ABOUT THE CENTER

The mission of the Center for Gifted Education Policy, which is housed in APA's Education Directorate is to generate public awareness, advocacy, clinical applications, and cutting-edge research ideas that will enhance achievement and performance of children and adolescents with special gifts and talents. We hope to provide APA members and the general public with information pertaining to schooling, parenting, and the development of careers.

MEET THE STAFF

Rena Subotnik, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Gifted Education Policy

Rena F. Subotnik began her position as Director of the Center for Psychology in the Schools and Education at the American Psychological Association in January 2002. Before she came to APA, Dr. Subotnik was Professor of Education at Hunter College, where she coordinated the secondary education program and served as research and curriculum liaison to the Hunter College laboratory schools (grades PK-12). In 1997-98, Dr. Subotnik was an APA Congressional Fellow in child policy with U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee. Her fellowship assignment involved drafting and promoting legislation related to teacher quality, which led to passage of Title II of the Higher Education Act in 1998. Since the fellowship, Dr. Subotnik has been actively involved in the community of scholars and practitioners concerned about federal policy related to teacher education.

Dr. Subotnik has been awarded grants from the McDonnell Foundation, the Institute for Education Sciences, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, the American Psychological Foundation, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Education Javits program, and the Spencer Foundation.

She is co-editor (with Robert Sternberg) of Optimizing Student Success with the Other Three R’s (in press), (with Herbert Walberg) The Scientific Basis of Educational Productivity (in press), (with Kurt Heller, Franz Monks, and Robert Sternberg) The International Handbook of Research on Giftedness and Talent(2nd Edition) (2000), (with Karen Arnold and Kathleen Noble) Remarkable Women: Perspectives on Female Talent Development (1997), (with Karen Arnold) Beyond Terman: Contemporary Longitudinal Studies of Giftedness and Talent (1994), and the author (with Lee Kassan, Alan Wasser, and Ellen Summers) of Genius Revisited: High IQ Children Grown Up (1993).

Ashley Edmiston is the Administrative Coordinator for the Center of Psychology in Schools and Education. She provides support and assists with projects involving the Coalition for Psychology in Schools and Education; the Applications of Psychological Science to Teaching and Learning Task Force, and the Task Force on the Impact of Elementary and Secondary School Zero Tolerance Policies. Ashley also helps coordinate the APA/IES Postdoctoral Educational Research Training program as well as the APEX program in the Center for Gifted Education Policy.

Prior to working at APA, Ashley spent a year abroad teaching ESL at an independent English school in Japan. Research interests include body image and eating disorders in relation to cultural/socioeconomic diversity. She holds a Bachelors of Science in Psychology with a concentration in Neuroscience from the University of Westminster.