For downloadable SENG Speaker Schedule, click here.

Biographies of SENG Speakers

Lori Comallie-Caplan is President Elect for SENG and the Board Champion for SENG Model Parent Groups (SMPG) and an SMPG Facilitator Trainer. Ms. Comallie-Caplan teaches Gifted Education classes for New Mexico State University. She has worked with gifted children for the past 26 years as counselor, diagnostician, teacher,program coordinator and advocate.

Arlene DeVries is a past president of SENG. She is a frequent speaker at state, national and international gifted conferences where she provides practical advice and suggestions for parents and educators. Her degree in Guidance and Counseling and her 24 years as a consultant for the gifted/talented program with the Des Moines, Iowa, Public Schools, has led her to a special interest in the social and emotional needs of gifted children.

Rosina M. Gallagher, Ph.D., NCSP is the president of SENG. She is a psychologist and educational consultant who was born and raised in Mexico City through early adolescence. She has been evaluator of bilingual programs and administrator of
gifted programs in a large urban school district. Dr. Gallagher is a member of the Illinois Gifted Advisory Council, NAGC's Diversity and Equity Committee, and cochair of the Underserved Populations Committee of the Illinois Association for Gifted Children.

Sheri Plybon is a SENG Model Parent Group Facilitator and Trainer, and she has been a Gifted Specialist for 28+ years in public education, K-12. She has worked on curriculum development and staff development at state and district levels and served for 8 years on the Texas Association for Gifted Board of Directors.

Edward R. Amend, Psy.D., is a Clinical Psychologist at Amend Psychological Services, P.S.C., licensed to provide psychological services in Kentucky and Ohio. In his private practice in Lexington, Kentucky (with a satellite office in Cincinnati, Ohio), Dr. Amend focuses on the social, emotional, and educational needs of gifted and talented youth, adults, and their families.

Jerald Grobman, M.D. is a board certified psychiatrist in private practice in New York City. He specializes in the psychodynamic and cognitive/behavioral psychotherapy of gifted  adolescents and adults. He is a senior supervisor in the Lenox Hill Hospital’s Psychology training program. His articles Underachievement in Exceptionally Gifted Adolescents and Young Adults Journal of Secondary Gifted Education 17:199-210 and A Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Approach to the Emotional Problems of Exceptionally Gifted Adolescents and Young Adults Journal for the Education of the Gifted 33:106-125 are available for download from his website www.psychotherapyservicesforthegifted.com. Dr. Grobman is a member of the SENG Professional Advisory Committee.

Tiombe-Bisa Kendrick is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist. Ms. Kendrick serves on the board of directors of SENG. Ms. Kendrick has been employed with the Miami-Dade County Public School District since 2005. Miami-Dade County Public School District is one of the most culturally and linquistically diverse public school districts in the nation.

Lisa Rivero lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where she is a writer, teacher, speaker, and parent. Some of her books include Creative Home Schooling: A Resource Guide for Smart Families, A Parent’s Guide to Gifted Teens: Living with Intense and Creative Adolescents, and Smart Teens’ Guide to Living with Intensity: How to Get
More Out of Life and Learning.

Carolyn Kottmeyer is the founder and director of Hoagies' Gifted Education Page, the national-award-winning "All Things Gifted" internet resource. Hoagies' Page has grown over the past 14 years to over 1000 pages of annotated resources: articles, research, curriculum, books, toys and other products, all proven useful for gifted children, adults, parents, educators, and other professionals. Carolyn speaks at large and small conferences and gatherings across the U.S. and abroad, on topics including Parenting, Advocacy, Gifted Education, Social/Emotinal Needs of the Gifted, Internet Resources, and more.

Dr. Vidisha Patel is a therapist in private practice in Sarasota, FL. Her practice focuses on the importance of relationships as a foundation for maintiaining strong emotional health. Dr. Patel works with gifted children of all ages along with theirs families.

Dr. Marc Caplan has been in private practice in Las Cruces, New Mexico for nearly 30 years. He is also adjunct faculty in the department of psychology at New Mexico State University. His areas of specialization includes treatment and evaluation of children, adolescents and adults in the areas of gifted, neuropsychological and civil and criminal forensics.