Happy Summer!

Congratulations to our NAG scholarship winners!

Marley Dodenho is the Senior Scholarship winner. Marley will studio Aerospace and Astronautical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology! Congrats Marley!

Jaxon Bayne is the student scholarship winner. Jaxon plans to go to the AIM for the Stars camp at UNO this summer! Congrats Jason!


Each year NAG offers a senior scholarship and a K-11 student scholarship to help defer tuition costs! Follow this link for more info regarding our scholarships.


NAG Board Member Voting

It is time once again to vote for NAG board members. The NAG board consists of 15 members from across the state of Nebraska, we feel it is very important that our board reflect our membership so we offer a diverse slate of candidates that truly represent our vast state. Please take a minute to read the following bios and vote! We currently have

  • Dr. Beth Maloney, Beth is a current NAG Board member and the current Teaching and Learning Consultant for Gifted and Talented Education in the Omaha Public Schools. Beth has served in various capacities on all levels of NAG. Beth brings a very large metropolitan district background and resources to our board leadership.
  • Lou Cox-Fornander, My name is Lou Cox-Fornander from ESU 16, and I am a long time educator with a passion for seeing all students succeed in the classroom and in life. I believe that organizations such as the Nebraska Association for the Gifted are imperative in helping ensure High Ability Learners receive the challenges and differentiation they need to be sufficiently challenged in order to reach their full potential. I feel representation from the western half of the state is important, and I would like to continue serving on the NAG board as it continues to work on behalf of all HAL learners. 
  • Lyndsey Douglas, Lyndsey is the current Director or Elementary learning in the North Platte public school system before this position she was the principal of Eisenhower elementary school, taught 2nd and 4th grades as well as the HAL coordinator. Lyndsey has served on the NAG board in the past and is a great resource for all things elementary to our Board.
  • Melissa Frans, This May, I will wrap up my 19th year as an educator. I was a general classroom teacher (3rd grade, 5th grade, and 6th-8th grades) for the first 15 years and have been a school administrator for the last four years. I started as Crete Middle School's assistant principal; and currently, I am the Coordinator of High Ability Learning and Instructional Technology for Crete Public Schools. For the last two years, I have led Crete’s district MTSS team and built and implemented systems for high ability learning and instructional technology.  
  • Melinda Henson, I am currently in my third year of PhD program at UNL specializing in early childhood and Autism Spectrum Disorders. I am the parent of a highly gifted girl and am passionate about parents of gifted children in the state of Nebraska. I would like to increase the visibility of parents and Twice Exceptional students on the autism spectrum and bring to the board the experience of a board certified ABA specialist.
  • Dr. Joan Jacobs, has worked in gifted education for more than three decades. She earned a doctorate in gifted education from the University of Connecticut and has taught in multiple states over the course of her career. She is interested in returning to the NAG board because Nebraska Department of Education is positioned to make important and lasting decisions about gifted that will require deep thinking about how it will affect learners and teachers across the state.



We have 5 openings on the NAG Board and would like to fill these positions with as much diversity from across the state and with not only educators but parent members as well. Please follow this link to vote for up to 5 new NAG Board members! Voting is open now and will close June 30th!