They'll Be Fine: The Premier Podcast for Gifted Education

Dr. Latonda Mitchell is an Elementary Curriculum Specialist with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and an educational researcher whose work centers on the lived experiences of gifted Black girls. Her doctoral research explored how these students navigate perfectionism, identity, and the often-unseen pressures that accompany high achievement. Dr. Mitchell is passionate about helping educators, families...

Lisa Richer transforms "stuck" into success. Using her Clarity Confidence Courage Journey Map™ , she guides people through three key pillars : the Internal (shifting from "fixer" to leader), the Relational (prioritizing connection over compliance), and the Systemic (advocating in schools, organizations and sports). Combining her work as an author with her leadership in the neurodivergent community...

With 19+ years of experience, Dr. McCabe has a Master’s and PhD in Psychology from UNC-CH. She has also been intensively trained in DBT, DBT-C, CBT, PCIT, and FST. “Dr. Mel” opened RDU Therapy in 2022 with the hopes of giving families high-quality expert support in a manner that fits their lifestyle. She works with children (6+ yo), adolescents, adults, couples, parents, families, other providers,...

Chamonix Mann is a Gifted and Talented specialist with 14 years experience in elementary education, currently serving students and teachers in Texas. She is the creator of Gifted Glow Up Studio, a digital platform dedicated to helping educators and families move beyond compliance-driven instruction and into meaningful, inquiry-based learning experiences for gifted learners. Chamonix is passionate...

Jessica LaFollette has been teaching gifted learners for over 25 years and serves on the board of directors for the National Association for Gifted Children . She currently teaches gifted students at Piper Middle School in Kansas City and instructs graduate courses at the University of Missouri in differentiation. Dr. LaFollette is co-author of the LEAP Guidebook and Modules for Differentiating In...

Aritia Smalls brings nearly two decades of educational expertise to her role as Advanced Learning and Gifted Education Coordinator. A deep-seated passion for student potential defines her career; she works tirelessly to ensure that advanced resources and academic support are accessible to all students, empowering them to reach their full potential. Lisa Pagano currently serves as the Director of A...

Michael S. Matthews is Professor in the Cato College of Education of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Dr. Matthews has held leadership roles in the Research on Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent SIG of the American Educational Research Association, the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), the North Carolina Association for the Gifted & Talented, and the Council for Ex...

A graduate of Appalachian State University (1976), Chris Yeager went on to earn a Master’s degree in Education and Administration from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Beginning a career in education, Chris taught English at 71st High School, later serving as an Instructional Curriculum Facilitator for three years and briefly as an Assistant Principal at the elementary level. In 1996,...

Today, we're tackling a topic that can feel a bit intimidating when teaching gifted students: math. Well known by its acronym, (AoPS), Art of Problem Solving has a unique approach to teaching math, focusing not just on rote memorization but on deep conceptual understanding and creative problem-solving. It's a curriculum that challenges students to think outside the box and build a true foundation...

Educator, curriculum designer, parent, and community builder, Leslie Kerner is the COO and co-founder of Silverquicken. She’s spent the last 25 years developing K-12 education products and services. At Amplify, she worked closely with teachers and administrators around the country to bring them solutions that help their students succeed. At Silverquicken, she’s designed, developed, and implemented...

Michelle Lourcey is a Director of the NC Advanced Placement Partnership, State and District Partnerships, through the College Board. During her 34 years in education, she has served as a high school English teacher -- both face-to-face and online -- as well as a curriculum specialist, high school administrator, and the Chief Academic Officer of the NC Virtual Public School. She is dedicated to str...

Dr. Emily King is a Child Psychologist and former School Psychologist who has worked with neurodivergent children and teens for over 20 years. She received a Ph. D. in School Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she worked at Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute and the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities. She began her career as a School P...

Summer Cowick is an educator and founder of Brilliant And Then Some who specializes in supporting gifted students, particularly those with Dabrowski's Overexcitabilities (OEs). Her work focuses on managing and leveraging these five intensities—emotional, imaginational, intellectual, psychomotor, and sensual—to help gifted children and families understand and nurture their unique needs in education...

Monica Simonds, M.Ed., is a Strategist for K-12 Assessments at Riverside Insights. In this role, she works closely with educators across the U.S. to help them gain greater insight and utility from their assessment data with a specific focus on best practices for identifying and serving gifted and talented students. Monica is the 2017 recipient of the NAGC Gifted Coordinator award and the 2019 TAGT...

Andi is the owner and gifted education consultant for A Meaningful Mess, LLC. A recognized thought leader in the field, she was named one of the Top People in Education to Watch by the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences in 2016. Andi is dedicated to helping educators engage and empower today’s learners through practical strategies that foster creativity and student-driven learning. She is the...

Emily Mofield, Ed. D., is an Associate Professor at Lipscomb University with more than two decades of experience in gifted education as a teacher, district leader, and researcher. She’s passionate about helping educators challenge and support gifted and high-potential students through meaningful curriculum design, differentiation, and social-emotional learning. Emily is the co-author of several aw...

UNC Honors Carolina is a premier undergraduate academic program at the University of North Carolina and today we have Jason Clemmons, the Director of Curriculum, Recruitment & Operations for Honors Carolina. In this episode, Jason provides an overview of the program, including its distinctive offerings to these Honor students such as small, faculty-led courses, career and professional developm...

In this episode of They’ll Be Fine , we speak with Todd Roberts, the Chancellor of the North Carolina School of Science and Math. NCSSM was the first school of its kind, a public residential high school where students study a specialized curriculum emphasizing science and mathematics. Annually, NCSSM serves 11th and 12th grade students in its Residential program across two campuses, plus additiona...

Educator, curriculum designer, parent, and community builder, Leslie Kerner is the COO and co-founder of Silverquicken. She’s spent the last 25 years developing K-12 education products and services. At Amplify, she worked closely with teachers and administrators around the country to bring them solutions that help their students succeed. At Silverquicken, she’s designed, developed, and implemented...

Ann Mary is a high school senior in Wake County. She is an advocate for gifted education programs for students and is raising awareness of the importance of student voice in gifted education policy. She currently works with the Wake County Advanced Learning Services team as a student advisor and with the National Gifted and Talented Student Advocacy Board as a senior board member. She is also the...

Justin Mitchell, an eighth-grade social studies teacher and gifted and talented coordinator at Franklin Simpson Middle School, shares his unique and engaging approaches to teaching history. Justin discusses the importance of making history come alive for students, particularly gifted learners, through creativity and pop culture. He emphasizes experiential learning, ethical decision-making, and the...

The North Carolina Governor's School is a four-week summer residential program for gifted and talented high school students, integrating academic disciplines, the arts, and unique courses on each of two campuses. Learning focuses on the exploration of the most recent ideas and concepts in each discipline, and it does not involve credit, tests, or grades. Students are selected to attend through a c...

Today, we're tackling a topic that can feel a bit intimidating when teaching gifted students: math. Well known by its acronym, (AoPS), Art of Problem Solving has a unique approach to teaching math, focusing not just on rote memorization but on deep conceptual understanding and creative problem-solving. It's a curriculum that challenges students to think outside the box and build a true foundation...

Summer Cowick is an educator and founder of Brilliant And Then Some who specializes in supporting gifted students, particularly those with Dabrowski's Overexcitabilities (OEs) . Her work focuses on managing and leveraging these five intensities—emotional, imaginational, intellectual, psychomotor, and sensual—to help gifted children and families understand and nurture their unique needs in educatio...

Chris Rice is an experienced educator, advocate, and speaker. He has over 10 years of experience as a school psychologist and has worked in several states and with students ages 3-21. Currently, Chris serves as a gifted education psychologist for a large school district in North Carolina. He has the opportunity to help influence policy and practice, work directly with gifted learners, and support...