Welcome, Roxane!

In our July newsletter, we hinted that we would have some exciting news about the hiring of an Executive Director for the Wisconsin Association for Talented and Gifted. WATG is pleased to announce the hiring of Roxane Hagedorn as our new Executive Director, effective August 1, 2021. Roxane will join Nancy Woodward, our outstanding Executive Assistant, in furthering the work of our association. WATG has been growing exponentially in service to gifted and talented students, their families, and educators, and the time was right to grow our organizational administrative staff. 

In her application letter, Roxane described herself as “highly motivated and progress-focused, with a long-standing background in education and community partnerships”. She continued, “I have a track record of initiative and dependability and I’m passionate about Gifted and Talented students and their education.”

Roxane has had experience as a parent of a gifted and talented child and as a former WATG Board member from October 2011-October 2013. She described her additional gifted and talented leadership experience by highlighting her service to the Wausau School District Gifted and Talented Advisory Committee, which presented gifted and talented issues to their school board. This helped her gain an even greater understanding of perspectives from educators and parents.

Roxane’s most recent work experience has been as the Volunteer and Community Involvement Coordinator for the Wausau Schools, where she has used her organizational skills and people skills to serve children and families. 

She concluded her letter of interest with these words, “I am someone who has ideas and the drive to continue to build on the success of WATG. I want to continue the outreach to the rest of the state and bring in more local leaders. The louder the megaphone the organization has, the  more awareness we can bring. I want to be your next Executive Director because I believe in the  mission of educating about and advocating for the needs of gifted in our state. I can continue your  organization’s success through continued outreach, including in person meetings, social media and our  statewide conference.” 

When Roxane begins her work at WATG in August, one of her first projects will be to become immersed in the continued planning process for our virtual annual fall conference, “Leading the World into the Future,” October 3, 4, and 5th. Our conference chairpersons, Stacy Novak and Nicole Meier, along with their outstanding programming committee, have begun assembling a conference that is not to be missed! Dr. Jonathan Plucker and Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings, keynote speakers, along with featured speaker, Alonzo Kelly, will be joined by a lineup of breakout sessions designed to pique your curiosity, build your skill sets, and prepare you for educating and parenting today and in the future. Here is a “sneak preview” of some of our offerings...

• Are you interested in parenting ideas and support? Then the double workshop “Parent to Parent: Sharing Your Wisdom” may be perfect for you! 
• Are you a new coordinator with many questions about your new role? Then the double workshop, “HELP! I’m a New Coordinator: GT 101” may be just what you need. 
• Are you interested in government action and the work done on behalf of gifted children through networking and partnering with our legislators? Then “Wisconsin State Gifted Advocacy Update” may satisfy your curiosity.
• Do you want to learn more about academic acceleration, and the Wisconsin Acceleration Project? Then “Making Informed Decisions about Academic Acceleration with the Belin-Blank Center” may answer your questions.
• Are you interested in career paths for gifted students? Then the workshop “Career Paths for Gifted Learners” may provide guidance.
• Are you a teen who is interested in learning about creative thinking processes, critical thinking processes, and problem solving processes? Then the Teen Conference “Pathways to Problem Solving” on October 3, 2021 (all day) may be just the pathway to enhancing your skills.

These snapshots are just a “sneak preview” of the workshops offered on Sunday, October 3, 2021. There are many more exciting workshops, exhibitors, and networking opportunities on the docket for October 4 and 5th, and we will preview them in the months to come. Please share information about our conference with your friends, family, and colleagues; your word of mouth is our best advertising! 

As you plan to attend our conference, be sure to watch for updates and teasers about our planned activities; we have lots of surprises! Also, please extend a warm welcome to Roxane Hagedorn online! We wish you could meet her in person at a face-to-face conference, but that will have to wait until 2022. We are sure that you will find her warm, knowledgeable, and engaging, just as we have! 

WATG extends a huge thank you to Dr. German Diaz of Milwaukee Public Schools for translating this article into Spanish for our families and educators who speak Spanish. The translation can also be found on our website.