Danae Deligeorges, PhD, is a Psychopedagogist with a focus on the educational and social-emotional development of gifted individuals. Holding a PhD from the Medical School at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, she also possesses a robust background in Psychology from the same institution and a Master's degree in Gifted Education and Emotional Support Needs from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. Her expertise spans the identification and support of children, families, and adults with the neurodiversity of giftedness.

From 2010 to 2015, Dr. Deligeorges was employed at the Hellenic American Academy in Chicago before returning to Greece. Since 2012, she has been an active contributor to the National Association for Gifted Children’s (NAGC) scientific newsletter, “Conceptual Foundation.” In 2013, she trained and became certified as a counselor/coordinator for parent groups of gifted children at the SENG’s 16th Annual Conference on gifted and talented education.

Dr. Deligeorges is distinguished in Europe, notably as Greece's sole certified expert by Linda Kreger Silverman, PhD, and the Gifted Development Center in understanding overexcitabilities. She is internationally certified to use the World Game for measurement and evaluation purposes.

In 2018, she founded the Φ Center for the Advancement of Noesis in Athens, serving as its Scientific Director. The center conducts psychoeducational programs on giftedness and talent development for children and adults across Greece and Europe. Dr. Deligeorges published her first book, “Giftedness: Notes I,” (“Χαρισματικότητα: Σημειώσεις Ι”) in 2020 and co-organized the pioneering “Gifted World Experience” conference in 2023.

Irene Gottlieb is a Senior Project Manager, PMP with over 10 years of experience including multimillion dollar corporate international projects and numerous start-ups.

She is also a mom of academically talented gifted children. Finding disappointment in educational options after trying several public and private schools in Chicago, a problem that many gifted parents face, Irene decided to build a school for the gifted.

Irene holds degrees in Science and Biology and enjoys a good game of scrabble, endurance sports, and sharing the joy of nature with her children.

Willem Kuipers MSc, has been a career coach, counsellor, explorer and writer for uncommonly intelligent and intense adults since the beginning of this century. Previously, he graduated from Delft University of Technology with a degree in mathematical engineering, and became a management consultant. He wrote Enjoying the Gift of Being Uncommon: Extra Intelligent, Intense, and Effective, and his website www.ximension.com has been a source of information on the subject for almost two decades now. Willem runs his own practice in Schagerbrug, the Netherlands.

As Willem often felt different to others and was wondering how to interact, he has always been eager to add new chapters to his own ‘manual’. Likewise, he always felt committed to understand ‘what it’s like to be you’ and share his reflections. That is how he morphed into being a coach and counsellor.

When around 1999 ‘giftedness’ entered his world through his daughter, he did not find its formal definitions very relatable. His experientially defined concept of extra intelligence and intensity, or Xi for short, enables his clients and himself to become aware of their characteristics of ‘uncommonness’, without pigeon-holing.

These last ten years Willem has focused on the need of gifted/extra intelligent people to actively balance their intense sensorial input and elaborate cognitive reasoning, as these qualities lead to structurally different ‘worldviews’ and actions. He wants to foster compassionate understanding of and support for their diversity of expression, both of themselves and of all members of their ‘uncommon families’. Personal growth is his favorite journey.

As eloquently stated by Dr. Janucz Korczak, "Children are not people of tomorrow, but people today. They are entitled to be taken seriously. They have a right to be treated by adults with tenderness and respect, as equals."

Elina traded her electrical engineering career for advanced study of gifted education in order to seek guidance and resources for her gifted son. This quest dovetailed with lifelong passions for art, science, and mathematics and led to discovering her calling as a math educator.

A firm advocate of integration of the mind and the heart, Elina holds a profound belief in taking care of both the cognitive and the affective aspects of the self. Her approach is holistic. The children are respected, listened to, and taken seriously. Her students become invested in and take responsibility for their own learning.

For the past eight years, Elina has been teaching at the Russian School of Mathematics in-person and virtually. She has also successfully tutored students privately in high school math and standardized test prep, and taught several courses at the Northwestern University Center for Talent Development. She is on staff at the Center for Identity Potential, where her unique approach is especially suited to serving the needs of gifted/neurodiverse young people.

As a mathematics educator, Elina ensures that her students gain mathematical mastery and confidence. She imparts the sense of joy and beauty of mathematics to her students, allowing them to see math as a means of understanding the world.

Dimitra Alexandri is a certified Dietician-Nutritionist from the Technological Educational Institute of Nutrition and Dietetics in Sitia, Crete.

She specialized in Eating Disorders at the National Centre of Eating Disorders (NCFED), in London, UK.

She has also specialized in Metabolomics from the European Institute of Nutritional Medicine (EINuM) and in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP).

She has been teaching nutrition in various institutes as well as working in various areas in the nutrition field.

After many years of experience and knowledge she works predominantly with people with autoimmune/ chronic diseases, cancer ,and people with eating disorders such as obesity, bulimia, anorexia, etc.

She is a scientific collaborator of NLP Greece.

From 2020 she collaborates with Dr. Danae Deligeorges at the Center for the Advancement of Noesis working with gifted people and also took part as a speaker at the 1st Gifted World Experience conference in 2023 in Athens, Greece.

Last but not least, she has a passion for constant studying upon the human microbiome and the neurobiology in its interaction with food and the body’s function and symptoms.

Her goal is that the people who choose her as their ‘’therapist’’ see all the possibilities they can have and realize that being healthy, or eliminating or controlling a disease or symptom, or whatever keeps them away from their healthy self, is completely under their own control and is also simple and attainable despite what most people believe. Then, to experience health!

Nan Giblin holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Loyola University in Chicago. She is a registered Clinical Psychologist in Illinois. For nearly 30 years, she was a Professor of Counselor Education at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. Her positions there included Dean of the College of Education, Chair of Counselor Education, Professor of several Masters' Level Courses in Counselor Education, and member of the planning team of the "Art in Response to Violence" Conferences.

She is the co-author of 3 textbooks in the field of Counselor Education. Her other interests include Gifted Education, Art Therapy, and Trauma Therapy.

Michele Kane, Ed.D., is Professor Emerita in Special Education from Northeastern Illinois University, where she coordinated the Master of Arts in Gifted Education program for over a decade.

Michele is Past President of the Illinois Association for Gifted Children and Past Chair of the Global Awareness Network of the National Association for Gifted Children and Past Chair of the Parent, Family and Community Network.

Beginning her career as a parent, Michele has additionally served the gifted community as an educator, leader, author, and counselor. A frequent presenter at state, national, and international conferences, Michele has numerous articles in print and chapters in Living with Intensity, Off the Charts, and Accelerating and Extending Literacy for Diverse Students. Additionally, she co-authored, with Dorothy Sisk, Planting Seeds of Mindfulness.

She was honored by SENG as their 2018 Educator of the Year. Inspired by her experience raising six gifted (now adult) children, she has been a passionate advocate for enhancing well-being for gifted people across the lifespan for more than forty years.

Barbara Mitchell Hutton is former Head of School at NOVA Middle School, an independent school serving highly capable and gifted learners in Olympia, Washington. NOVA’s vision is to inspire lifelong learning for a more compassionate and engaged world. Inspired by her now adult daughter, Barbara has spent thirty years advocating for the educational, social and emotional needs of gifted children and their families. A frequent speaker at local, state, national and international conferences about asynchrony and Developmental Differentiation, she authored the chapter in Off the Charts: Asynchrony and the Gifted Child about schools and responding to asynchrony in the classroom.

Matthew C. Ringenberg is MSW Program Director and Associate Professor of Social Work at Valparaiso University. He is co-author of The Education of Alice Hamilton. Previously, Dr. Ringenberg designed the Parent And School Survey and Co-led of the School Success Longitudinal Study (2011-2017). He served from 2013-2015 as the Director of the Valparaiso University Study Center in Cambridge, England. He has successfully written multiple social service grants for agencies throughout Northwest Indiana. He also conducted a program evaluation of the Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Farmers Market.

Dr. Ringenberg has 25 years of teaching experience at Valparaiso University, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, and St Olaf College. He mentored dozens of students in developing their own research projects and presenting the results in various conferences. He has taught a variety of topics including human behavior, counseling/ interviewing skills, social policy, research methods, grant-writing, and spirituality in the helping professions.

He developed professional partnerships with various social service and community organizations. He has served on the boards of a homeless shelter, farmers market, and United Way. His grant-writing, evaluating, and supervision services have been provided to agencies ranging in focus from child abuse, afterschool programming, summer education services, and family reconciliation.

Matthew Ringenberg enjoys a variety of activities outside of work. He cycles regularly and hikes as opportunities arise. Matthew is an avid board game player and enjoys learning new ones. He is learning to play piano but makes no claims of talent. Birdwatching is also a casual hobby, although, like piano, he is no expert.

Erin Vanek is a dedicated educator and advocate for giftedness. As a twice-exceptional adult balancing giftedness and late-diagnosed ADHD, Erin brings a unique perspective to her work. With a Master's in Education and an endorsement in gifted education, she has spent well over a decade supporting gifted students. That support has also transferred to her personal life, as she navigates the challenge of raising twice-exceptional learners.

Erin is the founder of The Gifted Perspective, a company driven by her passion for advocating for gifted individuals and challenging the social stigma that often surrounds giftedness. Through her business, Erin has reached thousands of people, offering workshops, printable resources, activities, and fostering a strong social media community. Her commitment to this cause has made a significant impact on the lives of many, solidifying her role as a leader in the field of gifted education.