HiCap Community Conversations

Parents, Educators and Advocates: Let's Talk about Supporting Our Community of Gifted Kids
(presented by NWGCA, WAETAG, and the WA Coalition)

Join other parents, educators, and advocates of gifted kids to discuss the joys and challenges of parenting, teaching, and advocating for differently wired kids. Facilitated discussion in large and small groups will provide opportunities to share insights and resources.

Thursday, October 20, 2022

6:00-7:30 p.m. Pacific

Online via Zoom

Cost

Washington State Residents: $20

Non-Washington State Residents: $24

Scholarships available. Use code SCHOLARSHIP when registering.

A recording of the presentation will be provided to paid registrants after the event.

** Reduced cost if you register for all 4 Equity in HiCap Education Week events. Get the discount

Register Now! 

About the Facilitators

Elizabeth Williamson, NWGCA Vice President, is a long-time board member of NWGCA (Northwest Gifted Child Association). Elizabeth was identified as a gifted student in 2nd grade in the Phoenix Unified School District and both there, and in southern California, was able to participate in pull-out hi-cap programs during her elementary school years.Elizabeth lives in Bothell and is married to her best friend. Together, she and her husband strive to learn all they can about the needs of gifted children and advocate for these special children. They have two beautiful, unique, young adult children. Her children’s educational experience has included: self-contained gifted classrooms in the public school system; Honors, “High Cap”, and IB classes; a short stint in private school; home schooling; and radical acceleration through the Robinson Center at the University of Washington. Elizabeth has served on the Edmonds School District's Gifted Advisory Board and the Northshore School District HiCap Parents Council, and has also served extensively in PTA leadership roles. She recently became a SENG (Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted) Model Parent Group Facilitator. Elizabeth has done extensive study on the topic of gifted and raising gifted children, as well as on personality temperaments, communication and relationships. She has traveled the country to attend NAGC, SENG, CAG, WAETAG, and NWGCA conferences and conventions and has also attended numerous other seminars and classes to learn as much as possible to help her children. She is passionate about supporting the emotional intensities and needs of these unique and special children. She believes that this support is as fundamental as the need for an appropriate educational experience - that, in fact, an appropriate educational experience cannot be fully had without that emotional support.

Karen Thornton, NWGCA President, has been part of the Northwest Gifted Child Association community as a board member focused on communications and programming, and now shares her collaborative leadership and creative energy as President. Karen is a SENG-trained facilitator of discussion groups for parents of gifted kids and loves sharing resources and ideas with other parents, particularly resources related to executive functioning, intensities and deep emotions. Karen’s professional career spans outdoor and experiential education, business consulting, and now she is the owner of a corporate event planning company. She has served on several non-profit boards over the last two decades, including Northwest Girls Coalition, Alliance for Black Legacy, and the Association for Talent Development. Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Karen has lived in the Pacific Northwest for nearly 20 years and currently resides in Woodinville. She and her husband, Kelly, enjoy sports, traveling, and the outdoors with their school-aged kids.

NWGCA does not endorse any product, service, publication, medication or treatment.