Get to know your FLAG Board!

Amy Trujillo is the Special Programs Coordinator at Osceola Science Charter School.  She is an educational leader and innovator with over twenty years of experience in advocating for the needs of diverse learners.  She believes in integrating science, technology, engineering, art, and math into lessons, so students grasp the concepts as well as gain the skills they need for the future workforce.  She has spent most of her academic career teaching and leading in elementary school but has also taught adults in college-level courses and online learning. She is the author of numerous articles and other items.  Her certifications and awards include Global Math Ambassador, Makey Makey Certified Teacher, Engineering is Elementary Advocate and Trainer, National Geographic Certified Educator, LEGO Education Master Educator, Certified BrainPOP Educator, and Wakelet Ambassador.  She is the past president of the Florida Association for the Gifted, as well as the Florida Association of Science Teachers.  She is the NSTA Area Five Director. 

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Amy has served as FLAG's Public Relations Chair and as FLAG President. Amy is FLAG's Immediate Past President. 

Kevin L. Simmons is a professional educator, author, principal investigator and Congressional advocate. He founded BLUECUBE Aerospace, Inc., co-created the Aerospace and Innovation Academy, Inc. (AIA), and currently leads the Wolfpack CubeSat Development team (WCDT) in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Simmons is Principal Investigator for two NASA-selected missions selected by NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) in 2017 and 2019. He led the first middle school team to launch a CubeSat on December 3rd, 2018 and his WCDT was the only K-12 entity selected nationwide by the 2019 CSLI. He is trained as a biochemist, and has worked in industry, military and academia. Simmons completed two years as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow and four years as a senior policy analyst in the National Science Foundation’s Engineering Directorate. He serves in a leadership role in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Palm Coast section, and is a member of the AIAA SmallSat Technical Committee. He is a member of the inaugural Limitless Space Institute Educator Cohort, and has 20+ years in education. Simmons recent national-level awards include the National Space Council Space Worker Hall of Fame, AIAA Foundation Educator Achievement Award, Dwyer Award for Excellence in STEM education, and Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award. He is a graduate of North Carolina State University with Biochemistry and Chemistry degrees, and is a professional educator with a gifted endorsement and licensed to teach Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Earth/Space Science and 6th-12th Mathematics.

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Kevin has served FLAG as the By-Laws Chair, and is the President of FLAG.

Tiombe Bisa Kendrick-Dunn resides in South Florida and has been honored to serve as a public educator since 2005 in the capacity of a school psychologist and most recently an administrator. She also has a private practice. Dr. Kendrick-Dunn is a graduate of FSU, Barry University, and Loyola University Chicago where she earned a doctorate degree in 2021. Dr. Kendrick-Dunn is passionate about children who possess special gifts and talents. Dr. Kendrick-Dunn is married and enjoys connecting with family and friends.

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Tiombe is FLAG's Membership Chair. 

Johanna Kolb is a Gifted Lead/Coach in her twenty-seventh year of education. She has taught both elementary students and adults and has had a variety of roles: Teacher of Gifted, Math/Science Coach, and Instructional Coach. She received her National Board certification as a middle childhood generalist in 2002 and had the opportunity to score national board portfolios as well as mentor other teachers seeking certification. She has been a contributor to her District's Curriculum in several areas - Science, Math, and Gifted. She has been a Gifted Endorsement Facilitator for her District since 2016 (having taught Nature and Needs, Guidance and Counseling, Creativity, Special Populations, and Curriculum) where she has worked with hundreds of teachers, specialists, and administrators in their gifted journey.  She has peer reviewed for NAGC and has been a member of NAGC's Professional Standards Committee since 2021, in which she is serving a three-year term. She was on NAGC23's Local Host committee in which she served as Social/Marketing Captain. She has also co-authored a PBL Chapter for NCTM: Project-Based Learning in Elementary Classrooms: Making Mathematics Come Alive - Chapter 9: Grid City: Designing Math Towns and Encouraging Bright Minds.

 

She has presented at different conferences on Coaching and on Gifted Practices over the years. 

 

Johanna has served as FLAG's Public Relations Chair and is FLAG's President-Elect. 

Amanda Howell is in her eighteenth year of teaching in Brevard County Public Schools. She has taught kindergarten through 6th grade in the fields of Gifted education and Exceptional Student Education.  She is currently the Content Specialist in the area of Gifted Elementary Programs for the district of Brevard County.

She is currently the Educator Trustee for the Florida Odyssey of the Mind organization, Sales Board Member for the Space Coast Odyssey of the Mind organization, supports the writing of new missions for Destination Mars for Brevard County 5th and 6th graders to travel to Mars with the help of technology, and she supports the access of technology for all Gifted programs by going in to their classes and teaching about the application of littleBIts and Spike Prime in the classroom setting.  Since 2018, Amanda has been able to connect the Gifted programs with community agencies through planning, organizing and implementation of multiple conferences in Brevard County to support the growth of the Gifted populations.

 

Amanda is FLAG's BPub

Shawna L. Christenson is a graduate of the University of Central Florida (BS, Secondary English Education) and Florida Atlantic University (MA, Curriculum & Instruction). She is a Florida certified English teacher (grades 6-12) and holds endorsements in Gifted, Reading, and ESOL. Shawna has been teaching for over twenty-five years in Palm Beach and Martin Counties with a focus on English, Public Speaking, and Debate.  She is a Space Foundation Teacher Liaison, the K-12 STEM education liaison for the Palm Beach section of The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics,  an officer in the Palm Beach Middle School Forensic League, and is a nationally recognized Diamond Debate coach, earning the distinction of Middle School Coach of the Year in 2020. 

Shawna believes in helping students become confident communicators who can share their passions outside the classroom through participating in legislative blitzes, writing technical papers, presenting at conferences, and working closely with legislators not only to talk about policy but to create it. With the help of her students, Shawna worked with State Representative Brian Mast on two resolutions to increase awareness of the CubeSat Launch Initiative and CubeSats in education.  In addition to presenting at the Florida Association for the Gifted twice, she has presented technical papers on science identity formation in elementary students at the International Astronautical Congress in Dubai in 2021, the CoSpar K conference in Athens in 2022 as well as the IAC in Paris, France.

 

Shawna is FLAG's Region 4 Coordinator. 

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Kelly Lomblo is in her twenty-eighth year of teaching at Jacksonville Beach Elementary, a Gifted and Talented Magnet. She has taught 1st – 4th grades and is currently a Reading Teacher of the Gifted. She has served in many roles over the years: Shared Decision-Making at her school, Magnet Lead Teacher, and Professional Development Facilitator. In the PDF role, Kelly works with the TDS Team (Teacher Development and Support) in which she supports the development of new teachers. She also supports all of the school’s teachers in their professional development points and records. She has also been a mentor to many teachers and a directing teacher to College of Education students. She was Jacksonville Beach Elementary School’s Teacher of the Year in 1999-2000 and 2022-2023. She served on the Local Host Committee for NAGC23, where she served as co-Hospitality Captain.

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Kelly is FLAG's Treasurer.

Aesha is in her twenty-eighth year of teaching at Jacksonville Beach Elementary, a gifted and talented magnet in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. She has taught 1st-4th grades and is currently a 4th grade Math Teacher of the Gifted.

She been a Science Model Classroom at her school and has facilitated science teacher training for the District's Science Department and worked with the DCPS Science Department in developing and facilitating the Academy of Science program. This program was designed to help teachers design hands on science activities for students in her District. She helped to review, develop, and write science curriculum for teachers in the district. Since 2009, she has been the JBE Family Science Night Chair in which hundreds of students and families attend each year. She has brought in representatives from the St. John’s River Water Management, the Audubon Society, Jacksonville Beach Storm Drain demonstrations, Star Base and many others as participants in her school's Science Night each year. She was selected as the 2021 “Conservation Teacher of the Year” in Duval County.

 

Aesha is FLAG’s Governance Secretary.  

Pam Farrell has thirty-four years in education and has a wide variety of experiences.  She has been a Gifted Coordinator in Virginia, in which she was responsible for seven schools and taught pull-out gifted classes. She has been a teacher of gifted at Jacksonville Beach Elementary since 1996. Pam has served in many roles in the field of gifted education. She has been the Magnet Lead Teacher at her school for years, a magnet for Gifted and Academically Talented students. Pam is responsible for outreach and serves as the point of contact for perspective parents and families in that role. Pam was also a 2012 recipient of The Gladys Prior Awards for Career Teaching Excellence. She contributed to writing Gifted Curriculum for her District in 2016. She was a part of NAGC23's Local Host Committee, serving as co-Hospitality Captain. She has also been a member of NAGC's Professional Standards Committee since 2021, and is in her third year of her three-year term.

 

Pam is FLAG's Advocacy Chair.