board updateS

August 2026 - WATG's Face-to-Face Meeting: Big Ideas, Executive Function, and Moving Forward

Last month, the WATG Board of Directors met in person for a full day of strategic planning. Face-to-face meetings are rare for our volunteer board, making this an important opportunity to reflect on our mission, evaluate our work, and plan how we can better serve gifted learners, educators, families, and advocates across Wisconsin.


There is a level of excitement and anticipation for our face-to-face meetings. We often approach our time together with an optimistic, and slightly unrealistic, belief in what we can accomplish in a single day. As the President, I felt a little like Clark Griswold in Christmas Vacation, setting standards that no single event could ever fully live up to.


That ambition is fueled by the collective "multipotentiality" of our board — our members bring diverse expertise, creativity, and passions that make us stronger, but also generate more great ideas than we have the capacity to pursue.


As Board President, my responsibility was to plan a day that balanced creativity with action. Fortunately, our executive team, Laura Mukerji, Michelle Burch, Stacy Novak, and I collaborated to design an agenda that intentionally supported executive functioning through thoughtful time-blocking, strategic delegation, and energy management. 


To support our own executive functioning, we leaned into productive constraints. (If you'd like a deeper understanding of how constraints boost problem-solving, I highly recommend reading Laura's recent Edutopia article, "Setting Up Constraints to Inspire Creative Thinking".)


Throughout the day, we reminded ourselves of one simple truth:

We have more good ideas than we have capacity to accomplish.


That simple statement helped us focus on the work that would have the greatest impact instead of trying to do everything.


Our work together included:

  • Reviewing member feedback. We analyzed our most-read newsletters, highest-performing social media posts, and engagement data to better understand what matters most to our community.
  • Celebrating our progress. We reflected on accomplishments from the past year, including our conference, webinars, book club, Educator Toolbox, website inquiry protocol, and our partnership as the local host affiliate for NAGC26.
  • Exploring new possibilities. Drawing inspiration from other state gifted associations, we brainstormed ideas that aligned with our mission and evaluated each one based on four questions:
  • Mission: Does this support our mission and the members we serve?
  • Impact: Will this make a meaningful difference for educators, families, or students?
  • Capacity: Do we have the people, time, and resources to do it well?
  • Commitment: Are we willing to put it on the calendar and commit to making it happen?
  • Creating action plans. We formed project teams, identified next steps, and established timelines to ensure our ideas move from discussion to implementation.


One immediate outcome of our meeting is the launch of Quarterly WATG Town Halls. These virtual gatherings will give educators, families, and advocates opportunities to connect, share ideas, and learn from one another across Wisconsin. Be sure to save the date for our first Town Hall on October 8, 2026. More information will be forthcoming.


Our face-to-face meeting reminded us that meaningful progress isn't about pursuing every good idea; it's about committing to the ideas that will have the greatest impact. 


Thank you for your continued partnership with WATG. We look forward to learning, growing, and advocating alongside you in the year ahead.



- Terese Weiler, WATG President


Thank you to Keelin Eggleston for the translation of this article for our Spanish-speaking educators and families.

July 2026

Summer may be here, but things have certainly not slowed down behind the scenes at WATG. Over the past few months, board members and committee volunteers have been hard at work planning events, developing resources, and looking ahead to some exciting opportunities for gifted learners across Wisconsin.


One of the biggest projects on the horizon is the 2026 National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Convention coming to Milwaukee November 5-8. This is a unique opportunity to showcase Wisconsin's gifted education community to a national audience. Several WATG board members are serving on the Local Host Committee and helping coordinate ways to highlight the amazing students, educators, schools, and organizations that make our state special.


A particularly exciting effort is the Local Spotlight initiative. We are currently gathering submissions for student performances, student artwork, and displays from schools, districts, and organizations throughout Wisconsin. Our goal is to create a showcase that reflects the creativity, talent, and innovation happening in communities across the state while helping conference attendees experience the best of what Wisconsin has to offer. View this flyer for more information on how your students, school, district, or company can be highlighted at the conference.


The Board has also spent time discussing future programming opportunities for members. Whether through virtual events, conferences, book studies, or resource sharing, we continue to look for ways to provide meaningful support for educators and families. One recent highlight was the success of our spring book study of the book Gifted and Distractible. The sessions were well attended, conversations were engaging, and participants shared overwhelmingly positive feedback. Opportunities like these remind us how valuable it is to learn alongside colleagues who share a passion for supporting gifted learners.



As this newsletter goes to press, the Board is also preparing for our annual face-to-face planning meeting. This dedicated time together allows us to step back from day-to-day operations, think strategically, and identify ways WATG can better serve gifted learners, educators, families, and advocates throughout Wisconsin. We will be exploring new programming ideas, strengthening collaboration across committees, and identifying opportunities to better meet the needs of our members and constituents across the state.


Several committees continue to meet regularly, working on everything from membership engagement and communications, to scholarships, conference planning, advocacy, and resource development. While much of this work happens quietly in the background, it is helping build a stronger organization and create more opportunities for our members.


One thing that consistently stands out to me is the dedication of the people involved with WATG. Board members, committee volunteers, presenters, and members all bring unique expertise, perspectives, and dedication to the table. Together, we continue to advocate for gifted learners and work toward ensuring they have access to meaningful opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive.


Thank you for being part of the WATG community. Your support, ideas, and involvement help make this work possible. We are excited about what lies ahead and look forward to sharing more updates as the year progresses.


Have a wonderful summer, and thank you for all you do on behalf of gifted learners across Wisconsin!


- Laura Mukerji, WATG Board Secretary


Thank you to Keelin Eggleston of the WATG Board for the translation of this article for our WATG educators and families.