Committee

Mrs Kathy Harrison

President

Master of Education (ICTE), Diploma of Education, Bachelor of Science.

Kathy is a curriculum writer for the Victorian High Ability Program and teacher of VHAP Mathematics through Virtual School Victoria. For 15 years, she was Coordinator of gifted education in the Compass Centre and Exemplary Teacher at Methodist Ladies’ College. 2018 recipient of the Australian Mathematics Trust Teaching Award. A passionate gifted student advocate, enthusiastic about social justice and a community volunteer, Kathy hopes to inspire a sense that through our advocacy and action, we can make a difference in the world. She has expertise in developing and presenting VAGTC seminars on a wide range of topics, local and international conference papers, and provides coaching and individual consultancy.

Dr Susan Nikakis

Vice President

Dr Susan Nikakis, currently works for Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) where she recommends improvements such as pedagogical changes to cater for the education of gifted students. She supervises Doctoral students at the University of Melbourne and is the current Vice President of the Victorian Association for Gifted and Talented Children (VAGTC). Susan has written and edited four books centred on the education of gifted students. She has delivered papers and keynote addresses at both international and national conferences. She believes that catering for the learning needs of gifted is a matter of justice.

Catherine Frost

Treasurer

Chartered Accountant, Tax Advisor, Bachelor of Business/Arts (Swinburne University). A parent who is passionate about schools and the wider community understanding what gifted mean and that in the future every teacher understands the importance of wellbeing and that gifted and talented children need to be challenged at school.

Claire Reid

Secretary

Claire has a BA, BEd, and an MA (Gifted). She has a long-term interest in the area of Gifted Education, and several years of experience writing programs, running events and teaching in the area. During her master’s thesis in 2015, she researched the positive social and emotional “flow on effects” of grouping gifted students together for academic purposes. She has a particular interest in supporting the “whole child” when it comes to educating gifted students. More recently she has worked teaching gifted English students right across Victoria in the Victorian High Ability Program. She was involved in writing the program.

Amy Horneman

Master of Arts (Applied Linguistics), Bachelor of Arts/Education (Secondary). Amy started her career in education as a Secondary English and German teacher and has ended up delving deeply into the field of Gifted and Talented Education. She is passionate about mentoring gifted and highly able students; developing students in leadership; collaborating with key stakeholders to implement schoolwide provisions; and fostering positive and effective home-school partnerships, including supporting parents in the joys and challenges of parenting their gifted children. She is currently the coordinator of the gifted education program at Scotch College, and is an active committee member (consultant, seminar writer and presenter, and magazine editor) of VAGTC.

Karen Glauser-Edwards

BA(Psych) ECowan, GradDipEd(Prim) Monash, BSocSc(Psych)(Hons) CSturt, MEd Melb. Karen is committed to raising the awareness of, and access to, educational experiences and pathways for high ability children. Karen’s advocacy and research interests target those policies and processes which impact upon the availability and accessibility of educational opportunities for high ability students. In focusing on under-represented populations and groups, her efforts extend to the home educating sector, including dual and incremental home educators.

Simon Gitson

Simon is the Director of Professional Practice at Catholic Regional College North Keilor and joined the VAGTC committee last year. He has been instrumental in exploring improvements to our website. He is currently studying for a doctorate at Monash University. Simon has worked in the Catholic education sector for over a decade and is passionate about creating opportunity and advocacy for gifted and talented students. His expertise includes teaching VCE, the Victorian Curriculum and the International Baccalaureate Middle Years’ Program. He has experience working in the NFP sector, leading a community sports club, overseeing 8 staff and 250 members. Skilled in grant writing and digital communication, he has extensive experience running workshops for small and large groups.

Victoria Poulos

Victoria comes with a Masters in Gifted education (UNSW) and is an experienced teacher of gifted education and Japanese. She is the Gifted and Talented Leader at Crest Education and a researcher at UNSW. As a parent of gifted children Victoria is an enthusiastic advocate for gifted students and their families and formerly ran a local support group. Many have benefited from hearing Victoria present at State conferences, National Symposiums, Professional Development seminars and at the World Conference of the WCGTC of which she is an Australian delegate.

Bernadette Sheedy

Bernadette has been the gifted coordinator at two secondary schools in Melbourne St Monica’s in Epping and Mount Scopus in Burwood. She has presented seminars and papers around the state and the country for the VAGTC and the AAEGT. She is currently working on her PhD with a focus on gifted education at Deakin University.

Laura Wilcox

Laura’s has experience in mentoring gifted and talented secondary students in both school and external opportunities. She would bring her perspectives on fulfilling student potential including encouraging collaboration between likeminded students. She believes in triangulating data to identify gifted students. She has a BA (hons) from the University of Melbourne, a Post Grad specialising in Gifted education from Monash University and a Diploma in Prof Communications from the UNE.