James C. Kaufman is a Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut. He is the author/editor of more than 45 books, including Creativity 101 (2nd Edition, 2016) and the Cambridge Handbook of Creativity (2nd Edition, with Robert Sternberg; 2019). Kaufman has also published books with his wife, Allison, on animal creativity and pseudoscience and a book about terrible baseball pitchers with his father, Alan. He has published more than 300 papers, including the Four-C Model of Creativity (with Ron Beghetto) and the study that spawned the “Sylvia Plath Effect.” He is a past president of Division 10 (Society for Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, & the Arts) of the American Psychological Association (APA). James has won many awards, including Mensa’s research award, the Torrance Award from the National Association for Gifted Children, and APA’s Berlyne, Arnheim, and Farnsworth awards. He co-founded two major journals (Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts and Psychology of Popular Media Culture). Kaufman has tested Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s creativity on CNN, appeared in the hit Australia show Redesign Your Brain, and narrated the comic book documentary Independents. His musical Discovering Magenta played NYC and its cast album is available on CD and most streaming services. Kaufman has blended his theatre and creativity interests in a forthcoming book with composer Dana Rowe, Creating Your Spotlight: Lessons from Harold Hill, Evita, and Hamilton.
Dr. Catherine Little is a Professor in Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent Development in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut. She joined the UConn faculty in 2004 and teaches courses in gifted education and in the undergraduate Honors Program, and she was recognized as a University Teaching Fellow in 2012. She serves on the University’s Honors Board of Associate Directors and as one of the Honors Advisors for students in the Neag School of Education. Dr. Little’s research interests include professional learning, differentiation of curriculum and instruction for advanced learners, and classroom questioning practices. She co-edited the text Content-Based Curriculum for High-Ability Learners with Joyce VanTassel-Baska. She has been the Project Director for Project SPARK and Project LIFT, two recent Javits-funded initiatives focused on working with schools and teachers to recognize and respond to advanced academic potential in the early grades, particularly in students from underserved populations.
Dr. Del Siegle holds the Lynn and Ray Neag Chair for Gifted Education and Talent Development and serves as director of the Renzulli Center for Creativity, Gifted Education, and Talent Development. He also serves as principal investigator and director of the National Center for Research on Gifted Education (NCRGE), where he studies best practices for identifying and serving gifted students from underserved populations. He serves as PI and project director for Project BUMP UP (Building Up Mathematics Proficiency Utilizing Push In), which explores ways to ensure talented mathematics students make continuous progress by providing gifted education push-in services in their classroom. He is also PI for Project EAGLE (Eliciting Advanced Gifted Learning Evidence), which is developing a dynamic approach to equitably identify gifted ELs in the familiar context of classroom math instruction. He is co-creator of the Achievement Orientation Model, which addresses motivation issues and underachievement. Dr. Siegle is a well-respected leader in gifted and talented education. He is a past president of the National Association for Gifted Children, past board member of the Council for Exceptional Children–The Association for the Gifted, past chair of the Research on Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent SIG of AERA, 2011 recipient of the NAGC Distinguished Service Award, 2018 recipient of the NAGC Distinguished Scholar Award, and 2021 Ann F. Isaacs Founder’s Memorial Award. He was a founding co-editor of the Journal of Advanced Academics and co-editor of Gifted Child Quarterly. Dr. Siegle is coauthor of the 6th and 7th editions of Education of the Gifted and Talented. In 2016, he received the Palmarium Award, which is given yearly to the individual most exemplifying the vision of a future in which giftedness will be understood, embraced, and systematically nurtured. He also served as Co-PI for the Javits Act-funded Project EDGE in Montana and Co-PI for the Increasing Academic Achievement Study for the former national research center, NRC/GT. Prior to becoming a professor, Del worked with gifted and talented students in Montana. Del is not accepting new doctoral students.