GEM Award Winners

Betty graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan University, Lincoln, Nebraska in 1979 and took the first gifted education class offered at her college. She substituted for 13 years in the Boise School District from 1989-2003 and was a long-term substitute for two GATE facilitators during that time. Those experiences solidified her desire to teach gifted students, and she moved into her first teaching position at Horizon Elementary School, in Boise, Idaho, where she taught a pilot self-contained classroom with K-3 graders. In 2009, Betty began teaching first and second grade highly gifted students in a self-contained classroom at Collister Elementary School, where she taught for 10 years. She retired in May 2019, so she now has time to partake in her favorite pastimes of xeric gardening, walking and hiking, and she has the luxury of time to indulge in her favorite activity, reading!

Betty’s passion for gifted education and her kind heart have touched the lives of many during her 30 years in the Boise School District. She is loved and respected by all who meet her.

Currently the Chair of Gifted Education at the School of Education at Whitworth University, Jann has been a fierce and steady advocate for gifted children for more than 30 years. She is a respected professor, advisor, and speaker in the field of gifted education. She has served as the Program Coordinator and President of Edufest since 1997, helping to provide Idaho teachers with the highest quality gifted education professional development in the state. Jann’s contribution to gifted education in Idaho is significant, and will continue to ripple throughout Idaho’s classrooms. Outside of Idaho, she is prolific in her advocacy and development of teachers of the gifted, and consistently demonstrates a commitment to gifted children around the world.

Diane has shared her love for creativity with gifted students and teachers throughout the states of Idaho and Washington. She has worked tirelessly to bring awareness to gifted education and her passion for this is always evident. Diane taught for 39 years in the public schools, she served as President of ITAG/SAGE and is currently the artistic director for the Future Design Academy, she is a trainer for ArtsED Washington and loves being retired!

Dianne has made an enormous difference into the lives of many. She is generous with support, advice, expertise and her time all with grace and professionalism. Her former students took away knowledge, but also assurance that she would support them as they grew up and figured out the path meant for them. Dianne is resourceful, bright, and she models what it truly means to be a lifelong learner.

After moving to Boise in 1975, she taught special education at Longfellow Elementary School for two years, then resigned from the school district and started working at the State Department of Education on a Special Ed Javits Grant to train teachers throughout the state in the implementation of PL.94-142. She continued working part and full time for the SDE until 1985. In 1985-1986, she filled in for Linda von Tagen and Susan Riley in the GATE Program while they were on leave.

In 1986, she was hired as a full-time GATE Facilitator based at Hillcrest Elementary School. She has worked at Highlands, Washington , Longfellow, Hillcrest, Monroe, Owyhee, Whitney, Liberty and was part of the original staff at Riverside Elementary School, starting in 1992. She has been at Riverside since then. Dianne is most proud of the individual connections she has made with students.

In addition to teaching in general education classrooms, Susan has served in administrative roles, as education director, and as a teacher in self-contained, multi-grade gifted classrooms. Indeed, she initiated one of the first District pilot programs of this type at Whitney Elementary for 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. Her work in identifying low-socioeconomic, culturally different and twice-exceptional gifted students has resulted in increased identification and placement of students in appropriate settings at her schools. She is an innovative educator who is a master of differentiation of instruction and construction of curriculum in order to meet the wide range of individual students’ readiness levels, interests and learning profiles in her classrooms. Susan has also been actively involved with ITAG/SAGE on the Executive Board. She continues in a leadership role by working with fellow organization representatives to advocate for support from the Idaho Legislature for gifted education.

Not only has she been there at the State Department probing, pushing, educating, drafting, and rallying for support and funding for gifted and talented education, but she has also been a great contributor and attendee to the ITAG meetings. Her energetic focus, care, and concern for gifted education has been amazing. Dr. Peggy Wenner completed degrees in Music and English at Northwest Nazarene College in 1974, an MA in Literature at Breadloaf School of English in Middlebury, VT in 1981, and a Ph.D. in British Literature at the University of Kansas in 1992. Peggy has worked for thirteen years as the Arts and Humanities Coordinator in the Idaho State Department of Education and additionally as Coordinator for Gifted and Talented in the past two years. Peggy’s most recent reading passion involves anything relating to creativity and how creative, divergent-thinking students learn. At work, she loves to serve those serving gifted students—and at home, she enjoys—traveling!

Peggy is an dedicated educator because she cares for kids. Even in her role at the State Department, it’s evident that she’s passionate about the cause.

Marlene has been involved in Gifted Education for 12 years, during which she has developed an in-depth, creative pull-out program for K-6 at COSSA.

Her peers say that Marlene is …”a positive and innovative advocate for gifted students. She is tireless in her dedication to providing a creative learning environment for her students in the five school districts she serves. She is an active and engaged professional and an enthusiastic supporter of her fellow educators and colleagues.”

Scarlett is in her 24th year of teaching, and has been advocating for and teaching gifted children since 2001. She taught in a full-time multi-grade gifted classroom at Whitney Elementary (a Title School) in Boise, Idaho. She became well-versed in the varying needs of low-income gifted and twice-exceptional students. So many students have benefited from her outreach and advocacy for all gifted learners. Scarlett currently teaches 3rd and 4thgrade GT students at Cynthia Mann Elementary. She has a vibrant classroom community where students are taken deeply into the math and sciences. STEM education is a passion for Scarlett. She takes every opportunity to develop a rich curriculum that integrates the math and sciences to instill this excitement in her students.

In 2011, she became the southwestern regional coordinator for Invent Idaho. Invent Idaho is a statewide student invention program which has provided a forum for thousands of young inventors in grades one through eight. Invent Idaho teaches the inventive thinking process in an interdisciplinary curriculum – perfect for incorporating STEM education by addressing numerous state standards. Young inventors participate in progressive levels of competitions, including three Regional events held across Idaho, culminating in an Invent Idaho State Finals event.

Scarlett is an exceptional and caring educator and GT advocator.

Christine Meyers-Zacharias (Chris) has been teaching at the Boise State University Children’s Center since 1999. Chris has an Associates degree and Bachelors degree in Child Care and Development. Chris is in the Master’s program at BSU for Early Childhood Studies. Chris is the Looping Program Supervisor, and is also the Lead Teacher in the Looping Program.

“I believe all children are gifted. I am thankful for the 45 years I have been given the opportunities to help students pursue their interests and passions.” - Alyce Lundbohm

Linda stands apart as an exceptional educator and GT advocator. She has been involved with ITAG since 1999 and has served as the organization’s past president. Linda is truly a positive, creative, innovative and fascinating person!

Linda has been advocating for and teaching gifted children since 1980. She started the first elementary gifted program in Albuquerque, NM, at Navajo Elementary. Many Albuquerque students have benefited from her outreach and advocacy for gifted learners. In 1999, as a Boise School District GT employee, she helped design, lead, and implement new programs.

In addition to her classroom achievements, Linda is an instructional leader with a passion for creativity, science, and technology. She has served as the Destination Imagination Coach with over 9 teams as National Finalists, JASON Agent for Boise Schools Gifted Programs from 2000-2009, presented two strands at Edufest since 2000, and performed editorial work for MacMillan Publishing Company.

Linda has truly been a bright and shiny star in the gifted education community here and afar!

Community member Dr. Lorna Finman was presented the Gem Award at the CEC Conference in Sun Valley in October. Dr. Finman, from Post Falls, is active in making a significant impact on science education for students, not only in North Idaho, but throughout the entire state.

Dr. Finman personally sponsors hundreds of students on teams for the FIRST Robotics Competition, FIRST TECH Challenge, and FIRST Lego League. She has changed the lives of these students and will directly impact their futures, many of whom will enter fields in science, engineering or robotics solely because of this experience provided by Dr. Finman.

She is sponsoring robotics summer camps for students, which will deepen their enthusiasm for science and engineering. In addition, she is building a huge science center complex in the Coeur d’ Alene area, which will have three sections: robotics activities, hands-on science center activities, and laboratories for students and teachers to conduct real-world science research.

Dr. Finman has been a judge for the Regional Invent Idaho competition. Lorna worked tirelessly to assist a Post Falls robotics team to complete its robot for the FIRST Robotics Competition, where they finished 9th out of 51 teams in the whole northwest. Finally, by providing the FIRST Lego League opportunity for students, one team of fifth graders had the amazing opportunity, after winning the State competition, to be selected as one of only six teams to present their research solution at the Children’s Climate Call in Copenhagen, Denmark.

There is simply no other single individual in this state who is currently having as much impact on students’ education as Dr. Lorna Finman.