Executives & Charipersons

Our board

Krisa Muller, President

Krisa Muller recently became the GATE program specialist for Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District. Prior to that, Krisa was a cluster model and magnet school teacher in the GATE program for Placentia-Yorba Linda School District. Krisa received her MA in Gifted Education from the University of Connecticut. Krisa has served as the Orange Region Educator representative, Secretary, and now serves as President-Elect on the Executive Board.

Dr. Julia Nyberg, Executive Director

Dr. Julia Nyberg serves as the Executive Director for the California Association for the Gifted. Dr. Nyberg is a leading K-12, gifted, and curriculum development expert with professional experience in North America and Asia. Dr. Nyberg has taught, delivered demonstration lessons, and provided professional development for grades K-12 at various school districts. Dr. Nyberg serves as a faculty member in the School of Education at Purdue University Global. As a graduate of the University of Southern California (USC), she holds a doctorate with an emphasis in Teacher Education. Dr. Nyberg’s research and practice focus on differentiated curriculum and instruction for diverse gifted and talented students.

Krista Landgraf, Past President

Krista Landgraf serves as President for the California Association for the Gifted. Krista Landgraf has had several roles for the California Association for the Gifted including Joshua Tree Educator Representative, Education Chair, and Parent Chair. Krista has been an elementary GATE teacher for 20 years and has received the Sarah D Barder-Johns Hopkins University Lifetime Fellowship Award, CAG Distinguished Service Award and Teacher of the Year for Chino, California from the State Assembly. Krista is a speaker throughout the state on gifted education and serves as an adjunct instructor for the UC Riverside GATE Certification Program.

Paula Simka, Secretary

Paula Simka embarked on her journey into gifted education in 2010 as a result of her volunteering work at her children’s school. Witnessing how gifted children often go through school without having their academic needs met has led her to switch gears, leaving her industrial engineering background and entering the world of gifted education. As a passionate and tireless advocate for gifted children, Paula has successfully worked with the school administrators and staff to build a gifted program. Having graduated from the Three Summers Program in Gifted Education at the University of Connecticut, she currently serves as the Gifted Coordinator for Discovery Charter Schools in San Jose, working with gifted students, providing advanced resources for teachers, and supporting parents of gifted children. Paula has served as the Santa Lucia Region Parent Representative since 2016, and now as the Secretary on the Executive Board.

Ann Smith, President-Elect

Ann Smith serves as Past President for the California Association for the Gifted. Ann is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Gifted Support Center in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Gifted Support Center provides support to families of gifted children, offering assessments, consultations, parent groups, and resources, and works with underserved schools in the Bay Area providing a music and arts integrated language arts curriculum that is aligned with the Common Core and Visual and Performing Arts standards. Ann serves on the advisory board for the Belin-Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development, on the Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee for USC/US Department of Education Jacob Javits Grant Project CHANGE, on the Editorial Board for the Gifted Education Communicator, on a public policy committee for the Institute for Educational Advancement, and as an advisor to UPP, the Untapped Potential Project.

Paul Bailey, Treasurer

Paul Bailey has served as a teacher and administrator in California for the past twenty years. He currently serves as the Executive Director of the nationally recognized Western Center Academy in the Hemet Unified School District. The school focuses on STEM education and serving the unique needs of high achieving students. He has worked with his team to develop an innovative program that combines a variety of pathways through science exploration, Advanced Placement courses, and college coursework. Paul also serves on the California STEAM Symposium Steering Committee working to bring unique educational experiences to educators throughout the state. He earned his Master of Business Administration from the University of Redlands with a focus on Knowledge Management and Marketing and is an active member of the California Association of School Business Officials. Paul looks forward to continuing to build on the culture of success that CAG has developed over the past 50 years working to support students, parents, and educators throughout California.

Dr. Pamela Lovett, Educator Representative Chair

Dr. Pamela Lovett has worked in gifted education for the past 25 years. She has been a classroom teacher, gifted coordinator, demonstration teacher and trainer offering professional development to school districts. Pamela received her MA in Gifted Education from the University of Connecticut and her doctorate at the University of Southern California focused on Teacher Education in Multicultural Societies. Her research interests include addressing the needs of underserved populations in gifted programs. Currently, Pamela serves as the Excellence and Equity Curriculum Coordinator for the Long Beach Unified School District.

Kari Lofing, Parent Representative Chair

Kari Lofing is a tireless advocate for advanced learners. Eminently qualified, she has more than fifteen years of experience working in gifted education. Kari holds a master’s degree in Educational Psychology, Gifted and Talented Education from the Three Summers program within the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. While there, Kari studied with Dr. Joseph Renzulli and Dr. Sally Reis, authors of the Enrichment Triad Model, and the Schoolwide Enrichment Model. Kari’s breadth of expertise includes GATE program design, talent development, differentiating instruction at the K-8 level, the social and emotional needs of gifted individuals, working with students from diverse populations, and gifted education theory. In addition to serving on the CAG Board as the Capitol Region Education Representative and Legislation Chair, she is the Coordinator for GATE and AP Programs at Sacramento City Unified School District. Kari has also worked as a GATE Resource Teacher and as a classroom teacher. Kari is passionately dedicated to urban gifted education and advocating for the academic and emotional needs of gifted and high ability learners in public school systems.

Dr. Sandra Kaplan, Education Chair

Dr. Sandra Kaplan is the editor of the Gifted Education Communicator, past President of the California Association for the Gifted and chair of both the Blue Ribbon Committee and Education Committee for the organization. Dr. Kaplan’s research focuses on non-traditional identification instruments to recognize underrepresented students as gifted. Dr. Kaplan has been recognized for her work, receiving the Award for Excellence from the Council of Exceptional Children, Service and Achievement awards from the National Association for Gifted Children, and the Research Award from the California Association for the Gifted. 

Dana Reupert, Public Relations/Membership Chair

Dana Reupert is a former GATE Teacher, K-12 GATE Coordinator. and Principal in Riverside Unified School District. Dana has served twice as CAG President and twice as CAG Secretary, in addition to being the Joshua Tree Education Representative. Dana is presently a CAG Board Member, UC Riverside Extension Instructor for the GATE Certificate Program, a member of Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce Business/Education Council, and Chair of the Annual Riverside College and Career Fair. Dana presents at the California Association for the Gifted, National Association for Gifted Children, and World Council for Gifted Education conferences.

Alicia Weyeneth, At-Large Representative

Alicia Weyeneth has been an advocate for gifted students in various capacities over the last 14 years in the Compton Unified School District. She has recently been appointed to Principal and aspires to have a GATE model school. Ms. Weyeneth has served as the District Administrator over GATE for many years, systemizing clear protocols for gifted identification in various domains, provided professional development for teachers, administrators, and parents, established a strong cohort of Site GATE Coordinators, created unique curriculum resources with the integration of GATE strategies, the Arts, and technology, served as a model GATE teacher, and organized many District GATE events.

Ms. Weyeneth has obtained two M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction and Administrative Leadership. She has a GATE Specialized Studies Certificate from UCI and worked several summers at the Summer Institute for the Gifted at Sierra Canyon. She has been a presenter and panelist at the California Association for the Gifted and World Council for Gifted and Talented Children conferences.

Andrea Zambrano, At-Large Representative

Andrea Zambrano is a Dual Immersion teacher who has taught in Jurupa Valley Unified School District for 8 years. Her driving force as an educator is to service her diverse community; to connect students and families to services that further develop cultural, linguistic and academic needs. She’s an advocate for early inclusion and identification of gifted students. She is currently a GATE coordinator in her district. She received her BA in Liberal Studies and Masters of Education from UC Riverside. She continues to work with the university by coaching and supporting the teachers of tomorrow.

Karen Anderson, At-Large Representative

Karen Anderson is the Arts & Enrichment Coordinator for the Pasadena Unified School District. She graduated from Northwestern University and received her Master’s degree in education from USC. Karen has worked in public, private, and charter schools in dual language environments as a teacher, administrator, and coach. She has collaborated extensively in gifted and talented education for over ten years with the California Association for the Gifted and is an Adjunct Professor in the MAT program at USC.

Dr. Susan Baum, At-Large Representative

Susan Baum, Ph.D. directs the 2e Center for Research and Professional Development at Bridges Academy. Susan is widely published in the field of gifted education including her seminal award-winning book (in its 3rd edition), To be gifted and learning disabled. Her expertise in twice exceptionality earned her many awards including the Weinfield Group’s, Lifetime Achievement Award, Connecticut Association for Gifted’s Friend of the Gifted Award, and Distinguish Professional Alumni Award from the UCONN School of Education. Dr, Baum served on the Board of Directors and Executive board of National Association for Gifted Students and is the co-founder and past president of the Association of the Education of Underachieving Students.

Thé Bui, At-Large Representative

Thé Bui is Teacher who is dedicated to bringing positive changes to all classroom learning and culture. He has been a classroom teacher in the Ontario Montclair School District for the past 10 years where he has had the pleasure of teaching multiple subjects ranging from 4th to 8th. In addition, he has been a GATE Trainer for his district and others, a demonstration teacher for the California Association for the Gifted and consultant for school in California. He is alum of USC and Claremont Graduate University. He is proud husband and father to two beautiful wild learning beings.

Patricia Chiles, At-Large Representative

Patricia Chiles is the GATE Coordinator for the Fullerton School District, working with teachers, students and parents to provide resources and strategies to support students’ diverse and varied needs with a focus on equity. Most recently she added a GATE Artistic Talent designation and programming for the district. Patricia is also the proud mom to three (very different!) gifted teens, giving her a unique perspective on the strengths and struggles of gifted students.

Dr. Derek David Rouch, Chief Technology Officer

Derek David Rouch is committed to helping students become all they were born to be. He lives and breathes education, and has a particular interest in technology’s potential to serve underprivileged communities. Over the last 13 years, he has worked in the capacities of paraeducator, secondary math teacher, and school board member—as well as engagement strategist at a large tech startup. He is currently the Chief Technology Officer for Valley Center-Pauma Unified School District.

Derek began his postsecondary journey studying petroleum engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. He later received his master’s degree in digital teaching and learning from Azusa Pacific University. He earned his doctorate in education from Vanderbilt University.

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