Speakers & Panelists

Session: Leading With Autism: Challenges and Opportunities for Neurodivergent Minds (9:00-10:00am)

Bio: Holden Thorp became Editor-in-Chief of the Science family of journals in October 2019. He came to Science from Washington University, where he was provost from 2013 to 2019 and professor from 2013 to 2023. He is currently a professor of chemistry and medicine at George Washington University and on leave to serve as the Editor-in-Chief at Science.

Thorp joined Washington University after spending three decades at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), where he served as the 10th chancellor from 2008 through 2013.

Thorp earned a Bachelor of Science degree from UNC, a doctorate in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology, and completed postdoctoral work at Yale University. He holds honorary degrees from the Olin College of Engineering, Hofstra University, and North Carolina Wesleyan College and is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Inventors, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Thorp cofounded Viamet Pharmaceuticals, which developed VIVJOA (oteseconazole), now approved by the FDA and marketed by Mycovia Pharmaceuticals. Thorp is a venture partner at Hatteras Venture Partners, a consultant to Ancora, Huron, and Urban Impact Advisors, and is on the board of directors of PBS and Saint Louis University. He serves on the scientific advisory boards of the Yale School of Medicine and the Underwriters’ Laboratories Research Institutes. In 2023, STAT named Thorp to its STATUS list of top leaders in the life sciences. In 2025, he was given the Donald A. B. Lindberg Award for Distinguished Health Communications by the Friends of the National Library of Medicine.

Session: OverAccommodation: The Pitfalls in Parenting and Education (TBD)

Bio: Dr. Jen is a nationally recognized child, adolescent, and family psychologist who is an expert in emotion regulation strategies and effective communication, helping people revolutionize the way they feel, to flourish in their relationships and life. 

With her clinical acumen and straightforward, authentic approach, she teaches how to govern your feelings and reclaim the right to feel fully, live genuinely, and connect deeply.

Founder of Hartstein Psychological Services, a group psychotherapy practice in New York City, Jennifer Hartstein, PsyD specializes in the treatment of high-risk children and adolescents and their families.

She is a frequent contributor on NBC’s The Today Show and NBC News Now, the mental health contributor for Yahoo! Lifestyle and Yahoo! News, and the psychological/lifestyle contributor on CBS’ The Early Show.

Dr. Jen is the author of Princess Recovery: A How-To Guide to Raising Strong Empowered Girls Who Can Create Their Own Happily Ever After, and she is a self-esteem ambassador for Dove’s Real Beauty campaign, which aims to increase confidence for girls and women.

In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Jen is a leading speaker and consultant, working to develop more balanced and effective leaders - in family systems, schools, and workplaces.

Session: Design for All: Building Universally Designed Pathways from School to Career for Neurodivergent Learners (3:00-4:00pm)

Bio: Dana Baker, Ed.D. is an Assistant Professor of Education and Director of the Teacher of Students with Disabilities graduate program at Fairleigh Dickinson University, where she prepares pre-service and in-service teachers to effectively support students with disabilities in PK-12 settings. She brings 15 years of experience as an early childhood educator and learning specialist, during which she collaboratively designed inclusive models of instruction and intervention to promote achievement for all students. Grounded in neurodiversity studies, her research explores innovative school design that positions neurodiversity as normative, attending to and engaging neurodivergent voices to inform instructional and organizational decision making. 

Session 1: From Spark to Strategy: AI-Supported Lesson Design for Twice-Exceptional Learners (TBD)

Session 2: Planting Possibilities: The Trellis & Blossom Model for 2e Learners (TBD)

Bio: Dr. Claire E. Hughes is Professor of Special, Gifted, and Twice-Exceptional Education at Cleveland State University. Previously, she was Professor of Elementary and Special Education at the College of Coastal Georgia, Faculty Director of Special Education Programmes at Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK and has been a Fulbright Scholar to Greece twice. Winner of the Gifted & Award from NAGC, she is President of The Association of the Gifted for the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC-TAG). Her research areas include: twice-exceptional children- particularly gifted children with autism; Generational studies; the use of AI in education, and international education.

Session: Boost Writing Skills: Using Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) to Help Students Find Their Voice (TBD)

Bio: Pooja Patel, MA, is a learning specialist who has been an English, history, and humanities educator for over two decades. After receiving her MA from Teachers College, Columbia University, she has worked as a middle school general educator, a K-12 learning specialist, and/or a teacher leader. Currently, Pooja is in her 6th year at the Dwight-Englewood School (Englewood, NJ) as a 7th-grade English and History Teacher with additional responsibilities as a member of the Advisory Committee, the Middle School Reading/Literacy Coordinator, and the Middle School English Curriculum Coordinator. In addition to being a classroom teacher, Pooja has been a consultant, teacher leader, and coach who has supported schools and teachers in using evidence-based literacy practices to help students reach their true academic potential, regardless of learning profile. She was an adjunct instructor for both pre- and in-service educators earning their MA as a Reading Specialist at Teachers College, Columbia University.  Pooja has engaged in a variety of action research and has published her findings and approaches in articles, blogs, book chapters, and books.  She is passionate about building foundational literacy skills, using appropriate formative and diagnostic assessments to understand learners, supporting students and families in the use of evidence-based practices to optimize learning and equity in education.

Session: Design for All: Building Universally Designed Pathways from School to Career for Neurodivergent Learners (3:00-4:00pm)

Bio: Rebecca Sime Nagasawa became the Director of the Center for Accessibility Resources & Disability Services (CARDS) at Barnard College in August of 2021, after serving as the Associate Director from August of 2019-2021. She previously served as a Learning Specialist at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. She holds a Master’s of Education in Curriculum & Instruction with an emphasis on Special Education from Arizona State University. 

Session: Design for All: Building Universally Designed Pathways from School to Career for Neurodivergent Learners (3:00-4:00pm)

Bio: Katie Travia is Head of Talent Development and Diversity for Morgan Stanley’s Investment Management Business, a member of the Global Talent Operating
Committee, and manages the neurodiversity efforts for Morgan Stanley. She joined the firm in 2009 and has held a number of roles across the Human Resources team including leadership roles in talent acquisition, talent development, and as an HR business partner. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Katie was at Bank of America and Merrill Lynch. She has over 20 years experience in human resources.

Outside of Morgan Stanley, Katie is an avid member in her community and supports disability inclusion along with her husband. She is on the board of the New Providence Education Foundation and is on the Community Advisory Board at the Kessler Foundation. Katie has a BS from Villanova University.

Session: Between Worlds: How Twice-Exceptional Students Form Identity (TBD)

Bio: Dr. Debbie Troxclair, Associate Professor, developed/teaches online graduate courses in special and gifted education at Lamar University. During her 20 years of K-12 teaching and now, in her current role, she advocates for children with exceptionalities, particularly those who are gifted and twice-exceptional. In 2024, she received the CEC-TAG Service Award and was recognized as an international scholar by Phi Delta Beta Honor Society for International Students at Lamar. Dr. Troxclair is currently the President of AGTS in Louisiana and a member of the Board of Directors for the Louisiana School for Science, Mathematics, and the Arts. She has served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Texas Association for the Gifted and The Council for Exceptional Children-The Association for the Gifted. Dr. Troxclair was Co-Chair of the 2005 World Council for Gifted and Talented Conference In New Orleans. Dr. Troxclair was recently elected Treasurer for The Association for the Gifted (TAG). She was co-editor of Twice-Exceptional Education: Connecting Gifted and Special Education, and she has publications in other books and in journals in the field of gifted education. She presents conference sessions at the local, state, regional, national, and international levels in the area of gifted and twice-exceptional education. She is an active member of several professional organizations, participating on committees regularly. With gifted education and teaching as her major passion, she has recently revisited another passion, becoming an artist.

Session: Overcoming Perfectionism: How to Stop Moving the Finish Line (TBD)

Bio: Matthew “Dr. Matt” Zakreski, PsyD is a high energy, creative clinical psychologist and professional speaker who utilizes an eclectic approach to meet the specific needs of his neurodivergent clients. He is proud to serve the Gifted community as a consultant, a professor, an author, and a researcher. He has spoken nearly a thousand times all over the world about supporting neurodivergent clients, organizational wellness, and mental health. Dr. Zakreski is a member of Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG), the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), the New Jersey Association for Gifted Children (NJAGC), and Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education (PAGE). Dr. Zakreski graduated from Widener University’s Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology (IGCP) in 2016. He is the co-founder of The Neurodiversity Collective, LLC, co-host of the podcast “Nerding out on Neurodiversity,” and the author of the Neurodiversity Playbook: How Neurodivergent People Can Crack the Code of Living in a Neurotypical World.