and parents are even on the Board of Directors. I even have been here when you call a parent to see how class went on Saturday or to see how a child was doing in school that week.鈥�

At 优蜜视频, we support the whole gifted child 鈥� intellectually, socially, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Parent input is crucial. The folks that live with these darling, amazing, and sometimes frustrating little guys have ideas and questions! We know that these children do not operate in a vacuum and that their parents are the life-line to their success.

We want parents to take a seat at the table. We want them to feel involved in our organization and the ways in which we serve their children.

We know that parenting a gifted child is not easy. Other parents, and often even teachers, don鈥檛 understand what you are going through. It is difficult to find information, resources, and support to help you raise your gifted child. Your child needs support, but so do you.

Because of this, every program at 优蜜视频 has some parent component. For example:

• On the first day of , parents get to meet and learn from the Fellows, renowned professionals in the social and emotional development of gifted children.
• Parents of are invited to attend the Apprentices鈥� final presentations, in which all participants share what they have accomplished while working with their Mentor over the course of the program. A closing picnic for all hosted by 优蜜视频 staff members follows.
• Academy families are encouraged to speak with staff before or after classes. We are starting Academy Family Nights, where families have the opportunity to connect and build community. We are also using parent feedback to create new classes 鈥� parents asked for a young girls鈥� book club, so we are going to start one this winter.
• Parents of attend the annual Bradley Seminar, a weekend of community and learning.
• All of our programs solicit feedback from students and their parents. Information gleaned in these evaluations has assisted us in honing our services to better meet the changing needs of our constituency.
• 优蜜视频 staff members frequently speak with parents regarding their individual child, even if that family has not participated in one of our offerings.

But are we doing enough? Probably not.

We try to be an open resource for parents looking for support for their gifted child. We offer . We host several parent support groups throughout the year to provide support, community, and information on topics of interest to parents of gifted children. We have asked Stephanie Tolan, a Senior Fellow, to speak about her experience parenting a gifted child. We have an active social media presence 鈥� here on our blog, on , and on 鈥� all of which provide an open forum for discussion and questions.

Yet children and their parents still go unheard in the gifted community.

We want to learn, we want to help, we want each parent to feel heard and hopefully helped.

Parents of gifted children often contribute to this blog to offer . A parent of one of our program participants is currently helping with our strategic planning. We ask for parent input, and we take it seriously.

At 优蜜视频, we do advocate for gifted children in a way similar to what Lisa describes in the article, but we do our best to bring parent feedback into it. We often provide educators and other organizations with tools to serve gifted children. We do involve parents in our organization, and we believe we are supporting their needs. Our table maybe small, but it is well built.

Please know that you can always come to 优蜜视频 for support, guidance, information, and resources. We want you to have a seat at the table. We can always build a bigger table.

As an organization that dedicates itself to connecting bright minds and nurturing intellectual and personal growth, we know that parents of these bright minds are integral in this process. Please take a seat at our table.

Do you feel that parents have a seat at the table in the gifted community? Please share with us in the comment section below.

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