IEA Staff & Board
Elizabeth D. Jones, President
Ms. Jones has been an educator, researcher and administrator of educational programs for over 20 years. She holds a Masters Degree in special education from the University of Southern California and has completed doctoral work in the field of educational policy and learning theory. Ms. Stork served as the Associate Director of The Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth and the Director of the Western Region for ten years prior to assuming her current position.
James W. Davis, Co-Founder, Secretary to the Board
Mr. Davis has over 30 years of experience in education. He serves as a speaker and consultant to organizations on a variety of educational issues. He is the founder and President of The Davis Group, Ltd., an international educational consulting firm.
Amanda is a recent transplant from the East Coast with a background in academic talent development, non-profit management, marketing, and sales. Prior to joining IEA she served as Director of Academic Programs at the Institute for Humane Studies, where she worked with talented undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty in the social sciences and humanities. Amanda graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University and has a master’s degree in philosophy from Columbia University.
Lori Anne Edwards, Program Coordinator
Ms. Edwards has taught everything from yoga and massage therapy to kindergarten enrichment and elementary English and has developed curriculum for both youth and adult education. She has spent the last several years teaching, acting, and playing and writing music. Ms. Edwards graduated Summa Cum Laude from California State University, Los Angeles with a BA in Theatre Arts and Dance.
Zadra Rose Ibañez, Assistant to the President
After earning her B.A. in Anthropology from Colorado State University, Ms. Ibañez performed in the theatre, recorded and toured with a band and worked in the research department of a bank. She assumed the role of Office Manager for two prestigious pension firms in the Los Angeles area before joining IEA.
Bonnie Raskin, Program Coordinator
Ms. Raskin joins IEA after twenty-five years as a television executive and producer. She graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a B.A. in English Literature and Journalism and did graduate work at Boston University’s School of Speech and Public Communication. She has been published throughout the country and has experience in the Admissions Programs at Campbell Hall and Marlborough Schools.
Deena Rubinson, Grants Manager
Ms. Rubinson graduated Magna Cum Laude from Washington University in St. Louis with a B.A. in Acting and Spanish and a minor in Painting. Prior to joining IEA, Ms. Rubinson acted on-screen and onstage, toured with bands, wrote and recorded songs and scores, and wrote screenplays and television shows. She has spent the last two years at IEA editing grants and reports, and is excited to turn her attention to grantwriting.
Elizabeth Teurlay, Co-Program Coordinator
Ms. Teurlay recently graduated Magna Cum Laude from Occidental College with a B.A. in Psychology. She worked in Residence Life for three years, but also found time to participate backstage in a number of college theatrical productions and assisted with a longitudinal study of adolescent peer relations. She is also a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Sam P. Bell, Retired President, Los Angeles Business Advisors
Roger Benjamin, President, Council for Aid to Education (CAE)
James W. Davis, Co-Founder, Institute for Educational Advancement
Donna B. Ford, Esquire
Seth Freeman, Writer/Producer/Director
Peggy Funkhouser, Interim President, Los Angeles Educational Partnership
Herbert L. Lucas, Partner, Cataumet Partners
Robert J. Massa, Vice President for Enrollment and College Relations, Dickinson College
David S. Shukan, Intellectual Property Attorney
Alison Sowden, Vice President for Financial Affairs, The Huntington Library
Elizabeth D. Jones, President, Institute for Educational Advancement
Charles V. Wise, Principal, Galileo Planning Group, Inc.
Reed Coleman - Board Member Emeritus; Chairman and CEO, Madison-Kipp Corporation
John F. Cooke - President and CEO, Western Territories Group, LLC
William G. Durden - President, Dickinson College
Patricia Gatto-Walden
Dr. Gatto-Walden is a licensed clinical psychologist with a holistic orientation who has worked with gifted individuals of all ages for over 25 years. She is a nationally featured speaker at gifted conferences and educational workshops.
Elizabeth Meckstroth
Ms. Meckstroth earned a Masters in Education and a Masters in Social Work. She has worked in the field of gifted education since 1979, serving families and their social / emotional and educational issues. She has published numerous articles and is a co-author of Teaching Young Gifted Children in the Regular Classroom and Guiding the Gifted Child. Her work focuses primarily on self-development and the highly gifted.
Michael M. Piechowski
Dr. Piechowski has a Ph.D. in molecular biology as well as counseling psychology. He served as a faculty member at four universities before retiring in 1999. He has studied and written extensively on the developmental potential of the gifted as well as on spiritual giftedness. Dr. Piechowski is the author of Mellow Out, They Say. If I Only Could: Intensities and Sensitivities of the Young and Bright.
Stephanie Tolan
Ms. Tolan is author of the Newbery Honor Award-winning novel Surviving the Applewhites. She is a well-known lecturer and advocate for highly gifted young people. She has also written Listen!, Flight of the Raven, Welcome to the Ark, and Ordinary Miracles. She is also a co-author of Guiding the Gifted Child.
