About

Established in 2004

Maryland Educators of Gifted Students evolved from a need among educators to unify and collaborate in maintaining and improving gifted education services for children in the state of Maryland.
​
The members of MEGS are able to enhance curriculum, instruction, and achievement for all students by combining efforts to provide educators with professional development, conferences, and networking opportunities.
​

• MEGS is an organization of Maryland Educators that promotes leadership in the field of gifted and talented education and provides opportunities for professional development.
• MEGS serves in a advocacy role for maintaining and improving gifted and talented education for students in the state of Maryland.
• MEGS monitors legislation related to gifted and talented education and disseminates such information to educators and advocates of gifted and talented education.
• MEGS sponsors an annual statewide conference on gifted education with sessions to help teachers develop techniques, curriculum, and program alternatives for challenging gifted children.

Our Goals

• ​To encourage and promote leadership and support networking in gifted and talented education among members of the corporation.
• To promote and provide opportunities for professional growth for members.​To serve in an advocacy role for gifted and talented education in the state of Maryland.
• To promote opportunities for collaboration with other professional organizations and institutions with like purposes.
• To influence the development and implementation of gifted and talented education policies within the state of Maryland.
• To promote and encourage the development of approved coursework in gifted and talented education with institutions of higher education.
• ​To recognize outstanding teachers/administrators of gifted and talented students.

Our Executive Board

Penny Zimring (she/her)
President
​

Penny Zimring is the current President of the Maryland Educators of Gifted Children (MEGS) and serves an adjunct instructor at the Johns Hopkins University for graduate students in the International Teaching for Global Leadership Cohort. She has been honored for her work by The Marquis Who’s Who Publications Board as a recipient of the 2022 Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award and will be featured in the 2023 edition of Who’s Who in America publication. Penny has worked in the field of gifted education for over 25 years in various classroom and district-level leadership positions. She served as a central office leader in the Howard County and Loudoun County (Virginia) Public School Systems, a presenter at various national and state conventions, and a consultant for several school districts in Maryland and the Iksan Public School System in Iksan, South Korea. Penny was awarded a Maryland State Leadership Award and the Gifted Education Program District Leadership Award from the Maryland State Advisory Council on Gifted and Talented Education. ​

Rae Lymer, Ed.D. (they/them)
President Elect
​

Rae is a Gifted Education Specialist for Baltimore City Public schools and serves as the Co-Chair of the Maryland State Gifted and Talented Advisory Board.  

Gina Byrd, M.Ed. 
​Vice President

Ms. Gina M. Byrd was born to lead! As a product of the Prince George’s County Public School System, she takes pride in returning to pave the way for future scholars. She is a transformational leader and charismatic administrator who is a champion for teachers and students in the Prince George’s County Public School System (PGCPS). “AP Byrd”, as she is affectionately known, seeks to transform education with innovative ideas in school leadership, parental advocacy, developing community partnerships, building teacher capacity as well as ensuring all scholars receive a world class education. Ms. Byrd, a Brand Ambassador for PGCPS, is passionate about advocating for equity and access in education for all students. She was the recipient of the 2014 PGCPS/BSU Admin I Scholarship Award and fulfilled the requirements of the Administrator I and II Certification Program through the PGCPS partnership with Bowie State University where she was inducted into The National Society of Leadership and Success with Presidential status. During Ms. Byrd’s 22 year tenure in PGCPS she has served in a myriad of roles from classroom teacher to Reading Specialist to a Title I Specialist, Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) Consulting Teacher in the Office of Employee Performance and Evaluation, and is currently serving as an Assistant Principal. She has been making a difference in the lives of students, staff and the PGCPS community for over twenty years. You can reach Ms. Gina M. Byrd, also known as “PDLady”on Twitter by using the handle @PDLadyConsults.

Kristen Modes, M.Ed., NBCT (she/her)
Vice President

Kristen is the Content Specialist for Gifted and Differentiated Services for Charles County Public Schools.

Debbie Blum (she/her)
Treasurer

For the past eight years, Debbie Blum has served as the Coordinator of K-12 Gifted and Talented (G/T) Education for the Howard County Public School System. Prior to this role, she supported differentiated instruction and talent development programs as a school-based G/T Resource teacher for 5 years and later as a Central Office resource teacher for 8 years. Debbie has been a member of MEGS since 2006, serving as a State Conference Chair for several years and currently serving as the outgoing Treasurer.

Esther Gencheva (she/her)
Treasurer Elect

Esther has taught Kindergarten for 9 years with Baltimore City Schools and through BCPSS has had the privilege of teaching and supporting Gifted Learners in various ways, including CTY. She completed her Masters of Ed through Johns Hopkins School of Education in 2016 and was part of Teach for America's 2014 cohort. She also has the great pleasure of being a mom to 3 sons.

McKenna Lewis, Ed.D.
​Secretary

Ruby Brown 
Member Engagement

Theresa Jackson 
Social Media

Corinne Viglietta (she/her)
Partnerships

Corinne Viglietta represents the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY). Currently CTY's teacher development lead, Corinne brings 15+ years of experience as a classroom teacher (DC, MD, and France), curriculum writer, professional learning leader, museum and special collections educator, and equity-focused collaborator. As Associate Director of Education at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Corinne ran an interdisciplinary research program for culturally diverse advanced learners; led professional learning and curriculum development for over 30,000 educators; and spearheaded the creation of a teacher member program and website, as well as partnerships with school districts and organizations across the US. She also taught several summers at the New Jersey Governor’s School for Public Issues. Corinne has presented on equity, challenging and adventurous learning, and literacy at numerous conferences and has been an invited presenter for the American Federation of Teachers, Smithsonian American Art Museum, National Council of Teachers of English, Humanities Texas, West Virginia Council of Teachers of English, and Brooklyn Academy of Music. She has degrees in English and French from the University of Notre Dame and in English from the University of Maryland, along with a graduate certificate in teaching multilingual learners. Her chapter on student-driven inquiry will appear in a new Folger Shakespeare Library series on teaching complex texts, forthcoming from Simon & Schuster in 2023.

Carina Wells (they/them)
​Advocacy

Carina Wells is an Educational Associate for Baltimore City Schools. After starting teaching English Language Learners while service overseas in the Peace Corps, they returned to the States to teach Special Education in Baltimore. They now coordinate supports for Special Populations at KIPP Baltimore with a focus on gifted learners, students with disabilities, and twice exceptional students.​