Miraca U.M. Gross (1944-2022) Vanessa R. Wood
Miraca U.M. Gross (1944-2022), Co-Founder of The International Gifted Consortium, was Emeritus Professor and Honorary Director of The University of New South Wales, Gifted Education Research, Resource, and Information Center (GERRIC). She was recognized nationally and internationally as a leading authority on the education of gifted and talented students.
Miraca held MEd and PhD degrees in gifted education. The first 20 years of her career were as a teacher and school vice-principal in elementary and middle schools in Scotland (where she was born and raised) and Australia. Miraca’s research focused on issues of equity for gifted students, ability grouping, acceleration, socio-affective development and the highly gifted.
She received several international research awards including the Hollingworth Award for Excellence in Research in Gifted Education and the Mensa International Education and Research Foundation Award for Excellence (1988 and 1990) in addition to its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.
Miraca Gross’ prestigious awards and honors included:
- The American National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), Early Scholar Award, 1995
- The American National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), Distinguished Scholar Award, 2005 (the first time this was awarded outside North America)
- University of New South Wales Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, 1995
- Australian Federal Government Inaugural Australian Award for University Teaching Education, 1997
- Australian College of Educators Sir Harold Wyndham Medal for outstanding contributions to Australian education
- Queen’s Birthday Honours List with membership in the Order of Australia
Vanessa R. Wood, Co-Founder, President, Co-Research PI – The International Gifted Consortium (IGC), Research Center for Highly-Profoundly Gifted
Vanessa R. Wood, M.A. Gifted Ed., is passionate about education, human development, developmental potential, and well-being. She believes each individual has a unique developmental path that should be honored among the collaborative community.
Vanessa is the co-principal investigator and corresponding author of the 2024 study, Prevalence of Emotional, Intellectual, Imaginational, Psychomotor, and Sensual Overexcitabilities in Highly and Profoundly Gifted Children and Adolescents: A Mixed-Methods Study of Development and Developmental Potential – An international IRB study and research collaboration with the University of Antwerp. She is also the corresponding author of the 2020 publication, How Can We Better Understand, Identify, and Support Highly Gifted and Profoundly Gifted Students? A Literature Review of The Psychological Development of Highly-Profoundly Gifted Individuals and Overexcitabilities. Vanessa is the co-editor of the upcoming book Highly-Profoundly Gifted: A Holistic and Critical Approach.
Vanessa created programs to fit the educational and developmental needs of highly-profoundly gifted children and adolescents including Advanced Astronaut Training with the Challenger Learning Center and Botany Field Research at the Chicago Botanic Gardens. Her various community roles have included gifted program development and administration, parent-teacher liaison, and Home Schooling Gifted Students (HSGS) board member. Vanessa served as program director for PG Retreat, local area marketing and alliance lead for National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), and Arizona Association for Gifted and Talented (AAGT) committee member.
Vanessa is the host of The IGC podcast, “Room With a View”. Vanessa trains parents, teachers, administrators, counselors, and psychologists on the social, emotional, physical, cognitive, and altruistic behaviors, development, and developmental potential of highly-profoundly gifted children, adolescents, and young adults.
For speaking engagements, professional development and training, parent education, program development, please email: VanessaWood@giftedconsortium.org