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Founders and Directors
Donna Hulsey and Karen Langdon founded and co-direct ACE Academy.
Donna Hulsey
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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
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Karen Langdon, M.Ed.
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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
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Elizabeth Lay
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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 (Dubin), 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
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Peyton Smith
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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
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Teachers
Caroline Poe
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Little Rockets (3 year olds)
cpoe@austingifted.org
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Lorraine Berquist
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Teacher's Aide Little Rockets
lberquist@austingifted.org
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Melinda Rincon
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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
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Kate Clark
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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
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Karin Asplin
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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
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Melanie Cravey
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Primary 4
mcravey@austingifted.org
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Deanna Buckley
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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
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Laura Zahm
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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
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Andrew Wildman
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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
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Lauren Siegel
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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.
siegel@austingifted.org
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Bazile Lanneau
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Math
While earning his B.A. at Rhodes College, Mr. Lanneau cultivated a passion for interdisciplinary
approaches to learning. Though his degree reads "Spanish," Mr. Lanneau's research frequently integrates
his academic and personal interests in Math and Music. In all his classes he tries to impart in his
students an appreciation and enthusiasm for the integration of their own studies. Mr. Lanneau comes to
ACE having tutored Math and taught English as a Second Language to students of all ages and many
nationalities. When not teaching, he enjoys traveling and writing music.
blanneau@AustinGifted.org
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Sally DeForest
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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
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Allison Shugart
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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
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Ana Orozco
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Spanish
aorozco@austingifted.org
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Donna Hulsey
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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
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Matt Davidson
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Language Arts, History
A recent graduate of the University of Texas, Matt triple-majored in English, History, and Philosophy.
In his own words: "I remember very clearly the moment I realized I had to be an educator. As I was reading
Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed, the full gravity of education's place in society fell upon me
like a sack of bricks. I knew then, and have not forgotten since, that education could just as easily
liberate its students as lock them into old ways of thinking. After that realization, I have become
interested in every aspect of education, from textbooks to curriculum to infrastructure to the architecture
of school buildings." Matt teaches upper elementary classes in Language Arts and
American Studies, and he leads the afterschool Chess Club.
mdavidson@austingifted.org
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Tabitha Molett
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Language Arts, Middle School; Destination Imagination
tmolett@austingifted.org
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Natalie Sharpe
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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
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Chris Lay
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Reading Teacher and Mentor
clay@austingifted.org
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Karen Langdon
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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
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Dr. Claudia Legarreta
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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
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Akina Adderley
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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
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Andie Jew
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Art
ajew@austingifted.org
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Paul Chaplin
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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
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Todd Hester
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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
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Coach Bob McLucas
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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
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Jack Fogarty
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Teacher's Aide
jfogarty@austingifted.org
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Joshua Pero
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Teacher's Aide, Fencing
jpero@austingifted.org
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Tenley Sage
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Teacher's Aide
tsage@austingifted.org
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