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The Center for Gifted Education at The College of William and Mary, a research and development center, was established in 1988 under the direction of Dr. Joyce VanTassel-Baska. The center provides services to educators, policy makers, graduate students, researchers, parents, and students in support of the needs of gifted and talented individuals. Located in Williamsburg, VA, the center has established a national reputation for excellence in research, curriculum development, and service. Several major grants, including funding from the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act, have provided significant support for the work of the Center.

Virginia Caine Tonneson, Ph.D., is the Vice President of Stronge and Associates Educational Consulting, LLC. In addition, she serves as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. In these capacities, she works with regional, state, and international agencies as well as individual school districts to design and implement teacher, educational specialist, and administrator evaluation systems. Ginny was in the first class of women to graduate from the U.S. Air Force Academy, and served in the Air Force for over 20 years. She has remained active in the education of cadets, speaking in various forums about leadership and character development. She has taught at the elementary through graduate levels and has been a higher education administrator. She has presented at national-, state-, and local-level conferences in the areas of leadership, mathematics, and gifted education. Her current areas of research include teacher leadership as well as teacher and leader effectiveness. Her work has been published in both books and peer-reviewed journals. Ginny received her doctoral degree in Educational Policy, Planning, Leadership from the College of William and Mary.