Founders and Directors

Donna Hulsey and Karen Langdon founded and co-direct ACE Academy.

Donna Hulsey	Head of School As an undergraduate at Rhodes College and a graduate student at the College of William and Mary, Mrs. Hulsey pursued a strong foundation in the classical liberal arts, linguistics, literary analysis, rhetoric, and composition. Mrs. Hulsey has worked as a senior technical writer, publication editor, and project manager in business; a freelance writer in banking and healthcare; and an instructor in writing in elementary and college classrooms. Outside academics, she has enjoyed teaching in several realms, but her favorite challenge has been coaching teams in creative problem solving (Odyssey of the Mind and Destination Imagination) since 1990. Led by the needs of her own children into advocacy for gifted children, Mrs. Hulsey has trained in best methods for teaching gifted learners, as well as Montessori methods and the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme. A veteran of several startups, Mrs. Hulsey has been a founding member of several professional organizations and publications. dhulsey@austingifted.org
Karen Langdon, M.Ed.	Director of Admissions and Counselor Mrs. Langdon graduated from Emory University with a double major in Biology and Psychology and completed her Masters in Education at the University of Arizona, with a specialty in counseling and parent education. Employment in several medical hospitals followed, where she did parent education and training, therapy, marketing, and served as a consultant and speaker on a range of medical topics. Mrs. Langdon completed all coursework for a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of South Carolina and finished her internship at Austin State Hospital. When she struggled to find gifted services for her own children, Mrs. Langdon changed directions. In 1999, she co-founded Summer Wonders, a summer program for gifted students, and completed an internship at the Gifted Development Center in Denver, emphasizing assessment of gifted children and counseling families on the social and emotional needs of this population. She serves as a community resource and public speaker on the needs of gifted students, conducts teacher training, and helped found the Austin chapter of the American Creativity Association. klangdon@austingifted.org
Elizabeth Lay	Program Coordinator, Shakespeare Instructor Ms. Lay holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Grinnell College, and has completed additional studies in film, theatre, and literature with the Libera Universit Internazionale Degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli in Rome, Trinity College in Dublin, and The University of Texas at Austin. Ms. Lay has also completed training and workshops in performance studies with the Gaiety School of Acting (Dublin), Shakespeare and Company, The Actors From the London Stage, The Globe Theatre (London), and The Royal Shakespeare Company (Stratford-Upon-Avon). Prior to joining Austin Gifted, Ms. Lay worked in the e-learning industry, UT Department of English, as a Shakespeare teacher for the Shakespeare at Winedale Outreach Program, and as a freelance theater actor, director, and performance coach. In addition to her work at ACE Academy, Ms. Lay is the Program Coordinator for Summer Wonders. elay@austingifted.org
Peyton Smith	Development and Administration Coordinator Ms. Smith graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Texas at Austin. As a Distinguished Graduate of the Plan II Honors Program, she completed a senior thesis on the philosophy and physics of time. During her time at UT, Ms. Smith was a Producer of The Broccoli Project theatre troupe and spent a summer as an actor in the Shakespeare at Winedale Program. Prior to joining ACE Academy, Ms. Smith worked in the Plan II Development Office and in the Region 6 Water Enforcement Division of the Environmental Protection Agency. Outside the office, Ms. Smith is a nationally ranked Scrabble player and member of the National Scrabble Association. She enjoys baking, needlepoint, and the poetry of Jacques Prévert. psmith@austingifted.org

Teachers

Caroline Poe	Little Rockets (3 year olds) Caroline Poe has been working with young children for over a decade. Most recently, she taught at St. David's Episcopal Day School for three and a half years. She enjoys facilitating exploration and discovery, as well as establishing a positive relationship with school for the youngest of students. As the parent of gifted children, she understands the need for a specialized educational environment. When she's not teaching preschool, Mrs. Poe works as a professional photographer. She puts these talents to use working with the middle school students on the ACE Academy year book. Mrs. Poe has two daughters who currently attend ACE. cpoe@austingifted.org
Lorraine Berquist	Teacher's Aide Little Rockets lberquist@austingifted.org
Melinda Rincon	Primary 1 Melinda Rincon began her teaching career after graduating from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. She has a B.S. and minored in Education and Child Development. Before coming to Austin she spent seven years in Houston teaching at Westchester High School in the Spring Branch School District. After her husband, Don, was transferred to Austin she worked for DHL Airways as an Account Executive selling International Service to high tech companies. After her daughter, Lauren was in elementary school she decided to go back to her first love, teaching. She had spent a lot of time working at Lauren's parent-co-op preschool and volunteering in elementary school. After successfully completing certification in elementary education, pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and gifted education training she was hired by AISD to teach first grade. Mrs. Rincon taught first grade for four years and pre-kindergarten for one year before starting the Primary I classes at ACE. This is her third year at ACE and she loves that she is able to incorporate all of her past experiences teaching these children. Mrs. Rincon especially loves teaching children to read and instilling the desire in them to learn and love school. mrincon@austingifted.org
Kate Clark	Primary 2 Ms. Clark's educational background includes a bachelor's degree from Syracuse University where she studied musical theatre and child psychology and a master's degree from the University of Texas at Austin in information studies. Within the realm of information studies, Ms. Clark focused on children's literature and she is particularly interested in an examination of children's illustrated literature as art. Following in the footsteps of two of her heroes, Jim Trelease and Esmé Codell, she is also a vocal advocate for the power of daily read-aloud. Ms. Clark is a member of the American Library Association, the Texas Library Association, the Art Libraries Society of North America, and the Association for Library Service to Children. In March of this year, she was honored to be chosen as an Ambassador for the Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival at the University of Southern Mississippi. Outside the classroom, you can find her roller skating, swing dancing, practicing yoga, or (most likely) in a library. kclark@austingifted.org
Karin Asplin	Primary 3 Karin Asplin received her degree in Early Childhood education from the University of North Texas in Denton, TX. Before that she attended Centenary College of Louisiana in Shreveport, LA for a year and a half to play volleyball for the Ladies. She was at ACE last year as an aide for the Pre-K and Kindergarten classes. She has now been teaching the Pre-K through first grade age group for 4 years and has a passion for children this age! In her free time she enjoys hanging out with friends and listening to live music, preferably Texas Country, and plays in many volleyball leagues around the Austin area throughout the year. Her parents live in Katy, TX and vacation in Pagosa Springs, CO when time allows. She has a sister, Kristin, who lives with her husband, Noah, and 2 dogs (Bailey Lou and Mia Pia) in New Braunfels, TX. They will be expecting their first child in February, Isabella Marie. Karin can't wait to be an aunt! kasplin@austingifted.org
Melanie Cravey	Primary 4 Melanie Cravey holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Communications and Political Science from Southwestern University at Georgetown, Texas. She was an Honors graduate of Texas Military Institute High School in San Antonio, Texas. Mrs. Cravey is certified to teach PK-4th grade generalist, Speech 8-12, and has most recently received 30 hours of gifted and talented education coursework through Region 13. She has completed Mel Levine's Schools Attuned training, as well as continuing education through the Institute of Excellence in Writing and Leader Writes. She has a variety of teaching experience, including several years' experience teaching 2nd and 3rd grades in the classical school model, in addition to teaching middle school language arts. Melanie is on the Board of Directors for Destination Imagination and is looking forward to assisting with the Destination Imagination program at ACE Academy. Melanie's son Michael will be attending ACE in the middle school grouping. Before her son's special needs led her to a career change, she held positions in corporate and high tech public relations. She has taught for the past two summers at Summer Wonders, leading such classes as Ants on the Move, Fractured Fairy Tales, Our Roman Roots, and Mythological Monsters. mcravey@austingifted.org
Deanna Buckley	Science Department Head Mrs. Buckley will be admitted to doctoral candidacy in the fall of 2008 at UT in the department of curriculum and instruction in Science Education. Her BS is in Biology/Science Education and her MS is in Biochemistry/ Science Education. Currently she has 76 hours of upper-level, formal university content science in her background and 24 years of teaching experience spanning public high school, private elementary, community college, and two universities. She has been trained by the National Science Foundation's Institute of Inquiry at the Exploratorium in San Francisco and in DNA analysis at Cold Spring Harbor by Dr. James Watson who won the Nobel Prize for his work on the double helix. Her most recent publication is from curriculum research completed in designing a new course in Biomedical Engineering at UT (2007) A Translational Bioengineering Course Provides Substantial Gains in Civic Scientific Literacy. Annals of Biomedical Engineering. She spent three years as a field coordinator in teacher development for NSF's Delta Rural Systemic Initiative when publishing (2002) "Where does 'Poly-water' come from anyway?" ENC Focus: A Magazine for Classroom Innovators. Increasing Your Mathematics and Science Content Knowledge. She currently TA's research methods in the UTeach program for the College of Natural Sciences, designs and delivers teacher professional development for the Texas Educational Agency and Girlstart. She believes that science as a way of knowing should be experienced by collecting data, analyzing results and proposing original explanations based on direct observations and credible inference. Mrs. Buckley's classes are fully hands-on, detailed, and somewhat rowdy. ACE students often have to be coerced out of the science classroom and frequently spend their breaks there. dbuckley@austingifted.org
Laura Zahm	Science, Primary Mrs. Zahm has a master's degree in Geology from the University of Texas. After spending 10 years working in research for the petroleum industry, she has turned her energy toward her true passion, teaching science. She has served on several K-12 education committees, published in many scientific journals, and spent most of her spare time (when not working and raising her three gifted children) working in the classroom helping to enrich the "hands-on" science activities at the elementary and middle school levels. Mrs. Zahm plans to share her passion for the natural sciences with all the students at ACE not only to help them learn about the inner-workings of the world around them but to help them grow into stewards of the planet for the future. "The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the most discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...' " Isaac Asmiov lzahm@austingifted.org
Andrew Wildman	Science and Math Andrew Wildman is proud to be a member of the math and science faculty at ACE Academy. Andrew first became acquainted with ACE in 2007 while working as a student teacher to Deanna Buckley on a special project to develop science curriculum on biowaste management and recycling that integrated concepts from evolution, ecology, and geography studies. Andrew joined the Summer Wonders teaching staff in 2007 and led classes on biomes, biochemistry, physics, and enzymes - earning fame and the nickname Enzyme Man. Andrew completed his B.S. degree in Human Biology from The University of Texas at Austin. He has worked as an analytical chemist at a pharmaceutical laboratory, where his main work was in method validation, with a focus on verifying quantitative methods of compounds in biological matrices and evaluating the long-term stability of pharmaceutical drugs in matrices. He is also an avid student of debate and will be leading a course on current events and public speaking for the upper elementary school students. awildman@AustinGifted.org
Lauren Siegel	Math Department Head Mrs. Siegel received her undergraduate degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Chicago in 1988. After spending time in the workforce, and while raising two gifted sons, she trained specifically to teach math using the inquiry method with the University of Texas College of Natural Sciences UTeach program. She is certified to teach mathematics at both the middle and high school levels in Texas. Mrs. Siegel also teaches spinning at the YMCA and volunteers regularly with Mobile Loaves and Fishes, and with Caritas. A favorite math class at ACE is Mrs. Siegel's annual bead extravaganza, featuring bead jewelry making and related spreadsheets. She presented at the conference for Texas the Association for the Gifted and Talented (TAGT) about the math labs she developed over the past two years. lsiegel@austingifted.org
Bazile Lanneau	Math A graduate of the Mississippi School for Math and Science, Mr. Lanneau is happy to be on the teaching side of GT education. After M.S.M.S., Mr. Lanneau minored in Mathematics and earned a B.A. in Spanish at Rhodes College. There, he developed a thirst for interdisciplinary research, exploring the parallels among math, literature, and music. During and after college, Mr. Lanneau traveled, studied, and worked in Chile, Spain, Mexico, South and North Korea, Japan, and China. When not teaching or traveling, he is usually reading or writing music. He recently released his first full-length concept album, The Sojourn of Professor Narducci. blanneau@AustinGifted.org
Sally DeForest	Primary Spanish and Yoga With 25 years' experience in public and private schools, Ms. DeForest brings an artistic flair to her classes at ACE. Her Bachelor's degree is in Communications, she holds teaching certificates for Speech and Spanish, and special college concentrations in Art and Drama. She is also a licensed massage therapist and yoga instructor. Given any fair-weather opportunity, Ms. Deforest conducts her classes outside. "Salud, dinero, y felicidad y el tiempo para gozarlos." "I wish you health, money, and happiness, and the time to enjoy them." sdeforest@austingifted.org
Allison Shugart	Latin Allison Shugart graduated Magna Cum Laude from The University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Latin. She is certified to teach both Latin and English. Allison is member of the Eta Sigma Phi Classics Honors Society and the Delta Kappa Gamma International Honors Society for Professional Educators. Allison taught school for twelve years in both the Austin and Eanes Independent School Districts before becoming a stay at home mom to her sons, Cameron and Cooper. Cameron is currently a student at ACE. shugart@austingifted.org
Ana Orozco	Spanish Mrs. Ana Sofia Orozco is originally from Colombia, South America. She lived in Madrid, Spain for many years, where she worked as a business consultant and executive trainer. Mrs. Orozco has a degree in Literature and Philosophy and also in Business Administration from one of the top universities in Colombia, and also holds an International MBA. As a student and as a professional trainer, Mrs. Orozco has traveled worldwide, responding to her big interest in other cultures and languages. She has worked and lived in Colombia, Spain, England, France, Italy and America and therefore has a rich international experience. She speaks four languages and has studied many more. She currently runs her own business, Anartis Agency, rendering Spanish teaching services to kids and adults based on the premise that there is no better way to learn a language than playing the role of the people who speak it. Her agency's classes usually involve listening and dancing to Hispanic music, singing Spanish songs and acting. Besides enjoying her 2 little kids, Mrs. Orozco also works in the promotion of art in her spare time. aorozco@austingifted.org
Donna Hulsey	Language Arts Department Head, Philosophy Mrs. Hulsey's LA classes combine the classical with the creative, integrating Latin and Greek roots for English words, a strong foundation in grammar, research techniques, presentation skills, and writing in many forms. All of this periodically goes into the slightly chaotic publication of the school paper. With the middle school students, Ms. Hulsey explores the big questions of life in Philosophy class. dhulsey@austingifted.org
Matt Davidson	Language Arts, History Matt Davidson graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2007 with a triple major in English, History, and Philosophy. He most recently worked for an online textbook publisher, writing content for a U.S. Government and U.S. History text. While studying at UT he worked for the Undergraduate Writing Center, the Writing Mentors Program, and Shakespeare at Winedale Outreach. His academic interests include American Imperialism, Education systems, Early 1900s America, Rhetoric, and Shakespeare. When not teaching, Mr. Davidson can often be found cycling, barbecuing, reading, and playing with his dog Kiwi. mdavidson@austingifted.org
Tabitha Molett	Language Arts, Middle School; Destination Imagination Ms. Molett was an undergraduate at the University of Arizona and the University of Texas at Dallas. She graduated with a B.A. from the school of Humanities and continued her education at Southern Methodist University, graduating with Honors and obtaining a M.Ed., Master Reading Teacher Certification, as well as a Gifted and Talented Endorsement. For the last seven years she has worked as a classroom instructor, special area teacher, and Gifted Specialist (Kinder-6th grade). She has experience writing curriculum, presenting teacher workshops on the nature and needs of gifted children, and piloting innovative programs. For the past three summers she has served as the Hall Director for SMU's College Experience program, where she mentored gifted high school students and helped them adjust to the expectations of university level coursework. Ms. Molett has been actively involved in Destination Imagination, Spelling Bee, Invention Convention, and various other academic and creative thinking competitions. She is a member of the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented, National Association for Gifted Children, and American Creativity Association. She believes in teaching heuristically and incorporating creative thinking and risk taking at every turn. When she's not working, she enjoys going to movies, traveling, writing, and keeping up with the extraordinary accomplishments of her past students. "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." - Confucius tmolett@austingifted.org
Natalie Sharpe	Language Arts and French Although a new teacher at ACE, Ms. Sharpe is a familiar face in the ACE community, having worked last year as a teaching assistant in the Primary II classroom. Before coming to ACE, Ms. Sharpe graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts in Plan II and English Honors and a minor in French. She wrote her undergraduate thesis on the separation of actor and character in early modern drama, earning her Special Honors in English. Ms. Sharpe has completed additional studies in French language and culture at the Université Jean Moulin in Lyon, France. She has also worked as both a reading tutor and as an instructor with the Shakespeare at Winedale Outreach Program. Outside the classroom, Ms. Sharpe's interests include acting, playing soccer, salsa dancing, and photography. nsharpe@austingifted.org
Chris Lay, M.Ed.	Reading Teacher and Mentor Ms. Lay comes from a large extended family of gifted teachers, so she grew up in the midst of conversations about learning. She has 26 years of experience in private and public schools teaching students ranging from pre-kindergarteners to high school seniors. Her Texas teacher certifications include Secondary French, Government and Economics; Elementary Education; Special Education; and English as a Second Language. She is particularly drawn to working with gifted and talented children because of the joys and challenges she encountered in rearing two exceptionally gifted children. Ms. Lay double-majored in French and Government to earn a B.A. with Honors from the University of Texas. Also at UT, she obtained an M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction with a Social Studies Emphasis. Significant trainings include Gifted and Talented Foundations Institute; New Jersey Writing Project: Capital City Writes; Balanced Literacy; Schools Attuned, All Kinds of Minds Institute; Assessment for Learning: Keeping Learning on Track; Hilda Taba Instructional Strategies, Advanced; and Ingersoll Rand Teacher Internship. She likes to hike, bike, dance, swim, cook, sing, and visit with friends and family. In her spare time, she's a private tutor for students of all ages in reading and writing. clay@austingifted.org
Karen Langdon	Emotional Intelligence Understanding and learning positive ways to deal with emotions, developing leadership and team skills, understanding and getting along with others, learning to use positive self-talk are all part of the Emotional Intelligence curriculum. Topics vary and are based on other aspects of the curriculum, i.e. social studies, history and language arts. Through hands-on experiential activities, group discussion, journaling and social interaction, children learn to better understand themselves and others, build self-esteem and empathy, and learn the positive use of perfectionism and risk-taking. klandgon@austingifted.org
Dr. Claudia Legarreta	Emotional Intelligence Dr. Legarreta holds a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Spanish from The University of Texas at Austin, a M.A. in Counseling from St. Edwards University, and a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from St. Mary's University, where she is a member of the Chi Sigma Iota Honors Society. She comes to ACE with a background in child development, child and adolescent counseling, and international diplomacy. clegarreta@austingifted.org
Akina Adderley	Drama and Music Mrs. Adderley (a.k.a. Mrs. A) is thrilled to join the ACE community. In addition to holding a Bachelor's degree in American Studies from Yale University, she was also Valedictorian of her graduating class from New York's LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts ("the Fame school"), where she was a drama major. She received her music training at the Manhattan School of Music, where she was a classical voice major, and pursued additional post-baccalaureate music education at Mannes School of Music and The New School. Mrs. A has been teaching music, drama, choir and voice lessons for several years, including two years at the family business, The Adderley School for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles. In addition to her education and years of teaching, her expertise in the fields of drama and music comes from many years of professional experience acting in plays, doing vocal arrangements, singing with bands and in choirs, and conducting choirs. Mrs. Adderley is a dedicated vocalist, songwriter, performer and instructor, and is excited about bringing her love of music and theater to your children. Additionally, Mrs. A is currently offering private vocal coaching. Feel free to contact her for information on voice lessons. aadderley@austingifted.org
Andie Jew	Art Mrs. Jew originally comes from Chicago. She studied art at The Minneapolis College of Art and Design and The McNay Art Institute in San Antonio. She was an elementary school substitute teacher and library assistant before becoming a children's art instructor. Other than teaching art to children, Mrs. Jew runs her own small business creating custom, handmade invitations, greeting cards and gifts. She has also taught classes in rubber stamping, printmaking and papermaking. Mrs. Jew lives in Round Rock with her husband and has 4 children of her own, ages 15,17, 21, and 22. ajew@austingifted.org
Paul Chaplin	Chess A United States Chess Federation-certified National Master (NM), Mr. Chaplin instructs ACE students weekly on the basics of chess as well as advanced strategies and tournament play. pchaplin@austingifted.org
Todd Hester	Robotics Mr. Hester has a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering from Northeastern University and is currently studying for his PhD in Computer Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. His PhD focus is on Artificial Intelligence, and he is researching both machine learning and robotics. At UT, he is developing algorithms to make computers learn through experience. He is also a member of the UT Austin Villa robot soccer team, which competes in the international RoboCup competition every year. Mr. Hester brings his excitement and passion for robotics and artificial intelligence to the classroom. Mr. Hester has also worked for the Air Force, Sun Microsystems, Motorola, and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. thester@AustinGifted.org
Coach Bob McLucas	Physical Education Owner and Director of Stretch-N-Grow of Central Texas, Coach Bob uses games and exercises to teach sportsmanship and skills while students learn about the body, proper alignment, and nutrition. coachbob@austingifted.org
Jack Fogarty	Teacher's Aide jfogarty@austingifted.org
Joshua Pero	Teacher's Aide, Fencing Coach Joshua Pero graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 2007 with a bachelor's degree with a major in History and a minor in English. He has been with the UT Fencing program for nearly a decade, arriving shortly after Head Coach Paul Schimelman. Getting his start in the University of Texas Physical Education fencing class, Coach Pero was a competitive member of the UT Fencing Team for more than five years, going to and medalling at multiple national championships, including the inaugural one at the University of Florida, and many SWIFAs (conference meets), fencing all three weapons, but with an emphasis on foil. During that time he also served as a Teaching Assistant for the PE classes at UT. As graduation eventually neared, Joshua set his sights on coaching and has served in that role since 2006. Coach Pero is certified as a Moniteur of Foil, Epee, and Sabre by the United States Coaching Association and the Academie d'Armes Internationale, and is nearing certification as a Prevot d'Armes. He is also certified as a fencing referee by the Fencing Officials Commission. Coach Pero's students will tell you that he is a strong proponent of combat relaxation and regularly tells not to "fence like spider monkeys!" Coach Pero has also been working with the Educators of Excellence teacher certification program since January, and is well on his way to certification as an English and Social Studies teacher for middle and high school grades. While working on this, he served as a substitute in AISD and spent many more hours observing in various classrooms. Coach Pero has also studied and been certified in all-level classroom management and pedagogy, which comes in handy while working as an aide in the P4 classroom. Having also worked in Child Support for the Attorney General's office, Coach Pero is quite excited to be here at ACE! jpero@austingifted.org
Tenley Sage DeKock	Teacher's Aide Ms. Sage completed her bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts at California State University, Chico with an emphasis in Humanities, and is working on her Master's coursework in elementary education. During her last year at Chico State, Tenley directed and coordinated a program for at-risk teens about respect and etiquette. The program was an uplifting success that is still used in the Boys and Girls Club of Chico today. Tenley was introduced to ACE last year while teaching the Computer Explorers after school program. She fell in love with the smiling faces of the students and staff and is thrilled to be a part of such a forward thinking school that focuses on the needs of the individual. tsage@austingifted.org